Faith

War is often thought of as a time to find God, as in the ‘foxhole’ theory.  I cannot speak for those outside the wire every single day/night, but Bagram is more akin to a garrison environment at times and as such people are more prone to forget about God than to make time to attend a service or a study.  Thankfully there are many options available through the week for those who want to attend.  In addition to seven different Sunday services, I’ve attended a Monday night Love & Respect study and a Friday night men’s Bible study off and on through the year. The general attitude here is that there is no true day off, thus the concept of a Sabbath escapes most senior leaders. Church is treated as a luxury, important insomuch as it does not conflict with your daily duties.

The main chapel is called “Enduring Faith”, a clever play on Enduring Freedom. I used to play mandolin at the Sunday night service there, but more recently have been filling in on guitar at the smaller (and closer) Aviation chapel. I hadn’t planned on playing much this year but somehow God provided a guitar and the Chaplain asked me to help out. As you can see I also have help on keyboard and vocals from two other talented Soldiers. Most weeks we are lucky to get 30 minutes to practice beforehand then do our best for the service. With only about 20-30 people on average, the tent is still nearly full and the sound travels pretty well.  The Chaplain is a friend of mine so we usually go to the Dining Facility for omelets afterwards. Earlier this week he hosted a morning prayer breakfast, which was not very well attended but was a refreshing way to start the day. You can read more about it here. 

Last deployment, our Chaplain left the unit under suspicious circumstances about half-way through the 15 months and the impact on morale and spiritual welfare was dramatic. One of the First Sergeants, whose father was a retired Baptist minister, did his best to fill in at the pulpit after I played a few songs. The chapel was used daily for military briefings and classes, yet almost empty on Sundays. Now, as a Commander, I appreciate the role of a quality Chaplain more than ever. Military policy bars proselytizing, both towards fellow soldiers and also the locals, to avoid any undue influence due to power or position. So, sometimes I can’t outright say what I think one of my soldiers needs to hear, which is where the Chaplain is ever so useful. He does not carry a weapon, does not come from a strictly military background, and is respected enough that he can say almost anything to comfort a Soldier.

Military chaplains can be a conundrum if they attempt to cater to any and all religions. However, each Chaplain is sponsored by a denomination of their choice and is also constrained to those convictions. If a situation arises wherein a Wiccan Soldier requests help, the Chaplain can easily refer them somewhere else. While there are Jewish and Muslim Chaplains there are no Mormon and the majority are Christian (with more Protestants than Catholics). Hope this helps you to understand the military religious culture.

Keep sending your questions and I’ll do my best to answer them in my next post. Godspeed, Mark

Reader Mailbag

This week the floor is yours. Whether due to lack of inspiration or time on my part, I am open to any and all questions from you, my valued readers. Maybe there is something you want to know about my slice of Afghanistan, or pertaining to my view on an issue, or perhaps my favorite soccer team...this is your chance to ask. Please respond to: neutics@gmail.com.  

FLÜGEN

Afghanistan is one of the most extreme flying environments in the world, with the high altitudes imposed by surrounding mountains and temperatures that soar during the summer along with frequent wind and dust storms. Besides the environment, the enemy presents their own threat through small arms and sometimes RPG's or other lethal weapons. Further, flying a helicopter is commonly acknowledged as more difficult to learn and maintain than almost any type of fixed-wing airplane. Sounds like fun, huh? The picture below depicts a ' one-wheel pinnacle landing' on a Landing Zone (LZ), often practiced though rarely utilized due to the risk and difficulty of such a maneuver. The terrain in Afghanistan dictates the plan for an Air Assault or Air Insertion more than anything else. The highest I've ever personally flown is 13803 ft to the top of Mauna Kea on Hawaii for a training exercise. Anything above 10,000 feet for a certain amount of time requires supplemental oxygen tanks (think scuba) to compensate for hypoxia.

 

 

Well, in my eight months here I have yet to touch the controls of a Blackhawk. Why? I quite honestly haven't had the time or energy. Flying is not as simple as driving a car. Every hour of flight demands at least an equal amount of time towards preparation: studying manuals, emergency procedures, FAA rules, memorizing hundreds of performance numbers, planning the flight route, checking the weather, and getting the mission approved from higher. It is an intensive process which would require my absolute attention, and with 250 Soldiers to take care of I unfortunately cannot afford to spend that much time away from my company.

 

Some days I do miss flying, but I also know in the back of my mind that Jocelyn is perfectly fine with me staying on the ground. For those of you who don't know, I've had my share of death-defying experiences in near misses and enemy contact in Iraq. The medals earned as a result and the requisite stories more than satisfy any notions I had of grandeur. My Lieutenants do ask about it though and all think it's cool so I decided to take them out for a tour of the Blackhawk a couple weeks ago. It made me realize how much I have forgotten, yet also how far I've come since then in learning an entirely different set of logistical skills and in managing such a large and diverse unit. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything honestly, even if it isn't nearly as glamorous.

SSG Wise

This has been perhaps the toughest week of the deployment yet emotionally for my company. We've had a slew of Red Cross messages lately, most of which are for grandparents passing away or with serious medical issues. Unfortunately, the Army doesn't consider them immediate family, so I'm usually the one to break the bad news to the Soldier that they can't go home to see them one last time or even for the funeral. Today we got news that one of our former mechanics had passed away unexpectedly. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer a few months prior to this deployment so was not allowed to go. Apparently the treatment was progressing and he kept a positive attitude throughout, always thinking he was getting better and would be joining us soon. As of last night he was on life support and unresponsive and early this morning he breathed his last in the presence of his wife and parents. The funeral will likely be in Savannah in a few days, but again none of his close friends will likely be there due to the rules.

 

I never met Staff Sergeant Wise, yet am amazed at the influence he had within the motor pool and the impression he made on the entire medical team trying to save his life. Even those who only knew him for a few months were crying today as everyone from my First Sergeant to the privates were affected. A couple months ago we put together a plaque for him and made a video greeting from Afghanistan, which one of our medics delivered in person over his R&R.

 

We gathered everyone together in the chapel to break the news, gave everyone the opportunity to share their memories, and after about an hour the Chaplain gave a quick message to close the service. He cited Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: ² a time to be born and a time to die." I didn't feel qualified to say anything at the service, but kept thinking of Psalm 90:12 which says "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." As easy as it is for me to bide away my time remaining here by counting the number of days or months left, I'd rather make the most of every day God gives me as the Commander. In a sad way this was a reminder of our mortality for my troops, since we fortunately have not lost anyone in combat yet this year in our Brigade.