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FBF Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: New York
Posts: 9,304
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Trip of a lifetime
Quote:
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - Tom Coughlin is enjoying the trip of a lifetime, and he’s in a place few Americans would visit voluntarily.
Coughlin is one of five current or former head coaches who are in Iraq on the inaugural NFL-USO Coaches Tour. He is traveling with former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher; Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher; former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden; and Ravens coach John Harbaugh. The coaches arrived in Iraq on Wednesday night and traveled to two U.S. bases on Thursday.
“It’s some trip – unbelievable,” Coughlin said today by phone from Baghdad. “The soldiers were so gracious and they were so anxious to see us. They are truly genuine in their expression of joy that we’re here for them, that we would take the time to come and see them. And that has been very, very meaningful for us. They have treated us extremely well and shown genuine excitement that we’re here. We have expressed to them our thoughts on why we truly believe in what they’re doing and are thankful for why we’re here.”
Coughlin, a fervent admirer of the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces, was originally invited to Iraq by Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the commanding general of the multi-national force in Iraq. Odierno is a Rockaway, N.J. native and Giants fan who has made several visits to Giants Stadium and the team’s training camp in Albany.
When Coughlin was approached by the NFL about traveling to Iraq, he made it clear he wanted to spend time with Gen. Odierno. That has not yet been an issue, because the general traveled with all of the coaches on Thursday.
Coughlin and Co. came together Tuesday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. They took a 13-hour flight to Kuwait.
“It’s a long trip,” Coughlin said. “We were three hours delayed coming out of Dulles and we flew all night. We lost July 1 – we don’t have a clue as to what happened to July 1. You fly up over the top. It seemed like in a very few minutes we were at Albany and we flew over Greenland. It’s a long flight, but we flew United and the first-class accommodations were fabulous, as good as you’re going to get. We were supposed to land at 5:15 (p.m.)and we landed a little after seven.”
After spending a few hours in Kuwait, the group boarded a prop plane for Baghdad. That’s when the journey started to get very interesting.
“When you’re 15 minutes outside of Baghdad you have to shut all the lights off on the plane,” Coughlin said. “The first part of the adventure was going in there; you land in sandstorms and darkness. The airport in Kuwait is a bustling place and then when you get over to Iraq it’s a little bit different.”
The coaches and the rest of the traveling party were met at the airport by Gen. Odierno’s Chief of Staff, perhaps a dozen soldiers and, as Coughlin said, “all kinds of people.” They were driven to their hotel, which is actually one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces that he had built on a man-made lake. Immediately after checking in at about 1 a.m., the coaches were briefed about the following day’s activities.
"None of us could sleep – we were all wired,” Coughlin said. “We were all up at five – all five of us are in one room.”
After breakfast, the coaches were transported to Gen. Odierno's headquarters at Al Faw, which is another former Hussein palace. The general briefed the coaches on the recent developments in Iraq, including this week’s American pull back out of Iraqi cities.
At about 8:15 a.m. (1:15 eastern time), the group took a helicopter to the airport, where they boarded three C-35 jets and flew to Mosul, the site of an American military base in northern Iraq.
“It is a hot spot,” Coughlin said, and he wasn’t referring to the temperature. “If there is any terrorist activity, it has occurred more often up there. They lost three soldiers two days ago up there. This is what the general meant when he told me he wanted to take me to the most remote spots in Iraq and talk to the soldiers. General Bob Brown is the commander of the post up there.
“When you get up there, you know you’re in a war zone. The soldiers are all armed, they’re all on combat alert. There are concrete abutments on the outside of the buildings and sandbags on the inside of the windows. It’s hotter than hot. It’s in the 125-degree area. And that was prior to the sandstorms.”
On the base, Coughlin met a former West Point teammate of Mike Sullivan, the Giants’ wide receivers coach. Odierno and the coaches were then driven to the center of the base. The coaches each sat at a table and perhaps a thousand soldiers came through to get autographs signed, take photos or just chat with the visitors.
“This went on for quite a while, but we made sure we accommodated everybody,” Coughlin said.
From Mosul, the coaches were flown to an airbase near Kirkuk, which is not exactly a place for rest and relaxation.
“It is another extremely fortified war zone,” Coughlin said. “We were met at the airport by all the brass, because General Odierno is with us. At this particular spot we went to a huge mess hall. Every place we go we’re introduced and we get a nice response, nice applause. In this place all five of us sat down at a table and they tried to organize it with each person coming through with pictures of us to sign. We signed them and then we stood or sat and took pictures with all the soldiers. That was again a lengthy time, but the soldiers were all very appreciative. The guys are great with the soldiers. They’ve really responded well.
“We had been introduced at Mosul by the commander of the troops and sent right to our tables. At Kirkuk, we were introduced by a guy who would introduce you at a boxing match. It was one of the soldiers (who said), ‘Heeeeere’s Jeff Fisher.’ I spoke at this place. Then we ate with the troops in the mess hall and we sat down and talked to them.”
Coughlin said it’s impossible to ignore the searing heat in Iraq.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “We were in a chopper that had its windows open. We got in the helicopter where the hot air poured in on you and it felt like it was 140 degrees. It was hot. Because of the sandstorms we’ve had some sand cover, so the sun is not always beating right down on us.”
In Kirkuk, Coughlin and Odierno did a live interview on FOX and Friends. Coughlin was asked about the similarity in leadership principles between football and the military.
“What the General always talks to me about is team,” Coughlin said. “I remember back in ’07, as we got ready to go to training camp, I received a letter on the eve of training camp from General Odierno. His message was about team. He was very flattering in his comments about the soldiers here in Iraq, the young women and men who represent our country. He talked about their beliefs; their belief in their leaders, but most of all their belief in each other. He talked about team and the way you have to serve each other in order to understand what the team concept is all about. His message has always been one of team and the message the New York Giants preach is always that of team.”
Coughlin was asked if the trip enabled him to gain a different perspective on the men and women serving in Iraq.
“I have been so impressed and so inspired by the attitude,” Coughlin said. “It is always one of attitude, whether we visit the Walter Reed hospital following the Super Bowl and talk to those wounded troops, their attitude to try and get back to serve their country, to rejoin their group. Or whether it is the attitude of these young men and women who are serving our country here, who believe in what they are doing. We are always impressed by that. I know that the troops here think that we inspire them, but believe me, they inspire us as well.”
After the visit in Kirkuk, Coughlin and the other coaches returned to Baghdad, where they attended a reception on a third-floor balcony at Al Faw.
“The balcony was huge,” Coughlin said. “There must have been 500 soldiers on that porch. Bill Cowher spoke for us. We broke off again and did 2½ hours of autograph signings for the soldiers and again the reception was outstanding. Then we returned to where we’re staying and had another meeting in terms of what is planned for tomorrow.”
Coughlin said he hoped to catch up on his sleep Thursday night. But he is excited about visiting many more soldiers and Marines when the coaches visit three more military bases on Friday.
“We spend a lot of time with them,” Coughlin said. “We ask them where they’re from and they tell us about their favorite NFL team. There are lots of guys from New York. And there are a lot of Steelers fans. The Steelers are well-represented everywhere. We have a pretty good representation. The Giants are pretty popular. You’ll meet people from New England who tell you they don’t like you or tell you they’re not from New England and thanks for beating the Patriots.
“When I spoke, I expressed that the NFL and the military has often inspired one another,” Coughlin said. “We want to thank them, because they put their lives in danger every day, so that we can have the freedoms at home that, quite frankly, a majority of the people take for granted. We’re here to tell them that we’re very, very proud to be here with our soldiers.”
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http://www.giants.com/news/headlines...story_id=37921
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Trip of a lifetime
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