A new, crucial role for Matt McCormack

Role-playing is nothing new for Matt McCormack.

It's what McCormack was doing two years ago for the Conant boys basketball team coached by his dad Tom.

But now Matt McCormack is about to embark on his most vital role to help the most important team he's been a part of in his life.

On Jan. 20, McCormack's Marine Corps unit goes to Iraq to fight in the war that started in 2003. It's all part of his eventual dream of becoming a Marine fighter pilot.

So as most kids who would be sophomores in college are wondering what they're going to do in a few months for spring break, McCormack is preparing for the furthest thing from an overseas vacation.

And the reality McCormack is going to Iraq until mid-September started sinking in a few months ago.

"It opened my eyes and I started to realize, 'I'm going to go,' " McCormack said Monday afternoon, a day before he returned to California to prepare for his deployment. "I can't believe it's here already."

But he is clearly ready for the challenge. There are no second thoughts about the decision that one could say began taking shape years ago.

McCormack has always been fascinated with flying. He piloted a plane for the first time -- before he could drive a car -- during his freshman year at Conant.

A year later he made his first solo flight. As a junior he earned his pilot's license.

"When I get up in a plane and take off and control it and I'm up in the sky, I can't think of any place I'd rather be," said McCormack, who has roughly 120 hours of flight experience. "It's something I love doing."

After graduating from Conant, McCormack went to Lewis University in Romeoville for a major in Aviation Flight Management.

He also decided to enlist in the Marine reserves. McCormack said showing the commitment to the Marines would help him toward his goal of getting to officer candidate school and becoming a fighter pilot.

Little did he know how committed he would become. At the end of November 2006, he found out his unit was being deployed to Iraq.

A unit that includes Kevin Manusos, one of his best friends from Conant, who had joined a few months before McCormack. So, McCormack volunteered to change his deployment date so they could go to Iraq at the same time.

"I'm glad I did it," he said.

As for his parents Tom and Mary Pat, that was another story.

"They weren't thrilled about that one," Matt McCormack said with a laugh. "They weren't really happy about that."

But his parents have both said, "Once you're in, you're in 100 percent."

"It helps a lot," McCormack said of their full support.

McCormack left Lewis after a semester for 13 weeks of boot camp and eight weeks of School of Infantry training.

McCormack lost 43 pounds and called the combination of mental and physical challenges "one of the most difficult things I've ever done."

Even tougher than dad's early morning practices?

"Just a little bit," McCormack joked. "I wouldn't mind going back for those."

His unit mobilized to California in mid-September but he returned home for a week to celebrate Christmas with his family and watch Conant finish second in the York tournament.

It will be a much different world for McCormack in a few weeks.

He will be an 0311 Rifleman -- which is considered the foundation of the Marine infantry -- patrolling the streets in the al-Anbar province, the largest in Iraq just east of Baghdad. It has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the war.

"I feel I'm ready to go," McCormack said. "I've had some of the best training I could have had and they've prepared us well.

"I've done everything I can and I'm ready to get over there now."

McCormack knows, understands and believes in what he'll be doing in Iraq.

"I've paid a lot of attention to it," McCormack said of what's happened since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. "I'm very, very conservative. I've always been supportive of the war and I've always followed it."

It will actually push back his dreams since he won't return to Lewis until a year from now. If he decides to stick with his plan of becoming a Marine fighter pilot, he would need approximately three more years of training after college.

"Whether it's civilian or military, when I get back from this, that's the plan," McCormack said of flying planes for a living.

When McCormack gets back, his brother will also be married. He was supposed to be the best man in late June for Pat, who was an all-area guard at Conant and now teaches and coaches at Indiana powerhouse Indianapolis Warren Central.

Matt McCormack understands it's part of the sacrifices involved. Much like those his grandfather made as a Navy dive bomber in World War II and the Korean War.

And whether you're for or against this current war, a lot of people appreciate the sacrifices by those such as Matt McCormack.

"I see it as beneficial all the way around," McCormack said. "I'm going to fight for my country.

"I think I'm doing a lot for the country. Defending freedom, protecting Americans and our way of life."

That's a pretty major role.