What's good for the mule isn't necessarily good for the goat

You've probably never heard of Mitch Harris, in large part because ESPN chose not to use its hype machine to turn him into a national celebrity the way it did Caleb Campbell. Then again, that's probably because "the worldwide leader" didn't have two days of air time to try to fill around the major league baseball draft the way it did with the NFL's annual lottery of college talent.

Harris' story is one that needs to be told, however, because of the gross inconsistency it exposes in the policies of our various military services.

Here's the link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hjGAqB9VXy0tfWXNfuAsToMLK9kQD918UG6G0

To summarize, Harris was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball draft a few days after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy and being commissioned as an Ensign. But he won't be able to sign a contract and play professionally because of the academy's required five-year military commitment.

I wouldn't normally have a problem with that, except for the fact that while Harris is in Iraq or Afghanistan putting his life on the line for the service of his country, Campbell will be putting on his helmet and pads and playing football for a living as a member of the Detroit Lions. He'll be able to do that because as a recent graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he can advantage of a controversial new policy allowing Army graduates to play professionally without having to serve any active duty.

Campbell was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round of the NFL draft in April. If he makes the team, he will be required to spend one day a week working at a local recruiting office. If he keeps his NFL job for at least two years, the newly commissioned second lieutenant will have the option to “buy out” his remaining three years of active duty in exchange for a longer reserve commitment. Implemented in 2005, the new policy — called the Alternative Service Option — allows the Army to use cadets with “special talents” as recruiting tools while allowing them the pursue careers in fields not usually open to young officers.

If the Army is looking for a little good PR, then the plan seems to be working. When Campbell's selection was announced, it was greeted with chants of "USA, USA" from the crowd in attendance and celebrated by the ESPN talking heads as being something "special." But that's part of the problem. Because Campbell is in the Army, he's getting special privileges that aren't available to Harris or anyone else in the Navy or Air Force.

It's a discrepency that needs to be fixed. Either ALL academy graduates should be given the same opportunities or they should all be required to honor their commitments. In the mean time, Campbell should remember the tenets of duty, honor and country he learned at West Point and were put into practice by the likes of Roger Staubach, David Robinson and Pat Tillman, and put his NFL career on hold to join his classmates in active duty.