I've have the good fortune to meet and serve with some amazing soldiers and civilians during my short time here.
This article (originally published in the Catholic Review-official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore) is about one of those amazing soldiers. who has graced FOB Enormo with his presence during the last few weeks. Unfortunately, his visit was only temporary and he will soon be back out tending to those who need him most: our brave soldiers in the field.
Military chaplains provide much more than just religious services. Especially in these difficult times, they often counsel soldiers as they mourn the loss of their comrades or wrestle with other personal problems. Every chaplain I've known in my career has been there to help soldiers regardless of our faith--or lack of faith, in some cases. Chaplains' important work has been often overlooked, especially in light of recent controversies regarding proselytizing in the military.
Strangely enough, I've run into a heck of a lot of Lutheran chaplains during these past few years in the Army. Our current unit chaplain is Lutheran, a classmate from my Command and Staff College "small group" (Pastor/MAJ Kenneth Homer) is a Lutheran chaplain and Father Woods (subject of the article) is a convert from the Lutheran church. I don't think there's a pattern, just an interesting coincidence.
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There was an article in the Sun last Sunday about activities of a MMD unit.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/world/iraq/bal-te.convoy23sep23,0,6774579.story
FHF
The Sun article was a well-done piece and did a great job of capturing the life of those soldiers who are "on the road." Fortunately or unfortunately, my unit helps decide where/when they go and what they escort. Those soldiers and others like them are in our thoughts and prayers every day...and we hope and pray that we don't send them out on a mission that costs someone their life. So far, we've been lucky.
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