Palm Beach North Sports - March 2023

M a r c h 2 0 2 3 | P A L M B E A C H N O R T H SPORTS 7 Over the last 40 years, a lot of that has changed, and for a number of reasons, the military has enjoyed a more trusted relationship with the American people. Quite often a military member, or veteran, will hear, “Thank you for your service”. When I hear that, it means to me that they are not only grateful, but they trust us; that we will use lethal force to protect America, and do so within the values of our Nation and our military. So, what does all this have to do with the Army-Navy game? Quite simply, when America puts boots on the ground in harm’s way, America does not expect us to go out there to “do our best”, or to “look good”. They expect us to go out there and WIN, and to win within the values of our Nation and our military. And when they see Army and Navy football players playing with incredible intensity, discipline, toughness, and grit, laying it on the line for each other, they do not necessarily see college football players playing a tough football game, they see the future leaders of our Army and our Navy who will lead their own sons and daughters into harm’s way, and to fight with the same grit and toughness in the crucible of combat, and to do so within the character that defines our nation. I remember the 9 December 2017 Army- Navy game, when Army defeated Navy and won the Commander-in-Chief trophy for the first time in over 20 years in the middle of an east coast blizzard, in a game that was decided on the very last play of the game. The game was ranked as one of the top 10 college football games watched that entire year. True that Army prevailed and won the game. But what was probably most important to our Nation and to the American people, was that America witnessed an incredibly tough, gritty, fully emotional game, where both Army and Navy played with incredible tenacity and discipline. Surely America saw an Army victory, but what was more important than wins or losses was that America also saw its future Army and Navy leaders of our military, and America had to be pleased knowing these football players are our military leaders in the future years ahead. They had to know our country is in good hands if these are the men who will lead our Nation in the most challenging and difficult times. In other words, America’s trust and confidence in our military’s leadership could not be stronger as was best demonstrated on the “fields of friendly strife” that snowy Saturday afternoon. Besides the Service Academy’s commitment to this game, our military members are emotionally tied to this annual competition as well. Our Army stands shoulder to shoulder with our Naval colleagues 364 days a year. But on this special day, the antics, pranks, and spirited competition are innovative ways to raise excitement and partiality towards their team. I have been both the innovator and the recipient of many Army-Navy pranks, and have enjoyed my own competition with my Navy colleagues as each of us would generate excitement for the game. This is especially emotional while on deployment, as it seems, services go all-out to disadvantage their “other service” colleagues prior to the game itself. Of course, all this is in fun, but it shows how tremendously impactful the Army–Navy game is to all of the military and all of America. Bob Caslen LTG, U.S. Army (Retired) 59th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, West Point VISIT gobuildlove.org TO JOIN THE MOVEMENT OR TO LEARN MORE Investing in clean water alone fights poverty and saves lives