Sleepwalking and other tales of life during wartime Part I
Recently, one evening I asked Hargrave if he wanted to watch a movie with me. We've gone through a slew of films together, mostly action and adventure, some comedies, the guilty pleasures of the Soprano's and the occasional thoughtful film like Hotel Rawanda. As he was sitting next to me cleaning his weapon, he kept dropping his cleaning tools and eventually the M-16 fell to the floor. He picked it up again and started cleaning it. I asked him if everything was ok. He looked exhausted and I encouraged him to go lie down. He literally staggered from his seat to the cot, but picked up the weapon again and continued to clean it and drop his tools. I told him that I was going to bed. Eventually, he got back up and continued to watch the movie. The next day when I asked him how he was doing, he had no recollection of the events of the prior evening. A few nights later he walked the 100m or so from his hooch to my office at about 3AM and woke me up and made several comments about looking for some keys or something very mundane like that. The next week a SGT from the signal company found him in his PT uniform in stocking feet at 0430 AM dusting off the top of a large air conditioning unit quite a distance away from his hooch. The SGT took Hargrave back and reported the incident to me. Of course, the sleepwalking incident made news all around the camp.
This bit of news was apparently interesting to a CPT who decided to bring it up out of context during a leadership meeting. I surprised myself by respectfully telling him that it was inappropriate to do so. I let him know that I already referred SPC H to the doctor and that this was really a command issue which was out of his lane. Truth be told, sleepwalking is a safety issue, but more so for front line soldiers. Hargrave spent the week sleeping in my quarters. Eventually we talked and he stated that what was stressing him has passed. From the little I know and have read, sleepwalking episodes can come up and then suddenly never happen again. Hargrave is sleeping back in his hooch and seems very "on" these days. I am very fortunate to have him. If I were to lose him, the ministry would be greatly hampered. I praise him as often as is realistic and let others know how valuable he is to the ministry. On occasion we make jokes about sleepwalking as our way to be subversive and get others to lighten up.
A few days later we had another "angel" to attend to and the following evening we went to say goodbye to CH Rivera at Mortuary Affairs. He and the Marines who staffed the MA were quickly ending their tour. The new team had come in. All of them are volunteers for this assignment and are allowed to bow out at any time. The Marines will find new work for them no questions asked. I was introduced to the new team and briefly addressed them and thanked them for taking on such serious work. Most of these young men listened attentively. Marines are very deferential toward their leaders something not always seen in the Army. A female Navy corpsman approached me and told me that she had lost everything back home in MS due to Katrina and that she was looking to have her service extended so that she could at least have a job. The Marine goodbye gathering included a pig roast, which was excellent. This was also a stimulating social event. One Marine LT was very bright. We exchanged ideas about a recent article written about the slow disintegration/evolution of the Y chromosome (recent news). A middle aged Marine and I talk about some of his favorite British comedies and SCI FI on PBS.
The gospel choir continues to amaze the worship goers. The choir is a racially mixed group with energy and talent. They are usually the highlight for the otherwise traditional Service of the Word that I usually offer. The choir is lead by a black female soldier who is the daughter of a minister. She stutters when she talks, but shows great joy when she is singing. This choir is among the most spirited I have encountered. I guess this is so because there is a sense of going through the work and hardships together. They have approached me about preparing a Christmas play. I said "of course." I will have to do a little research to find the right one.
As part of the war to "win the hearts and minds of the people" we gathered boxes upon boxes of school supplies that had yet to be distributed by the previous unit. We took the time to inventory the dozens of boxes of crayons, coloring books, pencils, sharpeners, pens, construction paper, etc. and passed it on to a Marine Civil Affairs Unit for distribution. We also collected bags upon bags of stuffed animals. These we saved for the possibility of distributing personally. The time has to be right, however, and the risk has to be reasonably low. This is not something I expect in the near future, given the recent events.
This bit of news was apparently interesting to a CPT who decided to bring it up out of context during a leadership meeting. I surprised myself by respectfully telling him that it was inappropriate to do so. I let him know that I already referred SPC H to the doctor and that this was really a command issue which was out of his lane. Truth be told, sleepwalking is a safety issue, but more so for front line soldiers. Hargrave spent the week sleeping in my quarters. Eventually we talked and he stated that what was stressing him has passed. From the little I know and have read, sleepwalking episodes can come up and then suddenly never happen again. Hargrave is sleeping back in his hooch and seems very "on" these days. I am very fortunate to have him. If I were to lose him, the ministry would be greatly hampered. I praise him as often as is realistic and let others know how valuable he is to the ministry. On occasion we make jokes about sleepwalking as our way to be subversive and get others to lighten up.
A few days later we had another "angel" to attend to and the following evening we went to say goodbye to CH Rivera at Mortuary Affairs. He and the Marines who staffed the MA were quickly ending their tour. The new team had come in. All of them are volunteers for this assignment and are allowed to bow out at any time. The Marines will find new work for them no questions asked. I was introduced to the new team and briefly addressed them and thanked them for taking on such serious work. Most of these young men listened attentively. Marines are very deferential toward their leaders something not always seen in the Army. A female Navy corpsman approached me and told me that she had lost everything back home in MS due to Katrina and that she was looking to have her service extended so that she could at least have a job. The Marine goodbye gathering included a pig roast, which was excellent. This was also a stimulating social event. One Marine LT was very bright. We exchanged ideas about a recent article written about the slow disintegration/evolution of the Y chromosome (recent news). A middle aged Marine and I talk about some of his favorite British comedies and SCI FI on PBS.
The gospel choir continues to amaze the worship goers. The choir is a racially mixed group with energy and talent. They are usually the highlight for the otherwise traditional Service of the Word that I usually offer. The choir is lead by a black female soldier who is the daughter of a minister. She stutters when she talks, but shows great joy when she is singing. This choir is among the most spirited I have encountered. I guess this is so because there is a sense of going through the work and hardships together. They have approached me about preparing a Christmas play. I said "of course." I will have to do a little research to find the right one.
As part of the war to "win the hearts and minds of the people" we gathered boxes upon boxes of school supplies that had yet to be distributed by the previous unit. We took the time to inventory the dozens of boxes of crayons, coloring books, pencils, sharpeners, pens, construction paper, etc. and passed it on to a Marine Civil Affairs Unit for distribution. We also collected bags upon bags of stuffed animals. These we saved for the possibility of distributing personally. The time has to be right, however, and the risk has to be reasonably low. This is not something I expect in the near future, given the recent events.
posted by Chaplain (CPT) Fokas at 9:53 PM
