Although the NFL advised I that I could not mandate it, I strongly encouraged players to take a full-year payment schedule over 52 weeks instead of 17.

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"It is hard to take in - it is me getting the medal, but I could not have done it without the crew, " she said.

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"It was all I could do to not take a bow, " the soldier, who writes under the name Army J, said in a phone interview.

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"It was nice to know that not only could I take care of (my family) out of what I grew in my garden, but I could take care of them really well, " she said.

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