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Early Bird recently published a story addressing the Army's recent move to renege on their deal to allow Caleb Campbell, the former West Point standout, to play for the Detroit Lions after they drafted him in the final round of the 2008 NFL Draft.. 

The inappropriate title of the article was “About Face” as it objectively described the immediate shift in Army policy.  A more fitting title would read “Total Waste.”  Total waste of talent, resources, opportunity and above all hope.  Campbell represented hope to not only those football fans in Rock City Music Hall in New York who chanted “USA! USA!”, but Americans across the country.  People were excited about Army Football and it put the former football perennial back on the map.  This is nothing short of disastrous for not only Army Football, but the Army itself.  The positive publicity gained from a dual Army-NFL player would not only boost the quality of recruits for the program and turn Army Football around in the future, but would also bolster recruiting to the Army itself at a small price if any.

A comparable example is found in the U.S. Army National Guard who endorses NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt Jr.  The National Guard pays some $25 million in sponsorship dollars to the Earnhardt Corporation for the corresponding publicity, according to a CNN article found at the bottom of this entry.  The thought process is that young people, specifically young men between the ages of 17 and 25, who watch and follow Earnhardt will be more apt to join the National Guard or military when they see the decal saying “National Guard” across the hood of his new “Car of Tomorrow.”  National Guard recruitment numbers have soared since the investment was put in NASCAR.

CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/21/commentary/sportsbiz/index.htm

Campbell represents a similar opportunity for the Army to not only bolster their publicity and recruitment, but it offers it at relatively no cost to the Army.  The Army would retain Campbell as an active duty member to act as a recruiter and pay him the normal pay he would receive as a 0-1 with less than 2 years of service which is approximately $30,668/year, as cited from website that follows.

DEFAS: http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/militarypaytables.html

Don’t worry, I’ll do the math for you.  That is a savings of $24,969,332 approximately. Granted that figure is somewhat distorted due to providing him medical and housing benefits, but I’m sure one can understand the point being made here.  Additionally, don’t forget that the Army already assigns individuals recruitment time.  Having him serve in this person’s place may not be the same level of publicity as a NASCAR driver like Earnhardt, but it would certainly be better than normal every day recruiter John Doe. Campbell could provide that service which would free that soldier normally assigned to his area to serve in a different capacity.  So in reality, it would not cost the Army a dime!

Once again the Army allows the antiquated masses of disgruntle senior officers and senior enlisted personnel to make its decisions.  This decision was clearly not made from an outside group paid to do the objective thinking, but rather senior Army commissioned and non-commissioned officers.  An outside group would have the common sense of doing cost-befit analysis.  Army personnel believe Campbell is “getting over” on his commitment, however, they do not understand that he would still be working as a full time Army recruiter in a district in Detroit, which is also a ripe environment for young men to recruit.

The Army is wasting a young man’s future without making an informed decision.  It is a waste of talent and resources.  The outcome of this story makes me depressed about my Alma Mater and the Army itself.  I can only hope that Army can somehow manage to beat Navy this year, a feat that the country is beginning to slowly care less and less about due to the declining quality of both programs.  Army Football will continue to beat itself year in and year out if it continues to allow the wrong people to make decisions.