Bailiff spends time with troops in Afghanistan
Owls football coach reflects on a life-changing visit with soldiers overseas

	TOMMY LAVERGNE
	Owls Football coach David Bailiff discusses his nine-day tour of military installations in Afghanistan.

BY MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Special to the Rice News

Owls football coach David Bailiff spent nine days touring military installations and visiting troops stationed in Afghanistan alongside coaches Robb Akey, University of Idaho; Mickey Matthews, James Madison University; and Bobby Hauck, University Montana, and Army defensive coordinator Chris Smeland. On Wednesday, three days after his return stateside, Bailiff shared his experiences with the assembled media in the “R” Room above historic Rice Stadium.

Q: Is this experience something you will share with your players?

A: Absolutely. We play a game; those guys are fighting a war. But there is a lot of similarity … and I’m working on that right now when we talk to the team. When you see an 18-year-old on the fight line and you see some of the responsibilities these young people have, I think it’s going to increase the responsibilities I’m going to place on some of our 18-year-olds, because they sure handle it over there.

Q: Have you had time to privately reflect on making the correlation between what you saw in Afghanistan and what you expect of your players?

A: I kept a really complete journal of everything that we did, and I have started to prepare some of our two-a-day talks now. But when I got back I had to go to Dallas (Tuesday) night, so I really haven’t had a lot of time to sit down and really (reflect). I’m really looking forward to reading my journal just to stimulate the things I guarantee I’ve already forgotten that I’ve seen.

Q: Did you ever feel endangered at any point?

A: The one night we were in Bagram — and you’ve got to remember we’re just football coaches — in the desert, and we thought it was a thunderstorm until the Army came in to do a head count because we just had a rocket attack. But we weren’t afraid because we didn’t know what it was. Other than that, no. They really did a good job of making sure we were safe. They actually cancelled a couple of places we were going because it had turned into such a hot zone.

Q: Will you watch and read the news a little differently now from having been in Afghanistan?

A: You do. (Tuesday) night I tried to find some local news and national news of how it’s being reported because now I’ve gone over there and have firsthand knowledge of how the soldiers feel about it.

Q: How much were you on the go during your stay?

A: We would work in stretches, and one stretch was 30 hours because of the way you have to move over there — they call them “show times” and “go times.” So if our go time was 6:30 when our flight was suppose to leave, they’d get us up at three in the morning. We did some long stretches. We didn’t go over there and get much R-and-R in. They kept us busy.

Q: What touched you the most?

A: Their attitude. When they talk of their families back home, it’s heartwarming to sit there and talk to a guy whose son had made the all-star team. To look at their family pictures and just how passionate they were about what they’re doing. Really what caught me off guard was how they believe in the cause. With every man and woman, I didn’t hear any complaining over there.

Q: You’ve been very passionate about the building of your program. Do you feel emboldened from having experienced the passion of the military?

A: I’m looking at everything through a fresh set of eyes. Just by going over there I’m going to increase my expectation of this football team. I think I’m a better person from having gone over there. It impacted me to where I look forward to sitting down and reflecting on just what happened over there. Those people are amazing, every person I met. Everyone from a private to a general just believed in everything they’re doing and wanted us back home to understand how important it was.

Q: Were you anxious to return home?

A: To be honest, I wish we could have stayed longer to see more soldiers because they appreciated the fact that we were from America and we were over there saying, “Thanks.” I wasn’t ready to come home.