Army orders Detroit Lions draft pick Caleb Campbell to active duty

""Duty," "Honor," "Country" - those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you want to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean.

"The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and, I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule.

"But these are some of the things they do. They build your basic character. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the nation's defense. They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid.

"They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for action; not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm, but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future, yet never neglect the past; to be serious, yet never take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

"They give you a temperate will, a quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease. They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life. They teach you in this way to be an officer and a gentleman."

Gen. Douglas McArthur's Farewell Speech to the Corps of Cadets at West Point, May 12. 1962

 

For him, not so well.
http://www.extremesportclips.com/video/312/Napoleon-McCallum-Leg-Break.html

 

Mike Viti ... helluva tough kid. Saw him go the route in a playoff game in which he could barely stand up on a knee injury.

For some reason, I'd thought this whole Caleb Campbell thing had come to a head before yesterday. Certainly not the best timing by the Army.

But this is one of those situations where I'm going to have to say that others closer to the situation are better suited to hash it out. I just don't think it's good fodder for talk shows/debates, because too many of us can't grasp the special bond/trust forged between the USMA and its cadets.

I know I never would have signed over my life at 18 (or an important chunk of it). Those who do must have a markedly different view on things, and I think it would be presumptuous of me to pass judgment on it.

I will say this: It seems rather silly to frame this debate in whether the USMA should do more to advance its football program. That's not why they're there.

 

So the Army milked the story for all its good PR for weeks leading up to the draft.
Blowout coverage during the draft and then more coverage after and then, quietly, change the rules to keep him out of the league. Keeping him out of the NFL on the day before training camp starts.
Nice work.
Note to self, never believe another word that comes out of the Army's mouths

 

I can't believe you ever did.

 

That's the point some seem to be missing. This guy signed his life away when he went to West Point. Fine, his decision. Army said, go ahead, be drafted, play ball, be a recruiter. Great PR. Now, not so much. Does any portion of our government run honestly and with integrity?

 

In a statement, the Army said it had to protect the investment in his education and that being in Bagdhad was safer than being in Detroit.

Actually, Robinson served two years in the Navy after he graduated. I have a brother-in-law who went to the Naval Academy one year behind Robinson. He thought that if there hadn't been so much attention to the case, Robinson might not have had to serve any time. The reason is because Robinson was over the Navy's height limit - he grew a couple of inches from the time he was accepted to the time he graduated. The height limit means he might not be able to serve on a submarine and there are problems with equipment. People who have large feet (size 14 and above) usually can't service in the military, because if they were in a combat zone and they lost a boot, you couldn't replace the equipment and it would mess things up.

 

It's the Army. You go where they tell you to go, regardless. I have no problem with the military allowing some players to play, or telling others to fight. When you sign on, you give up the right to make decisions about your life. If the military thinks he can best serve his country playing and recruiting, toting a rifle in Iraq or managing a database in Texas, it is their call.

 

That's why I say I don't feel qualified to pass judgment on it.

My first, knee-jerk reaction is something to the effect of, "What gives the Army the right to do that..."

And my second reaction is, "That's stupid. They're the Army. Of course they have the right."

I'm conflicted, obviously.

 

I think the phrase we're looking for is, "needs of the Army."

That's how we all serve. I want to go to Germany after flight school. But if Uncle Sugar needs an air ambulance platoon leader at Ft. Bliss, Texas, that's where I'll be a head'n.

 

He's not going to Baghdad. For a year, he'll be back at West Point:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j-Udr8HR3tcrbk8bbnbGhNHvqQeQD924B06G0

Then's he's going for more training. Hell, if Obama gets elected, he may never go over there.

Greg Doyel wrote an over-the-top screed on cbssportsline.com that all but has Campbell under mortar fire within 48 hours. Check it out. Then read a more reasonable column by Mike Freeman, whose opinion I respect far more in this case because he actually served in the Army.

 

For real? Or in the "graduated from Delaware" sorta way?