49ers OL Ben Garland balances NFL career with National Guard service
The San Francisco offensive lineman spoke to Yahoo Sports about how he continued his family's Air Force history and how his service has continued during his pro football career. Ben joined Yahoo Sports thanks to USAA, who created PoppyInMemory.com to help educate Americans on how to properly honor those who have died in military service this Memorial Day.
Video Transcript
BEN GARLAND: We've had family be in the Air Force ever since it broke off from the Army and Army Air Corps and the Army Signal Corps. And we've had a Colonel Garland in the Air Force for a long time. So I was proud to kind of follow in their footsteps and be a part of that heritage.
My grandfather's always been one of my biggest heroes, and he retired as a colonel in the Air Force. And I think a lot of things that made my grandfather the man he is is the service. And that's a big reason why I joined, just to be more like the man he is. And I knew that it set the foundation of who he was. And I really thought to be the best person I could be, a great way to do that was to join the military.
Right now, I'm the base executive of the 140. Previously, I served as the public affairs officer. But I try to go back as often as I can. It's one of those things where I do about 48 four-hour blocks each offseason.
The Guards have been great working with me as well with my schedule. Obviously, most Guards members work on the weekends, but Sundays in the NFL are pretty important. So they've been great with being able to use those days and using alternate days to really make up the days that I missed in the offseason. So it's been great working with them. I absolutely love my time back when I'm working with them. Just great people to be able to spend your offseason with.
I think it teaches you a lot of things that really help you be a good football player. You talk about the teamwork, the dedication, how to be able to sacrifice, and just the leadership skills that you gain as becoming an officer in the Air Force I think really work well on the field as well. I'm really excited about this opportunity to partner with USAA and really honor Memorial Day in the way it should be and just pay tribute to those who have fallen and made that ultimate sacrifice and show support for their family as well.
A lot of Americans make a mistake and they thank veterans for their service during this weekend when in reality it's just for those who have fallen, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in honor of our country. Not only is it a great learning tool, but it's also a great area where you can pay digital tribute to those who have fallen and just kind of learn more and really just use it as a time of remembrance and to thank them for what they did.
