United States News
See other United States News Articles
Title: Heroic HBO bigwig volunteers for A'stan
Source:
NY Post
URL Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ ... ecision_NRIg8C7Et5t7VqQ8oTMtbP
Published: Mar 28, 2011
Author: SELIM ALGAR
Post Date: 2011-03-28 10:54:21 by Happy Quanzaa
Keywords: None
Views: 10280
Comments: 10
He's trading ringside glamour for frontline danger. A rising HBO Sports executive has abandoned the Manhattan high life to enlist in the Army -- and will land in Afghanistan any day now as just another grunt. Luis Barragan Ferrer, 39, left his prestigious position as director of sports programming at the network late last year and set out for a Georgia boot camp. Voluntarily. "I just feel that I owe this country a great deal," Barragan said by phone as he prepared for deployment in the battle zone. "I never believed that my education or professional success absolved me of a duty to serve." HBO Chairman and CEO Bill Nelson, himself a volunteer Vietnam vet who rose to become an entertainment-industry titan, said, "This is the purest enlistment I am aware of. "The perception is that people join the Army because they are suffering from some form of hardship. But Luis had none of those motivations," Nelson said. Influential in HBO's boxing division, Barragan, a lawyer, chose a two-year departure into peril over his swanky Chelsea condo and regular work assignments in Las Vegas. Leaving behind his fiancée, Eden Gonzales, only made the decision more grueling. "I had to stop myself from crying when he first told me," Gonzales said. "I was just worried what might happen. But when you care for someone, you have to let them pursue their goals. He knows I'll stick by him no matter what." Barragan, who went to the University of California at Berkeley and has a law degree from Georgetown, said he simply followed his conscience. His bewildered bosses thought he was joking when he first told them he was contemplating the move. Some even gently encouraged him to seek out psychiatric assistance. "I asked him to speak to somebody about it, just so that he could really understand what his motivations were," acknowledged HBO vice president of programming Kery Davis. "To be honest, I had mixed feelings." The boxing world scratched its collective head. "There was a lot of shock and amazement when Luis made his decision," legendary boxing promoter Don King told The Post. "To leave what a lot of people would see as a dream job to go fight for the freedom that we enjoy here in America is pretty incredible." Retired boxing superstar Oscar De La Hoya added: "Most people do not have the courage and fortitude that Luis has, and he should be commended for this selfless act." Whenever doubts crept in, Barragan revisited his motivations and thought about his mom, a single mother of Mexican heritage who raised him and two siblings by herself. "We are all successes now by any measure," he said. "That's definitely a testament to her, but I don't believe it would have been possible in any other country. I just want to give back now." Barragan said he hopes to return to HBO after his tour. Nelson said he would always have a place at the network.
BRAVE: Luis Barragan Ferrer, here with his fiancée, Eden
Gonzalez, put on hold a career overseeing HBO boxing.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
He's a lawyer that graduated from Berkley and Georgetown. Chances are he is going there as a JAG officer,and will never leave the safety of his base. Going to live in most areas of Detroit or New Orleans would be more dangerous.
"I adore John McCain, support him 100 percent and will do everything I can to support his reelection. As everyone knows, I was honored and proud to run with him. And Todd and I were with him in D.C. just a week ago." (Sarah Palin,Dec 2009) ************************************ DID Palin say or write these things or not? (Me) I don't know or F ing care. (Mad Dog posted on 2009-12-26 16:36:33 ET,post # 105 http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=5510&Disp=114#C114)
The article describes him as "just another grunt".
40 year old grunts?
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Yeah,with a law degree from Georgetown. Do you REALLY think the reporter even knows what a "grunt" is?
"I adore John McCain, support him 100 percent and will do everything I can to support his reelection. As everyone knows, I was honored and proud to run with him. And Todd and I were with him in D.C. just a week ago." (Sarah Palin,Dec 2009) ************************************ DID Palin say or write these things or not? (Me) I don't know or F ing care. (Mad Dog posted on 2009-12-26 16:36:33 ET,post # 105 http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=5510&Disp=114#C114)
I don't see any bars on the guy's collar.
Me,either. Maybe that photo was taken while he was in basic training,and had no rank insignia?
"I adore John McCain, support him 100 percent and will do everything I can to support his reelection. As everyone knows, I was honored and proud to run with him. And Todd and I were with him in D.C. just a week ago." (Sarah Palin,Dec 2009) ************************************ DID Palin say or write these things or not? (Me) I don't know or F ing care. (Mad Dog posted on 2009-12-26 16:36:33 ET,post # 105 http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=5510&Disp=114#C114)
That thing that most liberals are lacking.
I think you're wrong on this one petey. He's an E-4/Specialist in the picture with basic in Georgia.
You've got better eyes than me because I see nothing on his collars,but he might be a E-4 while attending officer prep school. I just don't see the army letting a Georgetown lawyer serve in any other position than as a JAG.
"I adore John McCain, support him 100 percent and will do everything I can to support his reelection. As everyone knows, I was honored and proud to run with him. And Todd and I were with him in D.C. just a week ago." (Sarah Palin,Dec 2009) ************************************ DID Palin say or write these things or not? (Me) I don't know or F ing care. (Mad Dog posted on 2009-12-26 16:36:33 ET,post # 105 http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=5510&Disp=114#C114)
His rank is in the middle of his chest. What we used to call Spec-4 is now Specialist, as there are no longer Spec-5, 6 or 7 ranks in the Army. I'm having difficulty digging up details. The boxing world and journalists seem to know little about the military.
#2. To: sneakypete (#1)
JAG officer
#3. To: Happy Quanzaa (#2)
The article describes him as "just another grunt".
#4. To: Happy Quanzaa (#2)
The article describes him as "just another grunt".
#5. To: sneakypete (#4)
#6. To: Happy Quanzaa (#5)
I don't see any bars on the guy's collar.
#7. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
Barragan, who went to the University of California at Berkeley and has a law degree from Georgetown, said he simply followed his conscience.
#8. To: sneakypete (#1)
Chances are he is going there as a JAG officer,and will never leave the safety of his base.
#9. To: Fred Mertz (#8)
He's an E-4/Specialist in the picture with basic in Georgia.
#10. To: sneakypete (#9)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]