31 May
Today is Memorial Day. It is a time to stop and reflect and honor those who have given their lives--the ultimate sacrifice--in time of war, and for the freedom and security of others. It has been a low-key day here so far. There was a ceremony earlier this morning, but I did not attend. It was quite a long walk from my office, and I chose to have a personal time of reflection instead. It has a weird feeling here about this Holiday, almost as if people don't want to celebrate it while in a war zone. Perhaps it will have more meaning to me next year, when I'm at home and away from this place. Maybe it's too raw for some to celebrate this day. One of my Chaplain friends had two Soldiers in his battalion killed in the month of May alone. I guess no one really wants to talk about it. But we do pay homage to our Fallen Heroes. I will remember Chris, from my Unit, as well as his family. I will also say a prayer for all those who have died for our country and for the freedoms we hold dear. Please do the same. Thank you.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Army Buddies
28 May
Tonight we celebrated the birthday of one of my good friends from this deployment. His name is Stephen and he has been my PT partner and a good source of information for me about Army stuff. He's been in 17 years now, and he's one of the smartest guys I know, so I often look to him for an explanation to some of this stuff. In the picture you will see a handful of the "junior" officers in the Battalion (Lieutenants and Captains). We all went out to dinner together tonight and spent some quality time together. They say misery loves company, and most of these officers here went through a rough time this deployment. The Company Commander position, Operations, Human Resources, and Supply can be extremely hectic places to work in the Army, not to mention in a deployed environment. With the exception of the guy on the left, this is a quality group of people, and I'm proud to call them friends.
The second picture is of a buddy back home who served in the Army a few years back. A knee injury ended his military career, otherwise I'm sure he'd love to be here with me now. He is a great friend from church who supports me back home with a bracelet that he won't take off until I come home. Now that's pretty cool! However, he is a Notre Dame fan, but I don't hold that against him. The only problem is I have yet to receive a card or letter or even a post card from him! It's heart breaking. Someone tell him that I'm just not feeling the love from my Army buddy back home. It's tragic.
Tonight we celebrated the birthday of one of my good friends from this deployment. His name is Stephen and he has been my PT partner and a good source of information for me about Army stuff. He's been in 17 years now, and he's one of the smartest guys I know, so I often look to him for an explanation to some of this stuff. In the picture you will see a handful of the "junior" officers in the Battalion (Lieutenants and Captains). We all went out to dinner together tonight and spent some quality time together. They say misery loves company, and most of these officers here went through a rough time this deployment. The Company Commander position, Operations, Human Resources, and Supply can be extremely hectic places to work in the Army, not to mention in a deployed environment. With the exception of the guy on the left, this is a quality group of people, and I'm proud to call them friends.
The second picture is of a buddy back home who served in the Army a few years back. A knee injury ended his military career, otherwise I'm sure he'd love to be here with me now. He is a great friend from church who supports me back home with a bracelet that he won't take off until I come home. Now that's pretty cool! However, he is a Notre Dame fan, but I don't hold that against him. The only problem is I have yet to receive a card or letter or even a post card from him! It's heart breaking. Someone tell him that I'm just not feeling the love from my Army buddy back home. It's tragic.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Injured Toe and other Travel Stories
25 May
I'm back in my little room ("hooch") tonight after returning to my base early this morning. It was a good visit to a few of the FOBs, although the travel issues continue to haunt us. Essentially, it is a drag trying to get from one place to another over here. But once you get there it can be an enjoyable time (even fun, occasionally). But let me share a few photos and highlights from the last week...
I smashed my toe into a door frame yesterday morning and hobbled about for a few hours afterward. It hurt bad enough that I went to the Med station and had them examine and "buddy tape" it. I could bend it some by that time, so we don't think it is broken, but boy does it sting to hurt a toe. I don't know why I actually took a picture of my toes here, and posting it on the internet is even sillier. My wife says I need a manicure before I ever take a picture of my feet again! But oh well. I can't go into much of the military stuff, so I have to share other (less exciting) aspects of my everyday life. I suppose a coat of red nail polish would do wonders. Hummm.....??? Naaah. I'll pass.
The picture of the shepherd was taken from a look-out tower at one of our FOBs. This particular place is very quiet and safe, and the reason for that has to do with a local warloard and a graveyard on the FOB. Apparently, some of his ancestors are buried in this particular graveyard within the FOB's boundaries, and he did not take kindly to the Taliban shooting rockets at this FOB a few years back. Local tradition has it he went after the Taliban himself and made a violent example out of those guys and a warning to anyone who messes with that specific FOB in his territory. So our troops in this area enjoy peace and quiet and his protection, in a way. Needless to say, the local shepherds come right up the the walls of the military base.
The watermelon was a gift from a local man to our team last Saturday. About six of us sat around and enjoyed some watermelon like it was 4th of July back home. It was a good day and a nice memory. Thankfully, no one got sick from the local citrus, which was a possibility.
Also, I got to tell you about my ordeal getting home last night. My assistant and I managed to get seats on a 10:30 pm flight back to our base. I had high hopes of getting into my room about midnight and sleeping in my own bed. No such luck. We actually got on board and were all loaded and ready for take-off when they discovered a problem with the brakes. Good thing they found it when they did, I suppose, but we ended up sitting there on the plane for over an hour before they sent us back to the terminal to wait it out. They told us they might fix it in a few hours and we'd be on our way about 2 am. So I stayed up and watched a movie in the terminal. My assistant tried to sleep on the concrete floor. It was not fixed at 2 am, so we were placed on the 6 am bird (which was cancelled at the last minute, too). We finally caught a 7:30 am flight that actuallt did fly us home. I never did get any sleep at the terminal, and realized I had been up over 26 hours. I did catch a nap today, and hope to get some real rest tonight. One of the things I realize about the Army is that the days can be very long!
And finally, I received a nice comment about my blog from a new Marine friend who stumbled across it on the internet. Thank you for your encouragement as well as for your own past service. I appreciate that you put on the uniform, too, and for your kind words. Some days I do not know what impact I'm having over here, but other days it's more obvious. Thanks for the reminder and the pick-me-up!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
No Fear
Sat. 22 May
A few years ago I was on an airplane coming back from a conference in Idaho. I was on a small jet, the kind with about 20 rows of seats and a center aisle with two seats on one side and only one seat on the other. Pretty small. Anyway, we encountered a storm and they diverted us to Provo, Utah for a landing to wait out the storm. At some point in the turbulence I put on my headphones and fell asleep. I was way in the back of the plane. After we landed I learned that someone way up front had been overly stressed during the flight and the turbulence and screamed out, "We're all going to die!" I missed it. Never heard a word of her terrified rambling since I was out like a light.
It reminded me of Jesus asleep in the back of the boat during the storm (Mark 4), and his buddies are scared for their lives and wake him to ask why He does not care that they are all going to die? But Jesus was not scared. Why should He be? (He is God, by the way) But He had already told them they were going to make it to the other side, and he already knew his final destination was a cross in Jerusalem (and not a sinking boat in Galilee). That's why he was angry with the disciples ("Why are you afraid?" and "Where is your faith?").
Anyway, I have been preaching this sermon lately which I titled, "No Fear," and based it on the Mark passage. My theme is that if Jesus is in your boat (a.k.a., your life), then you do not have to be afraid. It does not mean life will be a piece of cake or a rich and smooth ride, but it does mean He will never leave you nor forsake you. Those are stong words that I have come to live by over here. I also draw comfort from Psalm 91, especially the verses that say you will not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day, and, No harm will come near your tent, or, God will command His angles to lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot upon the rock. I am banking on these promises, and God is upholding His Word and keeping me safe and calm.
I do not fear the war going on around me. And yes, I was at the large base last Wednesday that was attacked by the Taliban. The alarms woke us up, and I was lying there hoping it would all go away so I could go back to sleep. No such luck. I heard an explosion and then machine gun fire -- not too far away. Shortly after that I heard the loudest gun I've ever heard, and I was quickly up and moving to the check-in point for safety and accountability. Turned out to be an attack helicopter overhear firing on the bad guys. But the weird thing is I never felt scared. It was more awed fascination than fear. (I've never seen an attack helicopter in real life doing what it was designed to do. It was intense). Ultimately, my hat is off to our security forces. They responded quickly and did a great job of protecting the base. They stopped the Taliban dead in their tracks. Literally.
So I am practicing what I preach, and encourage you to do the same. Even in this environment I am aware of the danger out there, but it will not come near my tent (God promised, remember?). Did you ever stop and think about how much of our worry/anxiety/fear is a "faith" issue? Jesus Himself told us "Do not worry!" (Matthew 6). And notice something about that verse: it's a command. So I am placing my life and trust in His hands. No better place to be, if you ask me.
A few years ago I was on an airplane coming back from a conference in Idaho. I was on a small jet, the kind with about 20 rows of seats and a center aisle with two seats on one side and only one seat on the other. Pretty small. Anyway, we encountered a storm and they diverted us to Provo, Utah for a landing to wait out the storm. At some point in the turbulence I put on my headphones and fell asleep. I was way in the back of the plane. After we landed I learned that someone way up front had been overly stressed during the flight and the turbulence and screamed out, "We're all going to die!" I missed it. Never heard a word of her terrified rambling since I was out like a light.
It reminded me of Jesus asleep in the back of the boat during the storm (Mark 4), and his buddies are scared for their lives and wake him to ask why He does not care that they are all going to die? But Jesus was not scared. Why should He be? (He is God, by the way) But He had already told them they were going to make it to the other side, and he already knew his final destination was a cross in Jerusalem (and not a sinking boat in Galilee). That's why he was angry with the disciples ("Why are you afraid?" and "Where is your faith?").
Anyway, I have been preaching this sermon lately which I titled, "No Fear," and based it on the Mark passage. My theme is that if Jesus is in your boat (a.k.a., your life), then you do not have to be afraid. It does not mean life will be a piece of cake or a rich and smooth ride, but it does mean He will never leave you nor forsake you. Those are stong words that I have come to live by over here. I also draw comfort from Psalm 91, especially the verses that say you will not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day, and, No harm will come near your tent, or, God will command His angles to lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot upon the rock. I am banking on these promises, and God is upholding His Word and keeping me safe and calm.
I do not fear the war going on around me. And yes, I was at the large base last Wednesday that was attacked by the Taliban. The alarms woke us up, and I was lying there hoping it would all go away so I could go back to sleep. No such luck. I heard an explosion and then machine gun fire -- not too far away. Shortly after that I heard the loudest gun I've ever heard, and I was quickly up and moving to the check-in point for safety and accountability. Turned out to be an attack helicopter overhear firing on the bad guys. But the weird thing is I never felt scared. It was more awed fascination than fear. (I've never seen an attack helicopter in real life doing what it was designed to do. It was intense). Ultimately, my hat is off to our security forces. They responded quickly and did a great job of protecting the base. They stopped the Taliban dead in their tracks. Literally.
So I am practicing what I preach, and encourage you to do the same. Even in this environment I am aware of the danger out there, but it will not come near my tent (God promised, remember?). Did you ever stop and think about how much of our worry/anxiety/fear is a "faith" issue? Jesus Himself told us "Do not worry!" (Matthew 6). And notice something about that verse: it's a command. So I am placing my life and trust in His hands. No better place to be, if you ask me.
Monday, May 17, 2010
"Chapel-In-A-Box"
18 May (Tues)
I wanted to share about our "new" chapel facility. I am currently serving on two separate chapel staffs here on this base: one service is on Sunday morning in a B-hut structure (Warrior Chapel), and the other is a Sunday night service that used to meet in this big warehouse (East Side ChapelNext). Not very conducive to great worship services, but it was all we had. Yet all that changed last weekend. They ordered us what is commonly called a "chapel-in-a-box" around here, and it arrived a few weeks ago. The construction crew set it up (well, most of it, anyway), and we moved out service into this new facility this past weekend... in the rain. It was not a great night to make a major move, and because it came as a surprise to most of us (including the Chaplain staff) many people did not even know we moved. But that did not stop us from holding both Catholic Mass and Protestant Worship in the new building that night. It's a tent, actually. See the pictures. I had the privilege of being the preaching Chaplain this past weekend as we opened and "dedicated" the new chapel. And I spoke on the "Storms of Life" and showed a Rob Bell, NOOMA video called "Rain." How appropriate considering the weather that night. We still had about 25 in attendance, which was not too bad. These chapel tents are about 70 feet long and about 25 feet wide. Depending on how many chairs you have, you can probably seat close to 75 or more people in there. That would be a great thing if/when we do that! Keep us in your prayers are we try to meet the religious needs of our Soldiers over here. Even if we have to do it in a small wooden shack or a tent!
I wanted to share about our "new" chapel facility. I am currently serving on two separate chapel staffs here on this base: one service is on Sunday morning in a B-hut structure (Warrior Chapel), and the other is a Sunday night service that used to meet in this big warehouse (East Side ChapelNext). Not very conducive to great worship services, but it was all we had. Yet all that changed last weekend. They ordered us what is commonly called a "chapel-in-a-box" around here, and it arrived a few weeks ago. The construction crew set it up (well, most of it, anyway), and we moved out service into this new facility this past weekend... in the rain. It was not a great night to make a major move, and because it came as a surprise to most of us (including the Chaplain staff) many people did not even know we moved. But that did not stop us from holding both Catholic Mass and Protestant Worship in the new building that night. It's a tent, actually. See the pictures. I had the privilege of being the preaching Chaplain this past weekend as we opened and "dedicated" the new chapel. And I spoke on the "Storms of Life" and showed a Rob Bell, NOOMA video called "Rain." How appropriate considering the weather that night. We still had about 25 in attendance, which was not too bad. These chapel tents are about 70 feet long and about 25 feet wide. Depending on how many chairs you have, you can probably seat close to 75 or more people in there. That would be a great thing if/when we do that! Keep us in your prayers are we try to meet the religious needs of our Soldiers over here. Even if we have to do it in a small wooden shack or a tent!
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