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Sadly, I think the aspect that gets lost in this story is the fact that the young man has no intention of not fully fulfilling and honoring his military comittment in WHATEVER capacity that his superiors choose, and whenever and wherever they choose. So far his only "crime" is that he took his responsibility to win ballgames for the Air Force Academy too seriously, worked too hard, got too good and in the process gave himself and the military too many options. Sad when that is considered the WRONG thing to do.
Sadly if those who pass judgement knew him they would understand the situation better. I have known him peripherally for a few years and he is honorable, comitted and about as fine a young man as you will EVER, EVER meet on any level you choose. I think without knowing him and his family you cannot understand what a fine representative he is of the military and of us, and how much he values and takes his position seriously as does his family. I can assure you that he is not looking for "a way out." I can assure you that he is the not the selfish me first athlete that he is made out to be by some and that we are so accustomed to seeing. There are many ways to serve your contry, Might it just be that he can do 100 times more good as a semi-public figure representing the military than he ever could handling logistics?.
I assure you that he will serve, and he will serve with great distinction. The question is when, where, and in what capacity or package of capacities the military, not you, not me, sees best for him. He was brought into the academy in part because is athletically gifted and he was offered the opportunity to see how far that gift will take him, and in this capacity has given the military this option and this profile. So far all he has done is ask, and his superiors so far have agreed that it is in the best interest of their departments to let his baseball progress.
It will continue to be up to his superiors to decide if he is of more use to the nation in the "David Robinson" mode, or some other. That is their choice. He is not a villian for working hard, following his God given talent and giving his superiors that that option. I respectfully submit that where he can be best ultilzed is best left to those who make those decisions.
I only wish those who pass judgement on him knew him personally. As I've said his only crime is giving the military to many options.
I expected he would encounter resistence in the blather of sensationalist media, I had expected that he would be treated better here...
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