ARLINGTON (KFDX/KJTL) — The buses that pull up to AT&T Stadium in Arlington usually involve the Dallas Cowboys. But this time, instead of football players, the buses were carrying members of the U.S. armed forces for the USAA’s Salute to Service Boot Camp.

For years, Scott Cook with USAA has been instrumental in bringing military personnel to Arlington for the boot camp. Whenever they arrive, he said he never gets tired of the reactions on the soldiers’ faces when they walk onto the field.

“I tell you, just watching them when they walk into the stadium and how their jaws drop and the looks on their faces, to be here because it’s one thing to come in and sit in the stands,” Cook said. “It’s another thing to be walking on this turf.”

Personnel out of Fort Hood and Fort Sill and representing the Army, Navy and Marines, competed at the boot camp. Each team competed in running NFL-style drills, like the 40-yard dash or the 3-cone shuttle. The chance to run those drills in an NFL stadium turned a normally trivial competition into a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Our soldiers and sailors and marines are athletes, and you’re going to see that some of them would be very competitive athletes,” Cook said. “But yeah, they’re so competitive. They’re going to love to see that score pop up when they finish that run or whatever event it is.”

Among the many athletes turned soldiers was Sgt. Sadie Clark is out of Fort Hood. She took full advantage of the opportunity to compete in this setting.

“I think it’s amazing because, for Army-wise, we do PT every morning, and then sometimes we get sports at the end of the week, so we get to come out here and show our skills, what we got,” Clark said.

While those who were there to compete showed off their skills, those who weren’t, like Staff Sgt. Chris Giner from Fort Sill was soaking in the moment in a different way.

“You know, a goal for me today was just to catch a pass in the endzone of the Dallas Cowboys stadium,” Giner said. “I saw a lot of guys out there who wanted to do the same thing. Just feel what that’s like to walk in that endzone and catch a ball in there.”

Regardless of how each soldier embraced the moment at AT&T Stadium, the boot camp was a way for each soldier and sailor to unwind while also remembering why they do what they do.

“It’s nice to step away for a second,” Giner said. “Even on the bus ride here, we’re all chit-chatting, having good conversation and it reminds us we’re all family. And one way or another, as branches serving the country, we’re family together. So, to share this kind of thing with each other is real special.”

After the boot camp’s final whistle, all soldiers and sailors left the stadium feeling recharged and fired up to continue serving with a competitive edge.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com.