Caleb Campbell was just months from a life of sitting on the bench by day, and scoring trickle down coochie from Calvin Johnson by night as a member of the Detroit Lions.

But now he has a pretty good chance of being sent to Afghanistan or Iraq on behalf of the U.S. Army. Campbell attended West Point Military Academy and was picked by the Lions in the seventh round of the NFL draft in April. Before entering the NFL draft he was told that he’d be able to serve as a military recruiter while simultaneously living his football dreams, but a policy change by the Department Of Defense changed everything.

In a letter to Lions president Matt Millen dated Wednesday, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jonathan P. Liba wrote that Campbell has been ordered to give up professional football for “full-time traditional military duties.”

Campbell will be able to request a release from active military duty in 2010 (and we all know how NFL teams just LOVE 7th round draft picks that haven’t played in two years).

This is probably the most screwed story I’ve heard all week, is the armed forces THAT strapped for soldiers that they need to pull people out of the NFL? Maybe the tried and true method of trolling for young black & latinos men in the hood is becoming ineffective.