Camp Shelby: Eleven Days Out--Part II
A Chaplain's Plate full of Army Personalities
The experiences here at Shelby are coming fast and furious. Partly it is due to my training schedule. (I am brushing up on some basic soldier skills as well as gaining “advanced” training for the chaplaincy.) Some of it is due to the fact that units are now packing for desert training at NTC. And plenty of the experiences are coming from the soldiers who have heard that the chaplain has arrived. I have had a steady stream of counseling sessions each with different themes and particular twists. Additionally, I have met a whole stage of characters. Many have the unique personalities that only the Army can draw.
So far, I have met one person that I immediately sensed was a true leader and an honest Christian. MAJ Harlow, a native of Mississippi with soft southern draw and manners was always ready to laugh or earnestly converse. He is an accomplished man who does survival races. He has a sibling who is a doctor and another who is a district attorney in a tiny town. We spoke for a number of hours about our own faith perspectives, how they were similar, how they were different. And we spoke of what nourished our faith. We prayed together like old friends. By the time the MAJ Harlow and his men left for Afghanistan, I felt like I was saying goodbye to someone dear to me. I was touched that he invited me to come to the chapel and pray for him and another soldier. The other soldier had recently had a brain tumor removed. Both sides of his skull had scars. He was a gentle man who showed gratitude for his life. As we were finishing up another person prayed for us. MAJ Harlow introduced him to me as the chaplain that retired from his unit. This chaplain was a simple country preacher who had combat experience in Viet Nam. We briefly talked and I asked him what he thought was the most important thing I should know about the chaplaincy. He was simple and direct. “Be with your soldiers.”
Of course, not all soldiers are like MAJ Harlow. I met another soldier, SPC S__ who had 18 years experience in the Marines. He and I were pared together on a land navigation course along with one more female specialist. When we began to plot our points and set our compasses so that we could go out to find them, he began to simply say “this is wrong” without offering any suggestions or showing willingness to try to persevere. At one point we got separated and we were both confronted by a sergeant course manager who stated that if we separated again, he would take us off the course. I felt frustrated in his presence and called him on his attitude. He then lectured me about his eighteen years of service and his three previous deployments and the fact that he had a B.S. in computer science. I told him that I respected his work, but felt that he was disrespecting my leadership. We hadn’t found even one point before three hour course was about to end. At that time and after his whining, I marched us up to the start point and asked that I be given a “No Go.” About a week later I did the same exercise with my chaplain assistant, SPC Andre Hargrave and we found all of our points.
My chaplain’s assistant is a squared away soldier and a licensed Baptist preacher. SPC Hargrave is an African-American man who is over 30 years old. He is competent, attentive and keeps a positive attitude. After briefly spending time with him, my intuitions were confirmed that we will do well together. He is a faithful man with a realistic perspective. He is able to see and laugh at some of the ironies and hoops of the military. Right now he is a little frustrated because the camp has been put on lock-down so many times, that he hasn’t had the opportunity to go send some money to his wife and child. This past Wednesday, we attended a prayer group together. There were soldiers from so many different traditions, but all of us spoke freely about our journeys of self-acceptance and God’s grace. SPC Hargrave was very supportive to those in need. He has pastoral sensitivity and respect for my training and leadership.
Another fine person that I met was a complete surprise to me. CH (LTC) Purinton, a UCC ordained chaplain from Vermont and holds some type of administrative posts that is connected to this deployment. He took me out to lunch and shared with me some of his anti-war activist journey during Viet-Nam. I knew that I had met the right person who would understand that the call to military chaplaincy was an odd turn for me. We talked about his and his wife’s interest in eastern healing methods. He is a calm and warm man with intellectual curiosity. Something in the back of my mind told me that CH Purinton and I will have some future dealings.
The other day I needed to complete two more Common Tasks. One of the tasks was to high and low crawl while under fire. Soldiers usually learn how to do this on with their weapon in tow. Since I did not have a weapon, I asked if there was something special I should do. The sergeant said, “No. You just won’t have a weapon.” At that moment a sergeant from Florida spoke up and said that he would protect me by shadowing him. So, there were three on the team. SGT Pask impressed me as ready and capable to handle assaults. He stated that he was part of a SWAT team in Tampa and that he would do anything for the Word.
I have had many counseling sessions already. There have been a wide variety of issues. I have had one soldier who went AWOL and who was suffering from emotional distress. He claimed that he belonged to a gang back in Philadelphia and that he had entered the Army because he was in fear for his life. He had brought his young family to Mississippi. They were living in motel along a strip near Camp Shelby. I have met a soldier who had been Active Duty who was very down and didn’t want to be a soldier anymore and was having suicidal thoughts. I have been working with a young man who applied as a Conscientious Objector who found out recently that it may take six months to process his application. This means that he will still have to go to Iraq with a gun in his hand. I spent time with a young man in tears whose recent bride will not talk to him on the phone other than saying she can only talk about it face to face. I have prayed with a woman soldier who is feeling isolated and vulnerable.
A small irony took place when I met SPC Schaeffer, a young man from Clearfield, PA who had converted from Protestantism to Orthodoxy. He had sought the path out himself. He was looking to speak with a chaplain who could connect him with Orthodox worship. On Saturday night, he and another soldier who grew up in an Orthodox-Catholic household and one more soldier who was interested went to an Easter Service in Biloxi. I helped to get them there. SP Schaeffer was interested that I knew so much about the services, iconography and hagiography. It’s likely that we will have more to talk about in country. I told him that some of the oldest Christian communities are in Iraq and if the climate allows, he might have an opportunity to go and worship with them. Amazingly, under Sadaam Christians were protected.
Right now I am happy in my work and in my day to day life here at Camp Shelby. Many of the soldiers are beautiful in their earnestness. One thing that seems to mark the American GI is his flexibility. They work hard and show resilience when things get tough. Just the other day the dates for the trip out to the National Training Center got moved up. Many have to leave tomorrow. They were told to pack up faster. They did. We’ve been on lock-down because of some missing sensitive items. They bear it in stride. The mix here is amazing. There are young men, men in their prime and men past their prime looking to contribute or have an adventure. The young women are determined and capable. I am where God wants me to be right now and I pray that my ministry among them is worthy in his eyes.
The experiences here at Shelby are coming fast and furious. Partly it is due to my training schedule. (I am brushing up on some basic soldier skills as well as gaining “advanced” training for the chaplaincy.) Some of it is due to the fact that units are now packing for desert training at NTC. And plenty of the experiences are coming from the soldiers who have heard that the chaplain has arrived. I have had a steady stream of counseling sessions each with different themes and particular twists. Additionally, I have met a whole stage of characters. Many have the unique personalities that only the Army can draw.
So far, I have met one person that I immediately sensed was a true leader and an honest Christian. MAJ Harlow, a native of Mississippi with soft southern draw and manners was always ready to laugh or earnestly converse. He is an accomplished man who does survival races. He has a sibling who is a doctor and another who is a district attorney in a tiny town. We spoke for a number of hours about our own faith perspectives, how they were similar, how they were different. And we spoke of what nourished our faith. We prayed together like old friends. By the time the MAJ Harlow and his men left for Afghanistan, I felt like I was saying goodbye to someone dear to me. I was touched that he invited me to come to the chapel and pray for him and another soldier. The other soldier had recently had a brain tumor removed. Both sides of his skull had scars. He was a gentle man who showed gratitude for his life. As we were finishing up another person prayed for us. MAJ Harlow introduced him to me as the chaplain that retired from his unit. This chaplain was a simple country preacher who had combat experience in Viet Nam. We briefly talked and I asked him what he thought was the most important thing I should know about the chaplaincy. He was simple and direct. “Be with your soldiers.”
Of course, not all soldiers are like MAJ Harlow. I met another soldier, SPC S__ who had 18 years experience in the Marines. He and I were pared together on a land navigation course along with one more female specialist. When we began to plot our points and set our compasses so that we could go out to find them, he began to simply say “this is wrong” without offering any suggestions or showing willingness to try to persevere. At one point we got separated and we were both confronted by a sergeant course manager who stated that if we separated again, he would take us off the course. I felt frustrated in his presence and called him on his attitude. He then lectured me about his eighteen years of service and his three previous deployments and the fact that he had a B.S. in computer science. I told him that I respected his work, but felt that he was disrespecting my leadership. We hadn’t found even one point before three hour course was about to end. At that time and after his whining, I marched us up to the start point and asked that I be given a “No Go.” About a week later I did the same exercise with my chaplain assistant, SPC Andre Hargrave and we found all of our points.
My chaplain’s assistant is a squared away soldier and a licensed Baptist preacher. SPC Hargrave is an African-American man who is over 30 years old. He is competent, attentive and keeps a positive attitude. After briefly spending time with him, my intuitions were confirmed that we will do well together. He is a faithful man with a realistic perspective. He is able to see and laugh at some of the ironies and hoops of the military. Right now he is a little frustrated because the camp has been put on lock-down so many times, that he hasn’t had the opportunity to go send some money to his wife and child. This past Wednesday, we attended a prayer group together. There were soldiers from so many different traditions, but all of us spoke freely about our journeys of self-acceptance and God’s grace. SPC Hargrave was very supportive to those in need. He has pastoral sensitivity and respect for my training and leadership.
Another fine person that I met was a complete surprise to me. CH (LTC) Purinton, a UCC ordained chaplain from Vermont and holds some type of administrative posts that is connected to this deployment. He took me out to lunch and shared with me some of his anti-war activist journey during Viet-Nam. I knew that I had met the right person who would understand that the call to military chaplaincy was an odd turn for me. We talked about his and his wife’s interest in eastern healing methods. He is a calm and warm man with intellectual curiosity. Something in the back of my mind told me that CH Purinton and I will have some future dealings.
The other day I needed to complete two more Common Tasks. One of the tasks was to high and low crawl while under fire. Soldiers usually learn how to do this on with their weapon in tow. Since I did not have a weapon, I asked if there was something special I should do. The sergeant said, “No. You just won’t have a weapon.” At that moment a sergeant from Florida spoke up and said that he would protect me by shadowing him. So, there were three on the team. SGT Pask impressed me as ready and capable to handle assaults. He stated that he was part of a SWAT team in Tampa and that he would do anything for the Word.
I have had many counseling sessions already. There have been a wide variety of issues. I have had one soldier who went AWOL and who was suffering from emotional distress. He claimed that he belonged to a gang back in Philadelphia and that he had entered the Army because he was in fear for his life. He had brought his young family to Mississippi. They were living in motel along a strip near Camp Shelby. I have met a soldier who had been Active Duty who was very down and didn’t want to be a soldier anymore and was having suicidal thoughts. I have been working with a young man who applied as a Conscientious Objector who found out recently that it may take six months to process his application. This means that he will still have to go to Iraq with a gun in his hand. I spent time with a young man in tears whose recent bride will not talk to him on the phone other than saying she can only talk about it face to face. I have prayed with a woman soldier who is feeling isolated and vulnerable.
A small irony took place when I met SPC Schaeffer, a young man from Clearfield, PA who had converted from Protestantism to Orthodoxy. He had sought the path out himself. He was looking to speak with a chaplain who could connect him with Orthodox worship. On Saturday night, he and another soldier who grew up in an Orthodox-Catholic household and one more soldier who was interested went to an Easter Service in Biloxi. I helped to get them there. SP Schaeffer was interested that I knew so much about the services, iconography and hagiography. It’s likely that we will have more to talk about in country. I told him that some of the oldest Christian communities are in Iraq and if the climate allows, he might have an opportunity to go and worship with them. Amazingly, under Sadaam Christians were protected.
Right now I am happy in my work and in my day to day life here at Camp Shelby. Many of the soldiers are beautiful in their earnestness. One thing that seems to mark the American GI is his flexibility. They work hard and show resilience when things get tough. Just the other day the dates for the trip out to the National Training Center got moved up. Many have to leave tomorrow. They were told to pack up faster. They did. We’ve been on lock-down because of some missing sensitive items. They bear it in stride. The mix here is amazing. There are young men, men in their prime and men past their prime looking to contribute or have an adventure. The young women are determined and capable. I am where God wants me to be right now and I pray that my ministry among them is worthy in his eyes.
posted by Chaplain (CPT) Fokas at 3:08 PM
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