In The Box: Live Fire and Hands Across the Desert
The "Box" is a 1,000 square mile (the size of Rhode Island) area of desert in the middle of the Mojave that has been set apart for military purposes since before WWII. Up until recently the mock battles that took place at the National Training Center (NTC) were based on conventional warfare. Previously armies had territories which they had to defend, boundaries and phase lines on a linear battlefield. The battlefield which we were entering had been modified to reflect current operations. The Army has literally built little towns in this desert simulating Iraqi villages. We also had our own Forward Operating Bases (FOBS) behind a wire. Our troops ran patrol and security missions with cordon searches. We were often targets of insurgents either by IED's, suicide bombers, and ambushes.
The days in the FOB went fast even though bathing was a luxury. Most of the evenings were spent reacting to "mortar" fires by doning our body armor and walking over to the aid station to help with patients and offer pastoral care. Throughout the time there was a mix of notional and real patients. One young woman almost had her head crushed when the trap door of a 113 personnel transporter opened while she was standing under it. Luckily she only lost some teeth. A couple were forced up into her maxilla. When the Commander and I visited her in the hospital, her face was amazingly free of any marks. She was one very lucky young soldier. I told her how good she looked and we spent a few moments in prayer together.
SPC Hargrave and I were the only UMT to participate in live fire training. Basically, the point of our being part of the exercise was for practice during convoy operations. Due to the nature of the enemy and the war being fought, it is during convoy operations that we are currently most vulnerable. SPC Hargrave helped to "kill" a sniper that, so far, no other team has killed. I helped load ambulances and attend to the wounded any time we weren't the ones who were "killed." The reason we were targeted so often was because we were among the very few Humvees in the convoy. All the rest of the vehicles were much larger and more protected.
Whenever we weren't in action we were either sacked out because of the stifling heat or attending all sorts of meetings. The chaplain with whom I shared responsibility on the FOB (and who is a superior officer) just loved having regular pow-wows and offering critiques. I kept looking to see if there was an umbilical cord on me that the doc forgot to cut... The Army accomodates a wide variety of leadership styles. CH E has a wealth of experience and wisdom; it's just that he likes to dispense it spoonful by spoonful.
The Observer/Controllers who were working with us were truly excellent and encouraging. One was especially complimentary of me and SPC Hargrave. The OC's regularly followed us, gave coaching and critiques. At NTC, the OC's are hand selected and rotated every two years. It is considered an honored teaching position because one is working with soldiers who are about to deploy. In essence the teacher is making sure the soldiers are ready for combat and feel personally responsible that soldiers survive.
Several evenings I visited our "morgue" to see the "dead" and learn more about soldiers and the various companies missions. I would usually ask soldiers about their religious affliliation. If they did not claim one, I would often ask if they were baptised or taken to church as a child. Many responded "yes." I had more than a handfull of lapsed Roman Catholics. Sometimes the dead were forgotten in the morgue instead of being processed. I tried to help any way I could to speed up the process.
One day, a SSG assigned SPC Hargrave for a detail. Initially the SSG asked me whether he could assign the SPC to the detail. I said "yes," but then SPC Hargrave reminded me that the OC's had scheduled a review. I told the SSG that Hargrave would not be going. Politics occurred (I'll just leave it at that) and I found that I was on the short end of the stick. I decided as a means of protest that I would accompany a group of over 100 soldiers out to the desert to pick up trash (aka Hands Across the Desert) rather than show up for a ceremony to which I had been "invited." I think that the message was clearly sent that SPC Hargrave and I operate as a team. When we got back in the evening, everyone including my commander was especially nice to me. The benefit to me was that it showed that I was willing to go where the soldiers were. And I met and laughed with several. It was a really good day on many levels.
The porta-johns often had very colorful and often vulgar grafitti. I couldn't help myself. I would usually read it and laugh outloud if it wasn't downright hateful or degrading. One of my favorites that reflected just how clever soldiers are was "Lord Asherton cannot hold his liquor." I loved all the small ironies of this blurb.
Worship and Bible studies were meaningful. After we returned from the box, I held a Bible study and used two texts for meditation. One was Jacob wrestling with the angels and the other was Jesus' test in the desert. We spoke candidly about where we wrestle, how we've been wounded, and the nature of temptation. We also noted how angels minister to Jesus after his encounter with the devil in the desert.
The days in the FOB went fast even though bathing was a luxury. Most of the evenings were spent reacting to "mortar" fires by doning our body armor and walking over to the aid station to help with patients and offer pastoral care. Throughout the time there was a mix of notional and real patients. One young woman almost had her head crushed when the trap door of a 113 personnel transporter opened while she was standing under it. Luckily she only lost some teeth. A couple were forced up into her maxilla. When the Commander and I visited her in the hospital, her face was amazingly free of any marks. She was one very lucky young soldier. I told her how good she looked and we spent a few moments in prayer together.
SPC Hargrave and I were the only UMT to participate in live fire training. Basically, the point of our being part of the exercise was for practice during convoy operations. Due to the nature of the enemy and the war being fought, it is during convoy operations that we are currently most vulnerable. SPC Hargrave helped to "kill" a sniper that, so far, no other team has killed. I helped load ambulances and attend to the wounded any time we weren't the ones who were "killed." The reason we were targeted so often was because we were among the very few Humvees in the convoy. All the rest of the vehicles were much larger and more protected.
Whenever we weren't in action we were either sacked out because of the stifling heat or attending all sorts of meetings. The chaplain with whom I shared responsibility on the FOB (and who is a superior officer) just loved having regular pow-wows and offering critiques. I kept looking to see if there was an umbilical cord on me that the doc forgot to cut... The Army accomodates a wide variety of leadership styles. CH E has a wealth of experience and wisdom; it's just that he likes to dispense it spoonful by spoonful.
The Observer/Controllers who were working with us were truly excellent and encouraging. One was especially complimentary of me and SPC Hargrave. The OC's regularly followed us, gave coaching and critiques. At NTC, the OC's are hand selected and rotated every two years. It is considered an honored teaching position because one is working with soldiers who are about to deploy. In essence the teacher is making sure the soldiers are ready for combat and feel personally responsible that soldiers survive.
Several evenings I visited our "morgue" to see the "dead" and learn more about soldiers and the various companies missions. I would usually ask soldiers about their religious affliliation. If they did not claim one, I would often ask if they were baptised or taken to church as a child. Many responded "yes." I had more than a handfull of lapsed Roman Catholics. Sometimes the dead were forgotten in the morgue instead of being processed. I tried to help any way I could to speed up the process.
One day, a SSG assigned SPC Hargrave for a detail. Initially the SSG asked me whether he could assign the SPC to the detail. I said "yes," but then SPC Hargrave reminded me that the OC's had scheduled a review. I told the SSG that Hargrave would not be going. Politics occurred (I'll just leave it at that) and I found that I was on the short end of the stick. I decided as a means of protest that I would accompany a group of over 100 soldiers out to the desert to pick up trash (aka Hands Across the Desert) rather than show up for a ceremony to which I had been "invited." I think that the message was clearly sent that SPC Hargrave and I operate as a team. When we got back in the evening, everyone including my commander was especially nice to me. The benefit to me was that it showed that I was willing to go where the soldiers were. And I met and laughed with several. It was a really good day on many levels.
The porta-johns often had very colorful and often vulgar grafitti. I couldn't help myself. I would usually read it and laugh outloud if it wasn't downright hateful or degrading. One of my favorites that reflected just how clever soldiers are was "Lord Asherton cannot hold his liquor." I loved all the small ironies of this blurb.
Worship and Bible studies were meaningful. After we returned from the box, I held a Bible study and used two texts for meditation. One was Jacob wrestling with the angels and the other was Jesus' test in the desert. We spoke candidly about where we wrestle, how we've been wounded, and the nature of temptation. We also noted how angels minister to Jesus after his encounter with the devil in the desert.
posted by Chaplain (CPT) Fokas at 2:22 PM
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