By Lee Pace
Planning, execution and debriefing. Order, structure and punctuality. Teamwork and chain of command. Persevering through pain, discomfort and difficult circumstances. The parallels are significant between a military operation and a football team.
“We had a saying in the Seals, ‘Seal training is easy, all you do is never quit,'” says Mike Argo, a Tar Heel defensive lineman who lettered in 1978-79 before moving on to a three-decade career as a U.S. Navy Seal. “We had another one that said, ‘The only easy day was yesterday.’
“It’s the same kind of environment in football, particularly training camp and spring practice. There’s a level of mental torture and discipline that you get from football that sets you up well for Seal training. It’s the same kind of environment.”
Saturday is Military Appreciation Day in Kenan Stadium when the Tar Heels meet Georgia Tech at 5:30 p.m. Flags of the various service branches will be flown around the stadium. A joint color guard will convene for the national anthem, and more than 50 ROTC members and Rams Club members who are veterans will hold taut a giant American flag across the playing field. Spectators who are veterans or on active duty will be asked to stand and be recognized after the first quarter.
The game itself is high stakes—the Tar Heels fighting to continue a six-game winning streak and protect their No. 13 ranking in the College Football Playoff and set themselves up for a regular-season-ending showdown with N.C. State; quarterback Drake Maye with his burgeoning Heisman Trophy candidacy; and Yellow Jacket interim coach Brent Key cobbling a resume together that he hopes will help him land the permanent job.
Yet three individuals on the Carolina sidelines on Saturday have a unique perspective on the Military Day theme. The pomp and ceremony coursing throughout Kenan Stadium was real life to them in their 20s.
Defensive backs coach and co-defensive coordinator Charlton Warren graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1999 and spent six years stationed at bases in Georgia and Florida before entering the coaching profession at Air Force in 2005. He rose to the rank of major and saw his work in avionics and drone technology put to use in the early stages of the post 9/11 War on Terror.
“Football is really important and I want to win…
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