Army earns black eye for Campbell situation
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An American soldier freely submits to being the property of his country. It is a commitment that humbles the rest of us.
And it is this covenant — between man and country — that is at the heart of the Caleb Campbell story and the Army's decision to rescind the Alternative Service Option it had extended to him. Campbell was still going to belong to the U.S. Army when the NFL kicked off in September. But if he made the Lions, he was going to be deployed as a football hero recruiter.
Unbeknownst to Campbell, the mission changed earlier this month.
The Army's reversal was made on July 8, but in true F.U.B.A.R. fashion, the military failed to alert Campbell to the change until the eve of his reporting to training camp with the Lions this week.
Whether or not the Alternative Service Option or "special skills" clause was good policy is open for debate. That the Army botched the execution of the policy seems obvious.
Like a drill sergeant deciding how many pushups a recruit owes him, the Army uses its property however it sees fit. Whether it's cleaning latrines in Kandahar or flying to the ball at Ford Field, a soldier is doing what's best for the Army.
And if Caleb Campbell, a 6-2, 229-pound All-American recruiting poster, had indeed lined up for the Lions in September, it's hard to imagine he could have done anything better for his beleaguered branch of the military than show millions of football fans every Sunday the kind of man the Army produces.
As it now stands, Campbell will spend the next year as a graduate assistant coach as he continues his officer training before being deployed.
To understand just how poorly timed the Army's re-interpretation of the Alternative Service Option has been, we need to go back to 2005.
Campbell had just finished an outstanding sophomore season at West Point and was facing a point of no return. Cadets who transfer before their junior year are freed from their obligation without penalty.
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| Vietnam vet and Lions coach Rod Marinelli was ready to welcome Campbell. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images) |
Campbell was torn, but his on-field success had led him to believe he had a future in football. Other football schools were actively trying to lure him away. He went to see then-Army coach Bobby Ross with the intention of transferring.
During that meeting Ross told him about the newly-expanded (in 2005) Alternative Service Option that releases those with "unique talents and abilities" from their five-year active duty commitments, requiring them instead to work in recruiting and public affairs. The talk convinced Campbell to stay at West Point. According to Ross and existing Army policy, if Campbell were good enough, he'd still get a crack at the NFL.
The policy, as observed at West Point, was already a point of contention at the service academies. The Naval Academy and Air Force were offering no such deferment of duty and, therefore, considered themselves at a recruiting disadvantage. All three service academies were operating under the same Department of Defense directive — issued in 1994 — but Army had unilaterally decided that playing professional sports qualified a cadet for alternative service.
Campbell suffered a knee injury his junior year but bounced back with a lights-out senior year. With it clear to all that Campbell would be eligible to play right away should he make an NFL team, he was invited to the scouting combine, where he impressed.
Projected as a safety (though Lions head coach Rod Marinelli would shift him back to linebacker), Campbell benched 225 24 times — the second most for any DB prospect at the combine — and ran a 4.56. He was projected as high as a fifth-rounder.
Campbell was the celebrity of Day 2 of the NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in April. Every profile of him made it clear he's the kind of guy you'd want fighting for your country or blowing up a wedge on a kickoff. Marinelli, a Vietnam veteran, selected Campbell in the seventh round and the crowd began chanting USA! USA! It was a public relations bonanza for the Army.
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Campbell rescheduled his final exams so he could finish them early and attend both rookie camp and minicamp with the Lions as he prepared to compete for a slot on the team.
Then, after three years of telling him he could pursue his football dream, the Army re-interpreted its policy and pulled the rug out from under him, notifying him the day before training camp began.
Campbell has acknowledged crying when he heard the news of the Army's policy change. "I didn't ask for it," he told the AP of the exemption. "But you should have never gave it to me if it wasn't going to happen."
Compare Campbell's case to that of Patriots running back and special teamer Kyle Eckel who played at Navy.
According to the Boston Globe, twice during his career at Annapolis, Eckel was recommended for dismissal by the school conduct board. Those recommendations were rejected by the administration and he graduated last in the class of '05. Seventeen months and a couple of subsequently dismissed assault charges later, Eckel was expelled from the Navy and ordered to repay the government $96,000 to defray part of the cost of his education.
So there he was in Week 6 last season, scoring the game's final touchdown in a 48-27 romp over the Cowboys in Dallas. He was living the dream. How? By being a nightmare as a Midshipman.
Campbell, meanwhile, has always played by the rules. But they just changed them on him, meaning he will not be eligible to resume his NFL dream until 2010.
Campbell enrolled at West Point in a time of war. He wasn't looking for the easy way out. He just saw an opportunity to live two dreams at once, playing in the NFL and serving his country, albeit as a recruiter instead of an artillery officer.
One of those dreams is on hold.
"I'm a soldier first and foremost and I go where they order me to go," he said after hearing the news.
Sounds like the kind of guy you'd want in your foxhole. And in your locker room. And in your recruiting office.
Caleb Campbell is missing the opportunity of a lifetime. And so is the U.S. Army.
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