Captain Kuwik Returns to Bobcat Coaching Staff :: Ohio men's basketball assistant coach completes military service in Iraq

Dec. 22, 2005

ATHENS, Ohio - "Welcome back Kevin! Now find out how we're going to beat Kentucky. And what recruits do we have coming in? Were there any good players in Iraq?"

Those were the first words jokingly uttered by Ohio University head men's basketball coach Tim O'Shea upon seeing Bobcat assistant coach Kevin Kuwik in his Convocation Center office this morning for the first time since reporting for military service in October 2004.

Kuwik, an Army engineer captain who was called back into active duty off the Individual Ready Reserve, spent almost 12 months in Mosul, Iraq, serving his country as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"It was such a long year but for the last month it was exciting knowing that it was our last time around and that we were going to be leaving soon," said Kuwik about his last few weeks in a combat zone. "And obviously with basketball season starting up, I was really anticipating being back with the team."

Kuwik was stationed with the 113th Engineer Battalion just outside Mosul, the largest city in the northern part of Iraq. He flew in from Kuwait in early January and flew out on Dec. 5, just 10 days before the Iraqi parliamentary elections.

"I was a little surprised we were able to leave when we did because engineers play a huge role in elections with protecting all the polling sites," Kuwik said. "We were being replaced by a company with just 25 percent of the strength that we had so up in Mosul, they were taking a real hit engineer-capability-wise. That made us think they wouldn't let us go until after the election.

"On the other hand, once you're in a combat zone for over a year, every month after that you make an extra $1,000 so the Army tries to prevent that. It really takes some serious hurdles to clear to be able to get a unit to stay in theater for longer than a year. Thankfully, they kept their word and we're here in time for Christmas."

From Iraq, Kuwik's unit spent a week in Kuwait before flying home. Late on the night of Dec. 13, the battalion arrived at Camp Atterbury just south of Indianapolis to an emotional welcome.

"We had a flight from Kuwait to Ireland to Indianapolis and we arrived there at about 10:30 at night," said Kuwik. "Because of customs, they don't let anybody meet you at the airport so we got off the plane and shook hands with some dignitaries. After going through customs and filling out some paperwork, we loaded some buses and went to the division armory, where they had all the families waiting.

"It was almost midnight when we got there and no one had any idea what it was going to be like. They lined us up outside the gym and then opened up the large overhead garage door and we marched in there. It was a large horseshoe of people who were cheering and waving flags and holding signs. It was a real sentimental moment and made us all feel good about what we had done and that it was appreciated."

Kuwik found his parents, Ed and Karen, in the crowd and the first thing he heard from his mother was, "This is the best Christmas present I've ever had!"

"That was one of the most touching situations I have ever been in," said Kevin's father. "To see 200 soldiers march in to the facility shoulder-to-shoulder with the American flag was just heartwarming. There wasn't a dry eye in the whole armory."

The Kuwiks hail from Lackawanna, N.Y., a blue-collar town of around 20,000 on the southern outskirts of Buffalo. Ed has been an elected public official for over 30 years there, the last 23 as an Erie County legislator. Karen, meanwhile, is a first grade teacher at Truman Elementary School in Lackawanna and both his younger brothers, Keith and Mark, still live in the Buffalo area.

"When you have someone serving in a combat zone like Iraq, you live with the fear every single day," Ed Kuwik said. "Knowing they are in a hazardous situation, you don't know if you're going to get a knock on the door or a phone call and it just lives with you on a daily basis. My wife had some sleepless nights and probably had one of the most extensive prayer groups ever in history because she had everyone praying for him and we sincerely believe that helped."

On Dec. 14, Kevin's parents drove him to Cincinnati to attend the Bobcats' game against the Cincinnati Bearcats. He surprised the team by showing up in the locker room an hour before tip-off. Sitting at the end of the bench, he watched the young Ohio squad play well in the first half before eventually succumbing to the Bearcats in the second half.

On hand for that game was Andy Katz, a college basketball analyst for ESPN who picked the Bobcats as his "It" team for 2005-06 in his preseason column. That night and the following morning, an interview of Kuwik by Katz was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter highlight show.

After three more days at Camp Atterbury, Kuwik was finally able to return completely to civilian life and boarded a plane to Buffalo. His parents had planned a welcome home party in his hometown with over 250 invitations ready to send out. Kevin, however, nixed the idea because he didn't want the special treatment. Regardless, over 100 family members and friends still greeted him at the airport when he landed. Flags, welcome-home signs and television crews were all present for Kuwik's return to his hometown.

"I figured my family would be there but when I walked down through the terminal and through the security checkpoint and I saw all those people, I was actually pretty embarrassed," Kuwik said. "It was great, though, it really was."

His stay in Lackawanna lasted three days and included an impromptu gathering at the local American Legion Post that his grandfather, Al Kuwik, helped to establish following World War II. Yesterday, Dec. 21, Kuwik and his father drove to Athens so Kevin could restart his life and career on the Bobcat coaching staff.

"Whenever you drive into Athens and see all the buildings and the South Green portion of campus from the highway across the river, it just tugs at you," said Kuwik. "It's a college town with life and enthusiasm and that always energizes me."

Kuwik spent his first evening back in Athens trying to resettle in his house and reconnecting with friends who had not seen him since March, when he took his two-week leave early so he could rejoin the Ohio squad during its Mid-American Conference Tournament championship run.

At approximately 8:15 this morning, Kuwik gave a live interview to Dana Jacobson on ESPN2's Cold Pizza morning show, talking about his military experience in Iraq and his return to the college basketball coaching ranks. Tonight he will be at the end of the bench for the Bobcats' home game against Detroit but come Monday, Kuwik will again be a full-time basketball coach.

"We're all thrilled to have him back," said O'Shea, who promised to keep Kuwik's position on the staff available while he was serving in the military. "I think his transition back will be seamless. He'll have a little burst of publicity but once that's over with, I expect things to settle down and just get back to a sense of normalcy around here."

The Bobcats are 5-1 heading into tonight's match-up against the 6-5 Titans. They will then face No. 19 Kentucky on Dec. 30 in Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena - an 8 p.m. contest that will be televised on ESPN2 - before beginning MAC play on Jan. 4 at home against Western Michigan.

"I'm definitely looking forward to Monday when I can get out there and release all this pent up energy from this past year on the guys," Kuwik said. "Hopefully, I can help us keep getting better as we try to win another MAC championship."

"Kevin has a work ethic like nobody else," said O'Shea. "I've been in coaching a long time and it can attract some obsessive-compulsive personalities but I've never met anybody who had the combination of work ethic and smarts that Kevin has. He'll put in whatever it takes and he has real leadership qualities."

For Kuwik, the experience of serving in Iraq has opened his eyes to new ways of problem solving and dealing with obstacles both big and small.

"To be in Iraq and see real-life adversity instead of just sports adversity was a good lesson for me," Kuwik said. "I think that's something I'll always be able to draw on. It has made me more patient and has made me appreciate things more, which hopefully I can impart on our players."

While some soldiers returning from theaters of war have problems readjusting to civilian life, Kuwik has shown no such lack of focus. Watching his first practice of the season Thursday afternoon, the 31-year-old was all smiles as the team went through its 60-minute shoot-around.

"I think his journal on the website really helped him a lot because it kept things in perspective," said Kevin's father of the Letters from Captain Kuwik feature on ohiobobcats.com. "It kept his mind on what's ahead and that kept his spirits up. I think that was important because now that he's back, psychologically he's in good shape and he's into the flow of things right away."

"One of the things that makes it such a joy for me to work here is the fact that everybody gets along so well in our program," O'Shea said. "It was a galvanizing moment for us when Kevin left and it really brought us even closer together. I think him coming back just builds on that chemistry that we have as a team."