Wake Forest's Grobe Witnesses Another Form of Teamwork with Troops
By David Droschak (Posted 6-15-09)

We see the intensity and strain of college coaches on the sideline as games unfold on TV -- their faces and reputations as sports figures cemented in our public consciousness.

But things aren’t all business with these guys.

Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe returned recently with a group of high-profile college football coaches who embarked on a goodwill tour for the American troops in places such as Iraq, Kuwait, Somalia and Germany.

“We went over thinking we were going to pump them up and I think it worked the other way,” Grobe told SportsUnlimited Magazine in an interview over the weekend. “We came back really feeling good about the people who are serving in the military and the patriotism and the commitment to the job. It makes you proud.”

The nine-day trip began with a visit to Air Force bases in Kansas and Illinois before the first overseas stop in Germany. The group of coaches included Grobe, Mack Brown of Texas, Jim Tressel of Ohio State, Houston Nutt of Mississippi, Troy Calhoun of Air Force, Rick Neuheisel of UCLA and former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.

Grobe said he first garnered interest in the trip a few years ago when the late Skip Prosser, then the head basketball coach at Wake Forest, returned from a goodwill mission to Kuwait called Operation Hardwood 2007.      

“They played some basketball with the guys over there and as soon as Skip got back he came right in my office and said, ‘Gobbie I’ve got something you’ve got to do, you’ll love this’ because he knew I had been a coach at Air Force for 11 years.”

Grobe wanted to go last offseason, but the dates didn’t work out. When the trip was offered again for late May and early June 2009, he jumped at the opportunity.

“I called Mack Brown and one thing led to another and the next thing I knew I was on a KC-135 heading overseas,” Grobe said. “It is another world in Iraq. There is not a lot of grass or flowers growing. It’s a desert, a really dry, hot environment. We didn’t get to tour the country a lot, but it’s pretty hot and our troops have to wear a lot of body armor – it’s tough duty.”