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Military schools' 'higher mission'

By BOB HARIG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 22, 2001

Players around the country hit the field again today, trying to put world events out of their minds, at least for the few hours it takes to play the game.

But for players at the military academies, that might be more difficult to do.

For them, the threat of going to war is a very real possibility.

"The darker side comes up," said Dustin Plumadore, a senior center for Army. "One of my teammates said, 'If something goes down, I wonder how many of us will be at our 10-year reunion?' I guess that sets us apart from a lot of other schools."

Indeed, it does.

Plumadore knew what he was in for when he signed on at West Point. All of his professors are military officers, and last week, he saw heightened security because of the threat of a terrorist attack at the academy.

In a way, it made preparing for today's game at Alabama-Birmingham a blessing. Football became a diversion.

"It hasn't been any problem at all," he said. "When we get into practice, we become football players and the only thing to think about is football. Life is simple."

"There's definitely a fear factor," Army quarterback Chad Jenkins, a senior, told the New York Times. "But it's not like we are about to go to Afghanistan right around the corner. Right now we have a season of football to play, and I'm looking forward to graduation."

Jenkins is studying military science as a systems engineer. He said he hoped to become a branch infantry platoon leader commanding a fire platoon of about 40 ground soldiers with rifles and machine guns.

Jenkins knew what his future could hold as soon as President Bush described the situation as war -- although his commitment to the armed forces would not begin until he graduates.

"It's never good to go to war, but in certain situations, there have to be repercussions," Jenkins said. "Justice has to be brought to the people who did this."

"There is a higher mission here," Army coach Todd Berry said. "They are cadets before they are football players. They understand when they graduate their services may be required."

Ryan Hamilton, a linebacker at Navy, said getting back to football this week was not difficult.

"We've practiced very well," said Hamilton, a senior who plays Boston College today. "There really hasn't been much of a change in our daily routine. The academy made a goal to get back on track right away. There is a heightened security here and a better sense of awareness of what is going on. But we knew we might be put into this kind of situation when we decided to come here.

"As of right now, I don't know where I might be headed, but I can tell you our military is prepared."

MORE TRAGEDY: Sixteen Washington boosters, who were taking a cruise through the Caribbean, then headed for Miami for what would have been the postponed game on Sept. 15 with the Hurricanes, were killed in a plane crash on Sept. 12 after having visited the Mayan Ruins at Chichen Itza in Mexico.

The cruise began Sept. 9, before the attacks caused the game to be postponed.

"When you add tragedy upon tragedy, you start asking yourself when it's going to stop," Washington coach Rick Neuheisel said.

One of those who died in the crash was Geoffrey Vernon, a past president of the school's alumni association. He was making plans to move into a house just five doors from Neuheisel.

"This is just shocking, horrific," Neuheisel said.

The victims were part of 1,157 passengers on a Holland American cruise called Tailgate at Sea. The 16 guests, accompanied by a tour guide, left the ship to take an airplane to travel to the Mayan Ruins, an optional trip. The group was on its return flight when it crashed in the jungle.

SUPER SATURDAY: College football's version is Dec. 1, the date to which several postponed games have been moved. Previously scheduled for that day was the Big 12 title game, Miami at Virginia Tech and Oregon State at Oregon.

Now, several other games will be that day as well: Tennessee at Florida, Georgia Tech at Florida State, Arizona State at UCLA and Notre Dame at Purdue.

SCHEDULING QUIRK: Instead of playing its second game of the season at Miami, Washington will end the regular season against the Hurricanes on Nov. 24. It will be the first time the Huskies have ended their regular season with a game against an opponent other than Washington State since 1948.

ADJUSTMENTS: Commissioners from conferences who are part of the BCS will meet next week to discus the impact of postponements or cancellations on the rankings. Some believe schools that had games canceled should be bowl eligible with a 5-5 record, while schools with eight victories should qualify for a BCS bowl. As it stands, six victories are necessary for a bowl bid and nine wins are required for BCS eligibility.

"I would favor doing both," said Tom Hansen, commissioner of the Pac-10. "I wouldn't want to predict that but I can only tell you where my support will lie."

- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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