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“I do what I do because I’m one of the fortunate guys who gets to play in the community he grew up in,” said Black. “But when you meet the men and women who willingly step into harm’s way for the betterment of me and my family, who they’ve never met, and our country as a whole, personally I just feel like everything I’ve done is so insignificant in comparison.

“They have families and yet they’re stationed halfway across the world and it just puts everything into perspective and gives you a real understanding of what their reality is. They’re just like every other CFL player but the difference is when we leave on a Friday to play, we’re back home by Monday whereas some of these people are gone for months and don’t have the opportunities to communicate with their families that we do.”

A point not lost upon B.C. Lions long-snapper Mike Benson.

“I’m from Winnipeg and play in Vancouver and it’s hard to be away from family for six months but at least I get to see them,” he said. “We play in Winnipeg twice and my girlfriend flies out three, four times a season.

“But many military people also have significant others in (armed forces) and they told us stories where they’re walking through the airport and high-five their wife or husband and keep walking the other way and don’t see each other for another six months except for two weeks off. I don’t know how they do it because, honestly, I couldn’t.”

Photo by MCpl Mathieu Gaudreault / Unknown CP

Last year, CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge along with some CFL players and NHL alumni visited Canadian troops in Ukraine, Kuwait and France. Country artist Dallas Smith and comedian John Sheehan accompanied the players on this trip, which began Friday and concludes Wednesday.