UT is best known for the reputation the Vols bring to the football field.

But often the word “Vol” and its true meaning disappears behind the orange of 100,000 cheering fans and the power “T” at the 50-yard line.

Behind the scenes though, UT graduates still maintain the true volunteer tradition.

One such example is 1st Lt. Jim Hoffman of the U.S. Army, a UT graduate and veteran of Afghanistan.

Born and raised in Chicago, Ill., Hoffman calls Knoxville home.

At first, Hoffman, being a Chicago Bears fan, didn’t understand what the big deal was with college football at UT. That changed.

“I started going crazy over UT football, too,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman began ROTC and decided to pursue a career in the U.S. Army. After graduating from UT in December 1999 he was commissioned at age 22.

Hoffman then became a platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) that is stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky. There, in the eight months he was a platoon leader, he earned the respect and trust of the men under him. So much so, that the men drove for hours to his wedding on Sept. 8, 2001, even though he was no longer platoon leader.

That was because Hoffman had been selected as one of the top lieutenants of his battalion and was chosen to become the executive officer for the battalion’s headquarters company. Hoffman went from taking care of men to taking care of equipment, which included 70 vehicles and over 40 shipping containers packed with gear.

Following the wedding, Hoffman and his wife celebrated their wedding with a 10-day cruise in the South Pacific. On the third day of Hoffman’s honeymoon, planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Hoffman attempted unsuccessfully to contact his command, but the ship’s phones kept cutting off. He finished the cruise, and said the anxieties didn’t interfere too much with his honeymoon. What did upset him was the loss of his platoon before their deployment to Afghanistan.

“I’d wanted to be a platoon leader for 20 years,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman’s battalion, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, deployed to Afghanistan in mid-November, just the second Army infantry battalion to be deployed.

Based out of Pakistan, Hoffman’s battalion was located in a city he’s still not allowed to name. Mostly, he said his unit defended an airfield. But, the battalion sent hundreds of men into Kandahar and the rugged mountains of Afghanistan for a couple of operations.

Most notably, the men participated in the famed Operation Anaconda and Operation Mountain Lion high in the mountains of Afghanistan. There the men received the unpleasant surprise of learning their Apache attack helicopters couldn’t operate well in the thin air.

“The Chinooks (transportation helicopters) did all the work,” Hoffman said.

The work required by the battalion became almost unbearable. With temperatures ranging higher than 100 degrees, the most memorable part of the experience for Hoffman was the intense heat.

“The heat got up to 138 degrees once and averaged 120 degrees,” he said.

And he wasn’t the only one who endured the harsh conditions. His fellow soldiers stood with him throughout the rigorous experience.

In fact, he insisted that other UT graduates who were also veterans of Afghanistan contributed much more.

“I was just doing my job,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman’s service is just one account of the volunteer spirit that extends past the walls of Neyland Staduim.