HONOLULU -- This week, two four-star generals -- the highest rank in the U.S. Army -- hugged it out on a sunny lawn in Honolulu. There are only 13 active four-star generals in the 500,000-person Army, making it an elite brotherhood in its own right, but these two men have an entirely different bond.

Standing head and shoulders above the crowd and still sinewy even in their bulky uniforms, Gen. Vincent Brooks and Gen. Robert Brown greeted each other like the basketball teammates they once were.

Forty years ago, the two men met as cadets at the United States Military Academy (more commonly known as West Point), where, under the tutelage of coach Mike Krzyzewski (more commonly known as Coach K), they initiated a pattern of both winning and friendly rivalry.