The United Service Organizations sponsors morale missions, and when he signed up for Operation Hoop Talk, Gary Stewart was under the impression that it would be his job to supply the morale.
From the fighting spirit of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospitals to the casual courage of those engaged in active combat in Iraq, the UC Davis basketball coach said he found himself consistently inspired by the soldiers he met during meet-and-greet sessions.
Stewart spent 10 days in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Hoop Talk, a USO-sponsored tour. Stewart, five other college coaches and a former NBA scout toured military hospitals in Washington and Bethesda, Md., as well as bases in Kuwait and Iraq.
It was an eye-opening experience. "Whether you're for the war or not for the war, you can't help but marvel at the ability of our service people to do their jobs," Stewart said this week during a wide-ranging discussion with The Enterprise. "We have the best people. I was awestruck by every one of the soldiers I met. ... I would go back in a heartbeat."
This was the inaugural trip for Operation Hoop Talk, which was modeled after Operation Hardwood. But while the Hardwood event has more of a basketball focus, Hoop Talk focuses more on the meet-and-greets, as coaches and troops share stories and build relationships. There was one game, between the Army and the Air Force at a base in Mosul, in which Stewart acted as an official for the first 15 minutes before returning to the Air Force sideline.
Stewart traveled with Jeff Bzdelik (Colorado), Ed Conroy (The Citadel), Jim Crews (Army), Dave Leitao (Virginia) and Jeff Nix (former scout for the New York Knicks). They visited wounded soldiers near the capital, spent time at Camp Arfijan in Kuwait and visited bases in Mosul and Balad in Iraq. A scheduled visit to Baghdad was canceled due to sandstorms.
And although the trip was called 'Operation Hoop Talk,' the discussions usually ranged away from basketball rather quickly.
"All of us, to a person on the trip, wanted to uplift the soldiers in some small way," Stewart said. "They gave more to you than you gave to them. You walked away spellbound by their stories, their attitude, their determination and commitment to one another and their singular focus to whatever task they had."
The trip started with a visit to Walter Reed and Bethesda, where coaches visited with recovering soldiers.
"I prepared myself to meet people who were tremendously dispirited, but that wasn't the case," Stewart said. "We met people that were fighting to walk again and people that were excited about their bodies healing and people that wanted to go back, and felt bad they weren't there with their fellow troops."
At bases in Mosul and Balad, the day-to-day realties of the war were on display.
While in Mosul, three soldiers were killed in gunfire attacks while the coaches were visited. In Balad, the sandstorms created a dangerous situation because radar has trouble picking up incoming mortars and rockets. There were four 'red-alerts' during the storm, although the all-clear came shortly afterward.
The coaches departed Balad for Kuwait on June 9 before returning to the United States.
"I can't put into words what the experience was like," Stewart said. "I've never been more proud of the people I met and came into contact with."
Stewart on trip to the Persian Gulf
On preparing for trip: "The one thing you have to keep in mind is the premise behind why you're going and what the mission is. You realize it's bigger than you. So you check your ego at the door, it's not about you. It's 100 percent focused on the soldiers. You understand that. And you understand it's going to be educational, and the mission is to create an uplifting experience for our men and women."
"They do a good job of telling you what they think you need to know. And you have a list of questions that you feel like you need answered. ... I was asked, can you wear a 45-pound bulletproof vest? If you're able to do that and walk, you'll be fine there."
On seeing people the same age as his players recovering from injuries: "That's extremely difficult. From the first second I stepped into the room with the first soldier, I wished my team was there. I would have loved to have seen their response to that visual and message I was getting. Seeing these kids, left an indelible mark. I'm reminded up that every step of the way. These are the high school classmates of the kids I'm coaching. That's still haunting me."
On seeing Kuwait for the first time: "It reminded me of Bakersfield with water. We drove and just the way the freeway was reminded me of Las Vegas. Then we go to a stretch by the water and there were all these mansions, the water is on the right the mansions on the left and you're thinking they're living the good life."
On keeping up with the NBA Finals: "They were aware of it. We had talks about that. The first game was at 4 in the morning and (Virgina coach) Dave (Leitao) and I got up to go watch it. There was a dispatch area where soldiers were able to go make phone calls and use a computer. The first game ended in time for breakfast. We were so turned around."
On how this trip changed him: 'I'm a person who doesn't feel as though he had to go on a trip like that to learn how fortunate and blessed I am. But it certainly reinforces that. It gave me a unique and different perspective about what's going on there and the challenges they face."