The New York National Guard’s newest soldier is bringing a bit of gold to the Army. Olympic gold medalist Justin Olsen enlisted during a ceremony Jan. 9 – and then flew to Europe to resume the World Cup bobsled season. Olsen, a private first class, will train as a human resources specialist. He also plans to apply for the Army World Class Athlete Program, which allows soldiers to juggle their military commitment with training and competitions. “I hope to be selected and, as a soldier-athlete, I hope that I can give back as much to the program as they are…
Browsing: Afghanistan
New York Giants safety Antrel Rolle thinks that getting paid millions of dollars to play a kids game is just like deploying to Iraq. Let me set this quote up for you and then I’ll let Mr. Rolle take it from there. Boos rained down on Giant players at New Meadowlands Stadium after the home team fell behind the Jaguars last Sunday. Rolle told the media he took notice and didn’t like it. Cue Mr. Rolle: “We risk ourselves out there on the field each and every day also. When soldiers come home from Iraq you don’t boo them. I…
Detroit Lions linebacker Caleb Campbell is the only former active-duty soldier in the NFL. Most people know his story: He graduated from West Point in 2008 and was drafted by the Lions, but the Army prevented him attending training camp after initially allowing it. Campbell, an artillery officer, served two years before leaving the Army earlier this summer to pursue a career in pro football. Campbell is still with the Lions, but his job security is as tenuous as it gets in the NFL. As a member of the practice squad, Campbell is essentially auditioning every day. Even if he…
Sometimes it takes awhile to realize how lucky you are. When I played high school football, my father never missed a single game in four years. My four brothers also played high school football, and of all their games, he missed just one. Years later, he can tell you exactly which son’s game he missed, when it occurred and who the other team was. It took me years to understand that this was more than just a show of dedication and support by my father. Seeing us play in these games really meant a ton to him, far beyond wins…
The good folks at Ranger Up have put together a short video promoting their brother-in-arms, Staff Sgt. Tim Kennedy. He’s fighting for the Strikeforce middleweight title on Aug 21, and Kennedy has been getting more and more attention as the matchup with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza approaches. But After Action ranks this video as the most interesting piece of media produced thus far. As you probably know, Kennedy is a Special Forces operator who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and currently serves in the Texas National Guard. You don’t often hear him talking about specific experiences he had in war, but…
A Marine lance corporal fighting in Helmand province fired off a message to the U.S. National Team after Landon Donovan’s strike in the 91st minute of yesterday’s World Cup match. Lance Cpl. Nate Bickel didn’t know if it would reach the team, but it did and many players posted the link to it on their Twitter feeds. Here it is: Name: Lcpl Nate Bickel Subject: Group C Champions Message: So we aren’t sure who to send this to but my unit here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan wanted you to know the Kilo Company 3d Battalion, 3d Marine Regiment couldn’t be…
[HTML1] The English side has had a rough go of it so far during this World Cup, with players sleeping with other players’ ex-wives, the former captain speaking out against the coach, and then, of course, the embarrassing draw to the Yanks. Despite it all, though, the English snuck out of Group C and advanced to the Round of 16 after beating Slovenia 1-0 yesterday. Of course, the U.S. shocked everyone and won the group. Bollocks!!!!! Before the World Cup kicked off their fellow countrymen in uniform taped this inspirational message and sent it off to Rooney and Co.
Maj. Roy Nickerson and a group of soldiers at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan did their best to watch today’s epic U.S.-Algeria World Cup match on TV. But as you might expect, the realities of war zone life did not make it easy. In the end, Nickerson, a member of the 101st Airborne, was able to witness Landon Donovan’s game-winning goal. Sort of. Read his description of the scene at Bagram and you’ll understand: Tonight I was not able to partake in most of the festivities surrounding the US-Algeria World Cup Soccer match. “Festivities” at our location essentially equates to a…
During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Sgt. John Napier said he hoped to soon deploy with his unit to Afghanistan as a member of the Vermont National Guard. But the Army apparently preferred for the world-class bobsledder to continue his training stateside. Napier said in a recent interview that he’s pretty uneasy about that decision. “The feeling of guilt I have not being over there weighs heavily every day,” Napier told the Albany Times-Union. Vermont’s 86th Brigade Combat Team arrived in Afghanistan in March. Guardsmen from the 86th were involved with repelling the insurgent attack on Bagram Air Field…
[HTML1] Marine Lt. Denver Edick wanted to surprise his wife, who happens to be a Redskins cheerleader (Ooh-Rah Marine!), upon his return from a deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan at a Redskins cheerleading practice. So he called a local TV affiliate to catch the reunion on camera. Nice story, right? Most teams would love the free publicity of a Marine surprising his cheerleader wife. Well, the Redskins are not most teams. Full disclosure: I am a Redskins season ticket holder and remain a die-hard fan even though they seem to do everything in their power to push fans like myself…
