Olympian Lt. Col. Dominic Grazioli is all business

Adm. Mike Mullen came out this week to honor our military Olympians, who'll double down on their American service at the Beijing Olympics, representing the stars and stripes in sports from track and field to Greco-Roman wrestling to marksmanship.

This is great, we should all take tremendous pride in our servicemembers; and these military Olympians cast a terrific spotlight on the armed forces.

However, the hypocrisy of our senior leaders again rears its ugly head. Mullen clearly recognizes the value added to public outreach by these elite athletes (including United States Military Academy cadet Stephen Scherer), but the DoD is still out of touch with maximizing its potential on this front.

According to current Army 2nd Lt. Caleb Campbell, a former NFL hopeful with the Detroit Lions after he was drafted in the seventh round out of the USMA, West Point wanted him to play for the Lions. That was before the DoD ripped those dreams from him in a last-minute policy change.

In my opinion, the case of Campbell probably hinged on some well-placed bureaucrat in the Pentagon that had some personal vendetta/motivation and just enough juice to quash Campbell's NFL dreams. Them's the breaks in the military, where one person can hold just enough power to turn the screws. Campbell has since been reassigned as an assistant coach for the gridiron squad of the Black Knights of the Hudson.

While the odds are slim (what am I saying, it will never happen) there's still time to do the right thing. If the DoD can change it's mind on Campbell once, then perhaps in the spirit of the Olympic Games, cooler heads can prevail. Let him play.

That said, the Olympics should be a terrific show, and the perfect opportunity to highlight everything that's great about our nation. Americans should also take pride in our freedoms, particularly as the crackdowns by the Chinese government on the press continue to gain steam(Free FireJoeMorgan.com!) over the coming weeks. We'll be watching.

Represent us well in Beijing, Team USA!

-- Air Force Capt. Eli Bremer, modern pentathlon;
-- Air Force Capt. Seth Kelsey, epee fencing;
-- Air Force Capt. Kevin Eastler, 20-kilometer race walk;
-- Air Force Lt. Col. Dominic Grazioli, trap shooting;
-- Army Staff Sgt. Dremiel Byers, Greco-Roman wrestling;
-- Army Maj. Michael Anti, air rifle;
-- Army Staff Sgt. Keith Sanderson, rapid-fire pistol;
-- Army Pfc. Vincent Hancock, skeet;
-- Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Parker, air rifle;
-- Army Staff Sgt. Daryl Szarenski, free pistol;
-- Army Spc. Walton Glenn Eller III, double trap shooting;
-- Army Spc. Jeffrey Holguin, double trap shooting;
-- Army Staff Sgt. Libby Callahan, pistol shooting;
-- Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Bret E. Erickson, trap shooting; and
-- U.S. Military Academy Cadet Stephen Scherer, air rifle.