In 2011, the NFL launched their Salute to Service initiative to honor, empower and connect the nation's service members, veterans and their families. The NFL had a long history of supporting the United States' armed forces prior to 2011, but the new campaign – spanning across the entire month of November – would help elevate and emphasize the NFL's appreciation for the military and its veterans.
In 2011, Luke Rhodes was 18 years old. Alec Pierce was 11. Jaylon Jones was nine.
Rhodes and Jones were part of military families; Rhodes' father served in the Marines, and both of Jones' parents were in the Navy. Rhodes was playing college football at William and Mary and Jones had just moved from Japan to Texas.
As for Pierce, living in Illinois, he didn't know it yet, but two of his childhood friends would end up joining the Army Rangers.
At the time, none of the three players knew they would play in the NFL. They all had the dream of making it to the big leagues one day, of course, but in 2011, that was all it was: a goal to reach.
In 2024, that dream has become a reality. They get to put on a Colts jersey and play football in front of tens of thousands of people every Sunday, and they wouldn't be there without their friends and family.
Rhodes, the Colts long snapper currently in his ninth year in the NFL, credits the discipline with which he operates to his father, Doug. Doug played football himself, as a linebacker at the United States Naval Academy, and went on to become a Marine; he flew helicopters for 22 years before joining the Marine Corps Reserves and flying medevac helicopters.
"Growing up, he would be gone on drills and stuff, and we'd come down and we visited him a few times in North Carolina, at Camp Lejeune," Rhodes remembered. "So it was pretty cool."
Doug was also Rhodes' coach in baseball and football growing up, but sports weren't the only thing he taught his son.
"A common trait among the military is discipline, self-discipline, and just being responsible for everything that I'm supposed to be responsible for," Rhodes said. "Managing my responsibilities and determination and hard work and all of the things that come with what's required of military personnel."
Much of Rhodes' "coaching" on how to take responsibility and work hard came by simply watching how his father lived his life and "learning by example, and all that good stuff," Rhodes explained.
"It translates kind of directly," Rhodes said about how his upbringing has helped him succeed in the NFL. "A lot of what we do is out of the eyes of people and coaches and stuff. So it takes a lot of self-discipline to continue working and trying to get better in everything that we're doing."
Jones' story is somewhat similar, as he grew up watching his father, Virgil, and his mother, Alisha, both serve in the United States Navy. The Colts cornerback saw his parents stick to their routines and stay consistent in providing for their family and serving their country, and began to follow their example as he grew older.
"When you're younger, you don't really know nothing," Jones explained. "But as you get older, you start seeing the things that your mom and dad was doing. It just kind of feeds off you going into adulthood and for me, going into manhood."
Jones' parents gave him more than just a positive example (or two) to look up to, though. They gave him a different perspective on life.
"Just how they carried themselves, and definitely moving around and things like that," Jones said. "I really thank them for just raising me the way they did, because it really helps maneuvering through life."
By the time he was nine years old, Jones had already moved four times. He was born in Jacksonville, Fla., moved to Miami and went overseas to Japan when he was four. When Jones was eight, he and his family moved back to the United States and settled in Cibolo, Texas.
But Jones, even at 22 years old, still remembers his time overseas like it was yesterday.
"It was like the beginning of my childhood," he said. "It really helped coming back to the States because, you know, understanding what's going on across the world and just how life is."
Jones said even now, he'll have conversations with his friends and teammates to share the different perspectives he has based off his childhood experiences. After all, it's a background not many people in the United States – much less an NFL locker room – have.
Pierce brings yet another perspective; two of his childhood friends, Cal and Jackson, are United States Army Rangers.
The three went to elementary school together – Pierce and Cal even went to preschool together – before Cal went to a different high school and they all went to different colleges. But they still kept in touch, as childhood friends do, as they pursued their passions.
Much like Pierce knew he wanted to play football, Cal knew he wanted to join the military – and the Rangers – from a young age. For him to make it to Ranger school was anything but a surprise to Pierce.
"All his life, he was on kind of the straight arrow path," Pierce explained. "He went to private school, he always played hockey. And then he went and played hockey at West Point. He wanted to do it all his life."
Jackson, on the other hand, went to college and was part of the ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Camp) program before realizing he wanted something a little bit different. So, he enlisted in the Army and, after performing well in basic training, was selected to go to Ranger school.
"It's kind of cool to see how they both ended up in the same place," Pierce said.
Pierce said now, Cal is pretty much done with his training while Jackson passed Ranger school but still is still doing training.
"Going to Ranger school is crazy," Pierce said. "(Jackson) said the hardest part is you don't sleep much at all, you don't eat much, you lose a ton of weight. You sleep like two hours a night, probably eat a meal or two a day, walking 20-plus hours a day, carrying stuff."
And yet, they still have the time to keep up with Pierce's NFL career.
Both Cal and Jackson are huge football fans, the wide receiver said, and therefore turned into Colts fans when Pierce joined the team in 2022. This season, Cal has been to the Colts' games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (where Pierce had a career-high 134 receiving yards and a touchdown) and Tennessee Titans, and Jackson made it to Wisconsin to watch Pierce do the Lambeau Leap in the Colts' game against the Green Bay Packers.
Neither will be able to attend the Colts' Week 10 game against the Buffalo Bills, the team's Salute to Service game, but Pierce wanted to make sure his friends were still honored and recognized for their service.
"I know how much work they put in, how hard they've worked to get where they're at," Pierce added. "I'm just proud of them and what they're doing for our country."
The NFL's Salute to Service initiative means something different to everyone involved with it, depending on their background and connection to the military. But one thing they all agree with is that they're glad the effort to recognize past and present military members and their families is being made.
"Any way that our military is supported is huge," Rhodes said. "I don't necessarily know that they get enough attention or funding, even retired military, so I think bringing light to any situation like this is beneficial."
"It means the world to me," Jones said. "Just having my parents serve in the military and the different perspective on life (they gave me) through all the moving around, and the sacrifices they made for me and my siblings. Just saluting all the vets out there for keeping our country safe, it means everything to me."
"We wouldn't be anything, this country wouldn't be anything without our veterans," Pierce said. "Protecting us, protecting our rights, fighting for our rights, so very appreciative of them."
