Three members of the NIU men’s rugby team don’t just share their love of rugby; they have also served our country.

Huskies rugby vice president Ryan Dertinger served for five years in the United States Army as a combat medic. Thaddeus Hupp spent six years on active duty as an F-18 mechanic in the United States Navy, and is currently a member of the naval reserves. John Berg spent four years as a grunt who specialized in demolition and rockets in the Marine Corps. He is also still a member of the Navy Reserves.

Even though it may be hard to believe, there are plenty of similarities between the military and the sport of rugby.

“The physical demand that it requires you to have [is the same,]” Dertinger said. “You have to be aware of what’s going on at all times. You have 30 guys who are out on the field and bodies flying everywhere.”

First-year player Hupp, said the team aspect of the sport is also similar to military service.

“Not [only] one person can play rugby; it’s a team effort,” Hupp said. “We have our front side and our back side. They have two different missions out on a rugby field: Everybody has everybody’s back on and off the field.”

Dertinger said the military teaches another quality that is helpful both on the rugby field and in life.

“The military instills the ability to be a leader not only for leading by example, but also being able to work as a team,” Dertinger said.

First-year player Berg said rugby’s physical nature and violence drew him to the sport.

“It’s rough,” Berg said. “I get to crack people’s heads, and get to beat people up. That’s probably what interested me.”

Berg, a freshman mechanical engineering major, said having fellow veterans on the team has its benefits.

“It’s kind of more like a bonding thing,” Berg said. “They went through the same experience [in the military]. There’s more of a clique there than with your average college kid.”