Josh Gracin ‘Idol’ As Others Fight

Capt. Shawn Haney, the Marine Corps’ liaison with ‘American Idol’, is defending contestant and marine Josh Gracin who is still on the show despite 60% of his 200-member section, known as Electronic Maintenance Company (ElMaCo), being shipped out. “Here’s a young man pursuing his dreams,” Haney tells the New York Daily News. He added that Gracin’s TV appearance is seen as valuable for recruitment. “We weren’t going to allow him to start and then pull him out.”