This guy is from a few years back, but is a great story. Here is
the article from http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/4071610.htm
<h1>Seminoles serve</h1>
By Steve Ellis</span></font>
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER</span></font>
Dan Kendra first entertained the idea of becoming a Navy SEAL when
he was in grade school. Classmates dreamed of playing football. Kendra
wanted to be a member of an elite special-forces unit.
After an injury-plagued football career at Florida State, Kendra was
on the verge of making the Indianapolis Colts as a fullback when he
walked out of preseason camp.
"He said to us, 'You know what? I think this world needs more
special-forces guys than NFL guys,'" said his mother, Diane. "It has
always been his dream to pursue this. Football picked him; he didn't
pick it. But this, he wanted to do.
"After 9-11, that really pushed him over the edge. It was, 'I'm doing this.'"
Kendra, training to be a Navy SEAL, is one of at least seven former
Seminoles players actively serving in the Armed Forces. Kirk Coker, a
part-time starting quarterback in the mid-1980s after walking on, and
John Merna, who walked on as a tailback, are Marines stationed in
Quantico, Va. Coker, a major, is an aide to a three-star general.
Former fullback Rendell Long is stationed in Korea. Ex-linebacker David
Stallworth, a Navy helicopter pilot who also oversees helicopter
maintenance, calls Coastal Systems Station in Panama City home. Former
defensive lineman Stanley Scott, who played in the mid-80s, is an
instructor at West Point. He is a captain after a long stint at Fort
Hood in Texas. Former graduate assistant Franklin Hagenbeck (1977-78)
is a major general and the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan.
Only Kendra and Greg Tony joined the military after Sept.11. Tony
passed on a chance to start at fullback this season to enter the
Marines Officer Candidate School. Kendra, stationed on a joint military
base outside Fort Worth, Texas, is waiting on word when he'll begin
Basic Underwater Demolition School, or BUDS, in Coronado, Calif.
For the veterans, the terrorist attacks only strengthened their
conviction that they selected a career that makes a difference.
Stallworth was involved with the peacekeeping operations in Kosovo.
From his ship, Marines were deployed and humanitarian aid was sent to
Albania.
"What happened on 9-11, it makes you realize what you are doing is
very important," Stallworth said. "After 9-11, if you are out in the
community in uniform, you have strangers coming up to you and shaking
your hand and thanking you for the job you're doing. It makes you real
proud and makes you believe the (career) choices you made were the
right choices."
Coker, in his 13th year with the Marines, has served in Southeast
Asia, Somalia and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
He had been to the Pentagon days prior to Sept.11, when that structure
and the World Trade Center in New York City were attacked by hijacked
jets.
"Quite frankly, we in the military have been talking about the
potential for something like this to happen for years," Coker said.
Football and the military service are perfect partners, according to
these former Seminoles. Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who is
also Stallworth's father-in-law, and off-season conditioning prepared
the former linebacker for Aviation Officer Candidate School in
Pensacola. Although Stallworth is in the Navy, a Marine Corps drill
instructor ran the program.
"The drill instructor had that same kind of tone you were already
used to," said Stallworth, who works alongside a former Arizona State
football player. "Everything I went through in football pretty much
trained me for that training - the way they run the mat drills and
defense.
"It's kind of easy to go from football to the military, especially
on the teamwork side. I went through two years of flight school
beginning in 1995, and it was a lot like being part of a team at
Florida State. Instead of working for an ACC championship or a national
championship, you were working together for your wings of gold."
Coker credits FSU head coach Bobby Bowden for helping him develop
qualities that benefited his military career. Coker is up for a
promotion to lieutenant colonel next year. He said the regimented
lifestyle he experienced in football also prepared him for the Marines.
"Playing for coach Bowden had a lot to do with shaping my leadership skills that I needed up here," Coker said.
Merna made it a point to tell Bowden what his football experience
meant to his military career. Although mat drills came under scrutiny
following Devaughn Darling's death last year, Merna applauds the
conditioning program.
"I've absolutely learned many attributes from those hard, hard days
at Florida State," said Merna, who was stationed in Saudi Arabia for
four months during the Gulf War. "There were many days you wanted to
hang it up, but you couldn't. And there were similar days in the Marine
Corps. There's nothing I've done in the Marine Corps that was harder
than mat drills... that was a true test of man's physical and moral
courage.
"I've told coach Bowden much of what he did on the practice fields
and training is very similar to the structure of the military training.
Coach Bowden was a great leader. He oversaw what was going on, he held
people accountable, and he and his staff taught lessons much more
important for off the field. He is a great role model for young men and
hopefully future Marine Corps leaders."
Merna's father and two uncles fought in Korea. Merna, now a major and instructor, graduated in 1989.
Stallworth spent his childhood not far from the Pensacola Naval Air
Station, home of the Blue Angels. The lure of flying drew him to the
military after graduating from FSU in the early 1990s.
Coker had no interest in the military until, one day during his last
semester at FSU, he walked by a Marine Corps recruiting booth. On a
whim, he talked to the recruiting officer and was hooked on the idea.
Kendra has no immediate kin with military backgrounds. The most
celebrated of ex-Seminoles now serving in the Armed Forces, he is the
son of a quarterback who played for Bobby Bowden at West Virginia. He
was a high school All-America quarterback from Bethlehem, Pa., whom Joe
Paterno and Bowden recruited. But Kendra is just as well-known for
having a pet alligator and wanting to be a Navy SEAL. Once on campus,
players said the military was what Kendra mostly talked about. He
received 12 stitches for cuts to his chest and nose from an explosion
created by mixing household chemicals in an A-1 bottle. His obsession
with strength training led to an eyeball-vein-popping experience when
he lifted over 1,300 pounds in the leg press.
"It doesn't surprise me about Danny Kendra," Bowden said. "It's some tough training, but he can handle it. That is his nature."
Neither Kendra nor Tony was available to talk to the media. Kendra,
according to his mother, prefers that his pursuit of a lifelong dream
be low-key. That has been easy. One superior officer was a graduate of
the University of Florida. Kendra has been to Coronado, Calif., for
testing before entering BUDS, a notoriously demanding phase of training
for SEALs. He'll be part of an eight-man team that will be challenged
physically and mentally. If he gets through that, he will go to jump
school in Fort Benning, Ga., and scuba school in Panama City.
Graduation could be as long as six months away.
"He's not even conveying a lot to us," said Kendra's mother, Diane.
"There's so much preparation involved. This is where he belongs. He was
so fascinated by the challenge. The body is good and everything is
great. Things are really falling in place.
"With football he loved the camaraderie, working as a team to pull
it off. That's what (the military) is all about. It's all
team-oriented."
</span></span>
the article from http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/4071610.htm
<h1>Seminoles serve</h1>
By Steve Ellis</span></font>
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER</span></font>
Dan Kendra first entertained the idea of becoming a Navy SEAL when
he was in grade school. Classmates dreamed of playing football. Kendra
wanted to be a member of an elite special-forces unit.
After an injury-plagued football career at Florida State, Kendra was
on the verge of making the Indianapolis Colts as a fullback when he
walked out of preseason camp.
"He said to us, 'You know what? I think this world needs more
special-forces guys than NFL guys,'" said his mother, Diane. "It has
always been his dream to pursue this. Football picked him; he didn't
pick it. But this, he wanted to do.
"After 9-11, that really pushed him over the edge. It was, 'I'm doing this.'"
Kendra, training to be a Navy SEAL, is one of at least seven former
Seminoles players actively serving in the Armed Forces. Kirk Coker, a
part-time starting quarterback in the mid-1980s after walking on, and
John Merna, who walked on as a tailback, are Marines stationed in
Quantico, Va. Coker, a major, is an aide to a three-star general.
Former fullback Rendell Long is stationed in Korea. Ex-linebacker David
Stallworth, a Navy helicopter pilot who also oversees helicopter
maintenance, calls Coastal Systems Station in Panama City home. Former
defensive lineman Stanley Scott, who played in the mid-80s, is an
instructor at West Point. He is a captain after a long stint at Fort
Hood in Texas. Former graduate assistant Franklin Hagenbeck (1977-78)
is a major general and the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan.
Only Kendra and Greg Tony joined the military after Sept.11. Tony
passed on a chance to start at fullback this season to enter the
Marines Officer Candidate School. Kendra, stationed on a joint military
base outside Fort Worth, Texas, is waiting on word when he'll begin
Basic Underwater Demolition School, or BUDS, in Coronado, Calif.
For the veterans, the terrorist attacks only strengthened their
conviction that they selected a career that makes a difference.
Stallworth was involved with the peacekeeping operations in Kosovo.
From his ship, Marines were deployed and humanitarian aid was sent to
Albania.
"What happened on 9-11, it makes you realize what you are doing is
very important," Stallworth said. "After 9-11, if you are out in the
community in uniform, you have strangers coming up to you and shaking
your hand and thanking you for the job you're doing. It makes you real
proud and makes you believe the (career) choices you made were the
right choices."
Coker, in his 13th year with the Marines, has served in Southeast
Asia, Somalia and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
He had been to the Pentagon days prior to Sept.11, when that structure
and the World Trade Center in New York City were attacked by hijacked
jets.
"Quite frankly, we in the military have been talking about the
potential for something like this to happen for years," Coker said.
Football and the military service are perfect partners, according to
these former Seminoles. Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who is
also Stallworth's father-in-law, and off-season conditioning prepared
the former linebacker for Aviation Officer Candidate School in
Pensacola. Although Stallworth is in the Navy, a Marine Corps drill
instructor ran the program.
"The drill instructor had that same kind of tone you were already
used to," said Stallworth, who works alongside a former Arizona State
football player. "Everything I went through in football pretty much
trained me for that training - the way they run the mat drills and
defense.
"It's kind of easy to go from football to the military, especially
on the teamwork side. I went through two years of flight school
beginning in 1995, and it was a lot like being part of a team at
Florida State. Instead of working for an ACC championship or a national
championship, you were working together for your wings of gold."
Coker credits FSU head coach Bobby Bowden for helping him develop
qualities that benefited his military career. Coker is up for a
promotion to lieutenant colonel next year. He said the regimented
lifestyle he experienced in football also prepared him for the Marines.
"Playing for coach Bowden had a lot to do with shaping my leadership skills that I needed up here," Coker said.
Merna made it a point to tell Bowden what his football experience
meant to his military career. Although mat drills came under scrutiny
following Devaughn Darling's death last year, Merna applauds the
conditioning program.
"I've absolutely learned many attributes from those hard, hard days
at Florida State," said Merna, who was stationed in Saudi Arabia for
four months during the Gulf War. "There were many days you wanted to
hang it up, but you couldn't. And there were similar days in the Marine
Corps. There's nothing I've done in the Marine Corps that was harder
than mat drills... that was a true test of man's physical and moral
courage.
"I've told coach Bowden much of what he did on the practice fields
and training is very similar to the structure of the military training.
Coach Bowden was a great leader. He oversaw what was going on, he held
people accountable, and he and his staff taught lessons much more
important for off the field. He is a great role model for young men and
hopefully future Marine Corps leaders."
Merna's father and two uncles fought in Korea. Merna, now a major and instructor, graduated in 1989.
Stallworth spent his childhood not far from the Pensacola Naval Air
Station, home of the Blue Angels. The lure of flying drew him to the
military after graduating from FSU in the early 1990s.
Coker had no interest in the military until, one day during his last
semester at FSU, he walked by a Marine Corps recruiting booth. On a
whim, he talked to the recruiting officer and was hooked on the idea.
Kendra has no immediate kin with military backgrounds. The most
celebrated of ex-Seminoles now serving in the Armed Forces, he is the
son of a quarterback who played for Bobby Bowden at West Virginia. He
was a high school All-America quarterback from Bethlehem, Pa., whom Joe
Paterno and Bowden recruited. But Kendra is just as well-known for
having a pet alligator and wanting to be a Navy SEAL. Once on campus,
players said the military was what Kendra mostly talked about. He
received 12 stitches for cuts to his chest and nose from an explosion
created by mixing household chemicals in an A-1 bottle. His obsession
with strength training led to an eyeball-vein-popping experience when
he lifted over 1,300 pounds in the leg press.
"It doesn't surprise me about Danny Kendra," Bowden said. "It's some tough training, but he can handle it. That is his nature."
Neither Kendra nor Tony was available to talk to the media. Kendra,
according to his mother, prefers that his pursuit of a lifelong dream
be low-key. That has been easy. One superior officer was a graduate of
the University of Florida. Kendra has been to Coronado, Calif., for
testing before entering BUDS, a notoriously demanding phase of training
for SEALs. He'll be part of an eight-man team that will be challenged
physically and mentally. If he gets through that, he will go to jump
school in Fort Benning, Ga., and scuba school in Panama City.
Graduation could be as long as six months away.
"He's not even conveying a lot to us," said Kendra's mother, Diane.
"There's so much preparation involved. This is where he belongs. He was
so fascinated by the challenge. The body is good and everything is
great. Things are really falling in place.
"With football he loved the camaraderie, working as a team to pull
it off. That's what (the military) is all about. It's all
team-oriented."
</span></span>
