2009 NCAA Coaches Tour Airman' s Diary

  • Published
  • By 2ndLt Nicholas Mercurio
  • 22 Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Editor's note: This is the second article in a series of three articles depicting the daily events of the 2009 NCAA Coaches Tour, May 27, 2009 - June 4, 2009. 

Background: The 2009 NCAA Coaches Tour: three continents, six countries, nine days. Six active NCAA football coaches: Mack Brown (Texas), Jim Tressel (Ohio State), Rick Neuheisel (UCLA), Troy Calhoun (Air Force), Houston Nutt (Ole Miss) and Jim Grobe (Wake Forest), led by coach emeritus Tommy Tuberville, traveled nearly 17,000 miles, visiting servicemen and women in Germany, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Djibouti, and Spain. The following is a daily account of my experiences with the tour. 

Saturday, May 30
Saturday began with a 4 a.m. or, as the coaches would come to call it in true military fashion, "o-dark thirty" wake-up. We arrived at the Ramstein Air Base passenger terminal at 5 a.m. and were airborne at 6 a.m. Despite the early morning wake-up on the heels of a trans-Atlantic flight, everyone on board seemed to be in high spirits. The coaches talked animatedly to each other as we flew to Incirlik AB, Turkey. They knew that with each passing day the locations would become more remote, the bases more austere, and the significance of their presence more meaningful to the soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen there. 

On the ground in Turkey I felt that we were truly in another country. Ramstein was such a large base and the surrounding area could easily have been mistaken for New England. Here the semi-desert landscape ringed the tarmac, creating an island of concrete shimmering in the early morning heat. Snow-capped peaks loomed on the edge of the horizon, all but obscured in the haze. You could feel the nearby sea; the smell of the salt water hung like a rumor in the air. 

The coaches were guided through customs and brought to lodging where they were greeted by their personal liaisons, two per coach, most sporting the appropriate university apparel. We had lunch at the dining facility and then were led on a tour of the installation. During the tour, Coach Tressel was greeted by a sense of normalcy in the form of a familiar rivalry. We were briefed by Lt. Col. Dave Brooks of the 90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, a Michigan resident assigned to Selfridge Air National Guard Base. "We're from Michigan so, welcome coach," he said as laughter filled the room. The coaches got a chance to examine the C-17 that would carry them into Iraq the next day, commonly referred to as "downrange", and also visited with the maintenance Airmen on the flight-line. Master Sgt. Tim Horvath, 90th EARS continued the Michigan-Ohio State theme as he presented Coach Tressel with a Michigan coin, "In honor of all the success you've had against us." He received an Ohio State coin in return. The last stop on the tour was the base fitness center for a question and answer session and autograph signing. 

For dinner, we were taken to a restaurant in downtown Adana, a city of surprising beauty. Our path took us past the Sabanci Mosque, a massive structure executed in the traditional Islamic style with soaring minarets and concentric domes which rises surreally into the Adana skyline. It overlooks the Stone Bridge, a remnant of Roman times which was described to us as the oldest bridge still in use today. The menu that evening was the Adana kebab, a smoked meat kebab delivered to a section of the table on a six foot spear. The kebab is then laid onto a five foot long piece of flatbread and the spear is removed, an operation which requires six servers and is greeted by loud applause when finished. 

As we ate, Gunnery Sgt. Michael Flanagan, assistant Marine officer instructor at Ole Miss and personal security detail for the tour, explained to Coach Neuheisel what to expect the following day as we flew into Iraq. As he described a combat landing, essentially a rapid descent only a few degrees removed from literally falling from the sky, Coach Neuheisel reacted with mock indignation. "I didn't sign up for this!" he joked. However, the reality of the situation was not lost on him; we would be going into a combat zone tomorrow. I suspect that later in the evening everyone reflected on that fact privately before going to sleep. 

Sunday, May 31
It was a short flight (compared to what we were used to) from Incirlik to Joint Base Balad, Iraq. As the aircraft began its descent, a nervous energy permeated the air. We landed without incident, re-packed the body armor and began unloading the aircraft. The coaches threw their shoulders into off-loading a pallet, a sight the Airmen on the flight-line won't soon forget. After the aircraft was emptied, we boarded two buses and headed out for a tour. Joint Base Balad is a sprawling expanse of semi-hardened structures, dirt and paved roads, and houses men and women from all branches of the military. Facilities and compounds are surrounded by walls of interlocking concrete forms known as "T-barriers". They are at least 20 feet tall and are shaped like upside down Ts. The barriers protect the areas and buildings they enclose from rocket and mortar attacks. We were briefed that although it was unlikely, should the siren go off we should immediately lie on the ground; we would have about 20 seconds before the rocket or mortar struck. Due to the spread pattern of the explosive, lying down was the best protection from shrapnel and debris. The frequency of attacks here has decreased dramatically from about three or four a day to three or four a month. 

The main stop on our tour was the base hospital which was the staging area for the wounded before they were sent to Landstuhl. There the coaches reverently walked down "Hero's Highway", a covered walkway leading from the hospital doors to the helipad just outside. Draped across the roof of the tunnel is a large American flag visible to wounded warriors as their stretcher or wheelchair is wheeled beneath. Inside the hospital, the coaches pass through the wards, distributing T-shirts and signing autographs. An Iraqi man and his daughter there visiting an injured relative received a handshake and a smile as the coaches walked past. 

After another meet and greet at the fitness center, punctuated by boisterous energy and raucous cheers of "O-H-I-O!" the coaches were put to work on the sidelines for the Air Force vs. Army flag football game. I stood on the Army sideline with Coaches Neuheisel, Nutt, and Brown squinting through the considerable amount of dust that had risen into the air, obscuring the sun like a cloth draped over a lamp. As Army was poised to kick off I asked Coach Neuheisel what he thought about their chances. "Well I'm a little concerned. There seems to be a void in leadership on the team right now and I don't feel like my headset is working properly (there were no headsets)...[at that moment the kick inadvertently careens off the dirt, traveling only 15 yards]...our kicking is going be an issue, but other than that I'm ecstatic." Did you call for the squib kick I asked? "I did not call for the squib there." 

The Air Force team won 21-0, the victory sealed by a fantastic interception returned for a touchdown, or pick-6. When asked about the interception on the sideline Coach Calhoun was impressed. "Boy I'll tell you, what an athlete. That was really something." I asked what he thought about the whole experience. "Just flat awesome," he said. "The motivation and sportsmanship, the way they're literally halfway around the world doing great things for our country. These are just absolutely the finest young men and women there are." Although the players were rivals on the field, after the game it was all smiles as hugs as they showed they are all really on the same team defending America and her interests daily. I asked Coach Brown what message he would take back to his team after seeing our servicemen and women out on the front line. "The message I'm sending back daily, texting back every night is that you can't be selfish and make it. It doesn't matter if you're a soldier, airman, Marine, or sailor; it's no different than offense, defense, and special teams. You have to work hard and you can't care who gets the credit. These guys have no hours; they're out here doing what it takes to keep our country free." 

After the game we then boarded a C-130 alongside 35 soldiers, donned our body armor once more, and took off for Baghdad.