Caleb Campbell: Should He Serve in the Army?

A few weekends ago at the annual NFL Draft in New York City, the stars shined and the camera lights flashed as the names of the top collegiate prospects were called. But the story of the NFL Draft was not the soon-to-be multi-millionaires in the front end of the draft. The real story waited another day to show up, when the Detroit Lions selected Caleb Campbell, a 23-year-old safety out of Army, and the pride of Perryton, Texas with the 11th pick of the 7th round, the 218th of the draft overall. Campbell is not a player with daunting power or blazing speed, but he led Army in total tackles last season and more importantly brought resilience, tenacity, leadership, and dedication to the field every time he stepped on it.

Recently, West Point has implemented an alternative service option program that allows prospective soldiers to play professional sports right away. Cadets accepted into the program will owe two years of active service in the Army, during which time they will be able to play their respective sports while recruiting for the Army during the off-season. If the athletes remain in professional sports following those two years, they will have the option of buying out of their full service contract of three years, in exchange for six years of time in the Army reserve.

So essentially, Campbell is being allowed to abandon his commitment to serve as an officer overseas so that he may play football for a living and make possibly millions of dollars. This of course brings up a controversial question. Should he be allowed to do this? How unpatriotic is it of him to ignore the duty to fight for his country so that he may play a game young Americans play when they are twelve years old?

Pat Tillman turned down a contract that would have made him 1.2 million dollars a year, so he could serve overseas. Tillman did not go to a military academy and he still decided to defend his nation in the world's troubled spots. Some believe he has turned his back on his armed forces "brothers and sisters," while others believe that he is doing the sensible thing and the best for his career, himself, and his family. As heroic and noble as it is to fight for one's country, what many Campbell skeptics fail to realize is the brutal reality that each and every day in Iraq could be his final one. It seems ridiculous to think that any 23-year-old would choose a great likelihood of death in Iraq over playing football for a living. Those same skeptics also are blind to the fact that he is serving our country. By becoming a national media figure, he is bringing national attention to the United States Armed Forces, and thus doing his new job of recruiting prospective soldiers to join the army. Campbell can be an inspiration to many star high school athletes. He can show them that going to West Point can still lead to being a professional football player and beyond. There is no guarantee that Campbell will ever see an NFL down, but his story and media attention may draw prized recruits to Army. This will bring top quality soldiers to service and it may also allow Army's football team to return to the glory it experienced over four decades ago.