Just a few days left at home before heading to Alaska.  There are so many different areas to focus and prepare when you are being deployed.  Pack my gear and necessities, get all paperwork ready for transition to Alaska, make sure family has all important info (where to get the cars worked on, who to call when something breaks at home, powers of attorney for everything you can imagine), spend quality time with each family member (have a date with M tonight), get all of my honey-do items knocked out, etc.

Timing for when the family moves to Alaska is going to be difficult.  This is an important point of prayer for us.  We approach God with the confidence of knowing he hears us and already has planned how he will supply our needs.  It will be exciting to experience Alaska and we look forward to being there together.

I’m off to work on some more packing.  2 duffels packed and more to go.

I found out this week that I am being sent to a new unit in Alaska which is already downrange and I will quickly follow.  Alaska has been one of our choices for a duty location and we are excited about the adventure that awaits us there; however, it will not be until the end of this deployment that my family gets to actually move.  They will remain in Oklahoma for now.

Pray for us as we make this quick transition and for my new unit which currently has no chaplain.

I am looking forward to going home soon and seeing my family.  Soon we will begin school and head into the fall season with all of the sports/music/school/work/church issues that brings with it.

This also gives me the opportunity to see some old friends who live in town as well as the chance to attend the last church where I served on staff prior to becoming an Army Chaplain (in Austin).

I’ll try to get some pics of training to post soon.

Alot of this has been going on…orange days.  This is a view from inside one of our buildings.  I took this photo about noon so it should show full, bright sunlight.  The dust storms that we have had are not the kind that you think of like a wall of dust blowing through.  Usually the dust builds gradually on a windy day until it look like this.  Many times it will settle overnight and then start again the next morning.  Side note…lungs do not perform as well when coated with dirt.

My friend (and roommate), CPT Andrew Sanders took command of the Echo 3-7 INF Engineer Company.  It was a day that he had long waited for.  This picture shows (from left to right) the outgoing company commander, CPT Neels, the 3-7 INF Battalion Commander, LTC Newsome, and CPT Sanders.

I’m sure that the chopper pilots certainly feel exactly like this from time to time.  They do such an important job of moving people and things around the battle space.  I appreciate them so much…expecially when they practice their tactical flying skills when I am a passenger.

I was recently able to travel to some new areas to provide religious support while other chaplains were on leave.  One site I went to has a really nice building that serves as their chapel on one side and a coffee shop/video game/movie hangout on the other.  It was good to spend some time with those guys.  We had 2 chapel services while I was there.

This is a view of the Euphrates river as it passes by a small inlet at the FOB I was visiting.  Not much to look at from this angle but I was glad to have a view of such an historical landmark.

I am very much looking forward to taking leave soon.  I am ready to transition from the chaplain role to the husband and daddy role for a few days!

     For Memorial Day this year we had a cumulative memorial ceremony for the fourteen soldiers in the 4th Brigade Combat Team who have given their lives during this deployment. 

Lasting about half an hour, the memorial included prayer,

scripture reading, special music, and a message from our brigade commander, COL Thomas James.  As each name was read soldiers from the corresponding battalion placed a flag at the picture and rendered a salute. 

After reading all of the names we observed one minute of silent reflection followed by firing of the volleys and playing of Taps.

I was honored to give the closing benediction prayer for the event.  The service was well done and brought honor to the memories of our soldiers as well as to 4BCT, 3ID.  It was a somber reminder that what we do is both dangerous and important.

Since that time challenge coins have become a way for leaders to recognize exemplary service by soldiers of the unit.  So many challenge coins are given out these days (not only military but all sorts of organizations) that many would say it has lost much of its meaning.  One can even step into a store and purchase almost any type of coin, certainly without any hint of “earning” it.  My battalion commander has a coin that he has given out to some of our soldiers and he certainly upholds the tradition that it is something special and should be earned (which I appreciate).  Not everyone gets one just for being in the unit…I don’t have one.

That being said, I recently was able to spend some time with an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit.  These soldiers get called out any time an explosive is found and it is their job to take care of it.  Whether disarming (sometimes by hand), blowing in place, or removing to another area and disposing of (usually a large pile of stuff with a really big boom) the item.  This company has been over here for many months and will soon be heading home.  They have seen more than their share of violence and trauma.  I was able to give them a briefing on redeployment (deploying back home) which helps them to prepare for what to expect as they reintegrate with life in the rear.  It has been my privilege to serve them and to get to know their company commander and first sergeant.  After leading them through the brief I deferred to CPT Nobis for any comments he may want to make to his company.  He called me back up to the front and gave me his coin.  Now, I have received two prior coins from other chaplains which I appreciate but I received them based on my position so to speak and not for my service.  This is the only coin I have been given based upon something I have done.  We are all simply doing our jobs here.  These soldiers have done incredible work and have suffered much pain in doing it, yet have saved innumerable lives because of it.  I have not done enough to earn their coin and I was certainly not expecting to receive one but I am proud to have it and proud to serve this great group of soldiers!  These are the kind of soldiers that all Americans should be proud to honor.

Pray for them as they return home to friends and families who love them but who can never fully understand what they have been through.  Pray that God’s peace will reign in their hearts and minds!  And remember that there is someone else coming to take their place on the wall!