Captain, U.S. Army
While growing up in Florida, Jim Rathmann loved playing football. He eventually made his way to LSU after serving as an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army from 1999 to 2003. Following his initial military experience and his admission to LSU, he played two seasons with the LSU Tigers in 2003 and 2004. Then, from 2009 to 2010, he was back on the other battlefield for the 82nd Airborne Division as a platoon leader in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Rathmann’s star began to shine long before his outstanding football career at LSU, when he won numerous championships and awards. It also started before his service in the U.S. Army, in which, as a captain with the 82nd Airborne, he was awarded the Bronze Star in combat. According to Rathmann, “On the distant battlefields of Afghanistan, you play for keeps. It really is a life and death struggle. “When then-Lieutenant Jim Rathmann was awarded the Bronze Star for his heroism in combat, it was not without a great sense of loss. But he drew strength from the lessons he learned at LSU while playing defensive back, wide receiver and special teams for the 2003 National Championship LSU Tigers.
Rathmann served in an enlisted rank from 1999-2003, achieving the rank of SGT (E5). He then attended LSU, played football and re-entered the Army by way of Officer Candidate School (OCS). He commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2008 and was then sent to Fort Bragg, NC where he served as an Infantry Platoon Leader with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. His highest rank achieved was captain.
Following his years of service in the military, Rathmann graduated from the U.S. Secret Service Academy. During the ensuing years, he traveled the world protecting President Barack Obama and his family, Vice President Joe Biden and his family, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and numerous presidents and prime ministers from around the globe. Today, he works as an investigative consultant, providing closure for those individuals, families, communities, or businesses impacted by unsolved traumatic events. Through these efforts, he seeks to make a real difference in the lives of people every day, a hallmark of his life whether on the football battlefield or on the military battlefield.
In a personal message, Rathmann wrote, I have been and always will be proud to have served this country … Some of the soldiers that I have served with have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms and liberties … It is the men and women of our military—including the continued sacrifices made by their families—who are the true heroes of this country. Without them, Saturday nights in Death Valley would not be possible.