The Detroit Lions selected Safety Caleb Campbell from Army yesterday in the 7th round of the draft … and I couldn’t be happier!

First off, I am a Captain and a veteran of the Iraq war and currently still serving in the Army National Guard. I was formerly active duty, deployed back in 2005-2006 to Baghdad and have over nine years of total service to my Army and my country. This being said, I feel emotionally tied to this issue.

Officers in the Army come from all walks of life. West Point, ROTC, direct commission and OCS. Regardless of the source of their commission, some are good and some are poor. Some meet and exceed the standard and some barely get by and sometimes fail. From the outside perspective, Caleb Campbell looks like a pot of gold. He is saying all the right things, at the right times and in the right manner.

It’s about time that the Army and West Point have caught up with life. The Army might be the most institutionalized place in the world. People who have spent a better part of their careers in the military and in the Army are so engrained in the way of life they can’t understand how to adjust to change. They get angry when others within the Army want to do so. Socitey, life, the Army and war have all changed and been modernized and we must adapt to it.

Pat Tillman set the world on fire with what he did for his country (unfortunately it had a sour ending). Caleb Campbell can do the same. You many never hear someone say “I joined the Army because of Caleb.” But the overall perception of what the Army is about will change. I share Campbell’s view of everyone in the Army having their own individual mission. While I was in Iraq, I faced more danger than probably 75% of the soldiers there (I deployed with the Special Forces), does that mean I was more important to the fight than the Private who was the administrative assistant in the personnel department??? Absolutely not. We all have a different role in this fight, the main thing is to embrace the role, and exceed all the expections of your job description. That’s how we win this fight.

I myself, have had similar situation, on a lesser scale, like Campbell. I was a cheerleader in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens for eight years and now with my job at ESPN. Both have conflicted with my military obligations on several occasions. But being a good leader of soldiers is in part about flexibility, creative thinking, and alternate solutions to complex problems. Caleb Campbell appears to be an officer of that mold.

Lastly, I felt so proud when he was drafted. The camaraderie of soldiers is nothing you can find anywhere in this world. When he got selected, I felt like it was my brother being picked. He is me … and I am him. We are in this together as soldiers. I hope that he has a great NFL career. I hope he fulfills his obligation in anyway the Army wants him to. I hope he continues to spread the good word of what it means to choose to be an officer and a leader in the military. Most importantly, I hope the Army has dozens more like him … we need young leaders who can challenge the norm and excel.

I will be placing an order for a Caleb Campbell jersey as soon as I can. I will sew an American flag on it and wear it proudly each time Campbell plays.

Posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 4:30 pm.
Categories: 1300 News.
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