Reverse Tilllman?

[MR. Fantastic]

From The Ney York Times:
By JUDY BATTISTA
Published: April 30, 2008
It was not until he was a sophomore on the Army football team that Caleb Campbell learned his job after graduation might be something other than as a platoon leader, guiding 32 soldiers in Iraq or in Kuwait. When I came to West Point, I wasn’t saying, ‘God, I hope they make a new policy so I don’t have to go to Iraq,’ ” Campbell said Tuesday. “I knew what I was getting into. I initially came to the academy knowing I wanted to be an officer in the United States Army. Playing football was just extra.”

On Sunday, the Detroit Lions picked Campbell in the seventh round of the N.F.L. draft, making him the first Army player to be selected since a new policy was established in 2005 to allow individuals with exceptional skills to pursue their professional careers while remaining on active duty.

The Army’s hope is that talented people, like elite athletes or musicians, can help promote the service and boost recruiting. But the Army has also found itself defending the policy, which drew little attention before Sunday. Before this year, five former West Point athletes were accepted into the program. In the next few days, Campbell will join two Army teammates who signed free-agent contracts at N.F.L. minicamps. They are beneficiaries of a policy that allows them to start their playing careers sooner than they would had they played for Air Force or for Navy.

If he makes the Lions’ roster, Campbell will most likely spend his off days and the off-season recruiting for the Army in the Detroit area. But his real job, he said, will be playing football. And that is enough to satisfy the Army.




What do you guys think? Is this guy the opposite of Pat Tillman? Tillman gave up a NFL career to join the Army and defend America, this guy is giving up a career in the Army defending America to join the NFL.

[SASSGlock2]

Probably 15 years ago, wasn't there a USNA graduate playing football for Oakland and serving on active duty in the Navy?

I don't think this is a new phenomenanon. Look at the Army marksmanship unit, Marine Corps martial artists, etc...

[slewfoot]

The cost of his taxpayer education should come off the top of his paychecks every month.

Couldn't this be considered some form of discrimination to those other players on the team?

Good players go to the NFL, average players to Iraq?

[mitchshrader]

if the army thinks he's more valuable doing public relations, then, he takes his orders and does as he's told.

he gets a choice?

[the iceman]

I don't think he'd make a very good recruiter. You kind of have to serve in the Army to know what your talking about enough to encourage others to enlist.

[Biscuitsjam]

The army has athletes in all disciplines. Most of the sports don't pay very much at all, so the only way to compete is to get a sponsor. The army is willing to sponsor a few of these folks for good PR (and eventual military service). It's a good program. This particular case is a little different since the NFL is so high-profile and the pay is normally so high. I'm curious how the pay issue is being handled? Is this guy allowed to have it? Does the army get it? Does the NFL team just keep it?

This guy is obviously a hard worker to get where he is. It's pretty damned impressive to graduate from West Point. It's also pretty damned impressive to be good enough for the NFL draft. When he started West Point, this policy hadn't even been created yet, so he was giving up a potential professional football career to serve his country.

The army basically told him that they'd rather have him do public relations than serve as a platoon leader. If he does what the army is requesting, how can you criticise him for it. If a few more motivated athletes join the army, is that bad?

[Fallguy173]

About the pay issue...

If you were to have a job as a bouncer at a local club after work, would you have to set up a reverse allotment for your checks from the club to go to the army? I think he should be able to keep all of the money. If he fulfills his 6 year oligation in the army as a recruiter, he should have his school paid off.

[bfg1971]

The Navy has had this same program ever since David Robinson was at the academy. The Military gets a high profile athlete for advetising purposes at no cost to them. They are placed in the Inactive Reserve and are required to muster once a year for paperwork purposes. They draw their pay from the team they play for and nothing from the military. Basically the program allows the military academies to compete for or retain top prospect athletes that would go somewhere else if this program was not in existence. David Robinson told Navy he was leaving to play for another school until they started this program for him other schools have adopted it since then.

I don't know what would happen if he were to be cut and not resigned by another team, but I would expect he would get active duty orders in that case.

[MR. Fantastic]

I really don't believe the Army can order you to go play professional sports. If this guy really wanted to be an infantry platoon comander (as most cadets do) then he would.