No delays from Army to the NFL for Campbell

It was not until he was a sophomore on the Army football team that Caleb Campbell learned his job after graduation might be something other than as a platoon leader, guiding 32 soldiers in Iraq or in Kuwait.

"When I came to West Point, I wasn't saying, 'God, I hope they make a new policy so I don't have to go to Iraq,' " Campbell said Tuesday. "I knew what I was getting into. I initially came to the academy knowing I wanted to be an officer in the United States Army. Playing football was just extra."

On Sunday, the Detroit Lions picked Campbell in the seventh round of the NFL draft, making him the first Army player to be selected since a new policy was established in 2005 to allow individuals with exceptional skills to pursue their professional careers while remaining on active duty.

The Army's hope is that talented people, such as elite athletes or musicians, can help promote the service and boost recruiting. But the Army has also found itself defending the policy, which drew little attention before Sunday. Before this year, five former West Point athletes were accepted into the program. In the next few days, Campbell will join two Army teammates who signed free-agent contracts at NFL minicamps. They are beneficiaries of a policy that allows them to start their playing careers sooner than they would had they played for Air Force or Navy.

If he makes the Lions roster, Campbell will most likely spend his off days and the off-season recruiting for the Army in the Detroit area. But his real job, he said, will be playing football. And that is enough to satisfy the Army.

His situation is already drawing enough interest that the Army had a conference call Tuesday for the news media to talk with Campbell and Black Knights teammate Mike Viti, who signed a free-agent contract with the Buffalo Bills.

Campbell acknowledged that he initially had mixed emotions about his opportunity. He said he spoke to other cadets and his instructors while pondering his situation.

"I had a talk with myself," he said on the conference call. "Either way I could win. I decided if football presented an opportunity to play in the NFL, I would take it. Me, as a football player, would be very beneficial representing the United States Army."

In August, the Department of Defense issued a memo with a policy for all branches of the military governing individuals with special talents. Under the policy, members of the military can request an early release from active duty after two years "for the purpose of pursuing a professional sports activity with potential recruiting or public affairs benefits for the department."

In 2005, Francis J. Harvey, the secretary of the Army at the time, approved the policy that went further. Any member of the Army with an exceptional skill who could provide recruiting and public affairs benefits to the Army could be assigned to the nearest recruiting unit for their two-year active-duty period. Those approved can participate in their professional activity -- in Campbell's case, pro football -- as long as it does not interfere with military duties. Then they can apply for early release from active duty.

"People have philosophical problems with this -- they think everyone else is going to Iraq," said one Army official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the policy. "You can't judge someone's worth by their proximity to the battlefield."

Roger Staubach served four years as an officer in the Navy, including a tour in Vietnam, before joining the Dallas Cowboys as a 27-year-old quarterback. David Robinson, the former San Antonio Spurs center nicknamed the Admiral, spent two years on active duty with the Navy before joining the NBA.

Since November, the Navy has suspended its program governing early release after two years of active duty.

The Air Force considers requests on a case-by-case basis but has no written policy like the Army's. "The requirements are there in order to meet our primary needs as a fighting force," Air Force spokesman Tom Wenz said. "The Army is also a lot bigger than us. The loss of one individual from their operational capability is probably a lot more easily absorbed."

Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo said the academy considered a rule similar to the Army's a few years ago but did not approve it. Among the concerns, he said, was the message it might send during a time of war and the possibility there would be a flood of applicants for alternative service. "This is the first time all three of us aren't working under the same guidelines," he said. "I don't care what the policy is. I just would like it to be the same. It's obviously an advantage for Army, and our hands are tied."

If the players ultimately fail to make their NFL teams, they will be reassigned and return to their normal career progression in the Army. That could lead them to war.

"I've heard stories about what's gone on in Iraq and Afghanistan," Campbell said. "In another sense, the NFL is just as much pressure. You're out there to take somebody's job. In terms of coaches can't cut me? We're talking about the NFL here. This is a cutthroat business."