Coach Missing Second Football Season

Photo By Sgt. Nicole Kojetin | Maj. (Coach) Ricky Cox, with the South Carolina Army National Guard, deployed to western Baghdad, with the 151st Field Artillery Brigade in August 2006. When he is not serving his country overseas, Cox teaches drafting and pre-engineering classes at the Saint James High School in Murrels Inlet, S.C., and coaches football and baseball.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

09.29.2007

Courtesy Story

Multi-National Division Baghdad

Multi-National Division-Baghdad

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – With the 2007 junior varsity football season underway, the Saint James Sharks are again without their defensive coordinator, Coach Ricky Cox.

A major with the South Carolina Army National Guard, Cox deployed to western Baghdad, with the 151st Field Artillery Brigade in August 2006.

As the transition battle major for the Multi-National Division-Baghdad Fire and Effects cell, Cox and his staff oversee efforts to return Iraqi provinces back to the sole control of Iraqi government officials.

"At this time, most of the provincial governments in the Baghdad area are unable to function without Coalition assistance," Cox said. "Our job is to provide these local governments with whatever logistical and training support they need to become self-reliant."

The ultimate goal, Cox said, is to establish a civilian government capable of maintaining law and order so that coalition forces may withdraw.

Although Cox regrets that he will miss a second football season, he believes that his time serving in a war zone will ultimately improve his coaching.

"The Army always emphasizes teamwork and maintaining a positive attitude," Cox stated. "If those principles will make a unit successful in war, they will certainly help a team succeed in a game!"

From Baghdad, Cox wishes the Sharks the best of luck and looks forward to reading about their games in the online section of the local newspaper.

"If I can't be their coach," he said with a smile, "I will be their biggest fan!"

As far as the old adage that football is war, Cox is adamant that the two have absolutely nothing in common.

"It's ridiculous to compare the two," he says. "One is a game that people enjoy playing, the other is a serious business where people die."

When he is not serving his country overseas, Cox teaches drafting and pre-engineering classes at the Saint James High School in Murrels Inlet, S.C. Besides football, Cox helps coach the Saint James Varsity baseball team. As the 151st Field Artillery Brigade prepares to redeploy to America in October, Cox declared, "At least I will be home for baseball season!"

• Date Taken: 09.29.2007
• Date Posted: 10.01.2007 13:05
• Story ID: 12647
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ