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Army Orders Draft Pick to Duty

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (July 24) - Caleb Campbell was a day away from practicing with the Detroit Lions and taking a step toward his dream of playing in the NFL. "He was issued a helmet, ready to go," coach Rod Marinelli said Wednesday.





Now, Campbell will serve his country.
The U.S. Army revised its interpretation of U.S. Department of Defense policy two weeks ago regarding soldiers playing professional sports, requiring cadets to complete two years of active duty before applying for a release.
"It's unfortunate, but it doesn't mean Caleb Campbell's dream is dead. It just means it will be delayed," Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb told The Associated Press. "We want to take care of soldiers and dashing their hopes is not what we intend. But it is what it is."
Campbell and the Lions didn't officially receive notice of the change until the eve of training camp.
"Oh yeah, I cried, because I wanted a shot," Campbell, a seventh-round draft pick of the Lions, told The Oakland Press of Pontiac for a story published Thursday.
Despite his disappointment, Campbell said he is "really excited" for his next assignment ? a year as a graduate assistant football coach for the Army, either at the U.S. Military Academy or the service academy's preparatory school.
After a year, he said, he will report to officer training.
Edgecomb said minor league baseball players Nick Hill and Milan Dinga, former West Point standouts, will be allowed to finish their seasons before eventually joining their units.
"We did an internal review of our policy and found that based on the DOD policy, we needed to adjust our policy," Edgecomb said Wednesday.
Campbell agreed to contract terms, but did not sign the deal. The Lions will retain his rights until the 2009 draft, but he will not be eligible to play until 2010.
"Obviously, he's disappointed," said Marinelli, a Vietnam veteran. "But I obviously know what he's about. He got his orders and he's ready to report."
When Detroit drafted Campbell in April, it created a lot of publicity and led to some debate whether it was fair for a cadet to play pro sports while classmates were at war.
"There were a lot of questions. Why is this kid going to be able to pursue this opportunity?" Campbell recalled in April. "I had a lot of guys come up to me. I think initially they were confused. They didn't understand the aspect of this whole situation. But it was never anything vulgar, just a lot of questions, a lot of curiosity from my fellow cadets.
"Now that they understand the policy, they understand how this is going to benefit the Army. Whenever I'm settled in, I will report to the local recruiting station in the area and I will take it very seriously. It's my job in the United States Army. This is how I'm serving my country."
The buzz might have also made the Navy and Air Force bitter because their graduates were playing under different rules under the same Department of Defense directive, which was implemented in 1994, reiterated in 2007 and again just a few days after the NFL draft.



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[Kevin]

Great post!

That woke me up bigger than a cup of coffee.

Unrelated to the NFL, but here's another great military related video to watch. Crank the speakers up!