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MIAMI GARDENS — The first time that I really noticed Lt. Commander Joe Cardona was when he was doing pass defense drills with the Dolphins linebackers. Cardona, a 33-year-old supply and logistics officer attached to a West Coast-based Navy special warfare unit, seemed to move pretty well for a long snapper.

Yes, Lt. Commander Joe Cardona is Dolphins long snapper Joe Cardona, perhaps the most intriguing guy in the locker room. Cardona attended the Naval Academy and is an active reservist in the Navy.

Football was his fallback plan. The Navy was his No. 1 plan.

“ The only thing I wanted to do was fly jets,” said Cardona, who is in his first year with the Dolphins . “I wanted to fly F-18s.”

But when they took his measurements, he didn’t

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