Of Geckos and Men

SGT M_ has an easy way about him and has been easy to befriend, as well. His voice and manner is one of a person who grew up in a family with either Italian or Slavic roots. I think home for him is in Perkasie, Wilkes-Barre or someplace like that. He is in his mid to late twenties, I would say. I first met him back at the National Training Center (NTC) around the time when he met his father for the first time. I remember talking to him about the experience and being grateful that it went well for him. Sometimes encounters like the one SGT M sought out can be less than happy events. But for him it seemed to complete a picture. I think he went into it with some realism and didn’t have high expectations for this man who struggled with an alcohol addiction.

As I have gotten to know him better, I have learned that SGT M_ is a self-starter in so many areas of his life. One of his passions is air brushing. Apparently between that and being an accomplished drummer in a band back home his able to have a comfortable life. He has a fiancé, who he affectionately calls “my girl” (I don’t think I know her name yet). He has used his carpentry skills to improve a cabin by the lake back home. M_ has also added a screened in porch on his one room connex housing.

His natural curiosity led him out hunting one evening to catch small geckos. He proudly showed me the terrarium that he had built for the five or six reptiles which he had fashioned out of some scrap wood, Lucite, and netting, and a light bulb. I was impressed by the workmanship. SGT M_ noticed that every time he caught one of these geckos nearby there were usually native black beetles that traveled in pairs. He deduced that this must be the gecko’s food source. M_ wanted to know what the reptiles were, so we did some on line research. After visiting a handful of sites we were confident that what he had caught were Hook-toed geckos (that was the most common name for this species). We didn’t find too much on their dietary habits, so I told M_ to just watch them for a few days and see if they were getting lethargic or seemed hungry. SGT M_ went on to catch more beetles and moths by the lights of the DFAC (dining facility). The Hooked-toed geckos went on to flourish. M_ even put a tiny piece of cold cut on string and had them jumping all around inside their new home.

SGT M_ assembled a band here which won the talent show that I promoted. He wired the DFAC so we could have as close to a professional sound system as we could. One evening when he was visiting with me, our conversation went to musical instruments that we would like to learn. We both concluded that piano is on the top of the list. He confided in me that he would like to learn how to read music and that he “never was one much for book learning.” He also told me how his mother championed him when teachers had pretty much written him off because of attention deficit and other learning difficulties. I told him what I’ve witnessed in his natural curiosity and various gifts and that I believed he could learn most anything he wanted (including Aramaic, just because he thinks “it’s cool”). A few days later I ran into another young man in the chapel who was playing with the instruments. Somewhere in our chit-chatting, he tells me how much he loves music and that he’s pretty good with music theory and teaching. I tell him that I know someone who would like to learn from him.

To be human is to struggle with self doubt, but it takes a community of others to remind one of the strengths they possess. I hear echos of myself in many of those who come into my office. I try to recall the teachers (ministers and others) who have been “there” for me. The quality that remains most with me is all of them listened and many of them refused to buy into some lesser person than they knew I could be. I ordered a trumpet through the Army system. SGT M_ says that he’s “pretty sure” he could play Taps on it if needed again. I tell him that I hope that it will be here before Easter so he can play some flourishes during the Easter worship service.

Spiritual Readiness

The following piece was written for the monthly battalion newsletter:

Spiritual Readiness
Chaplain Aristides Fokas

You may be familiar with the saying that “Chance favors the well-prepared mind.” This was stated by Louis Pasteur the chemist who solved many biological mysteries. It has been said of Pasteur that his is one of the foremost contributors to the health of humanity. I think that it can be equally said that “Life favors the well prepared spirit.”

Soldiers in a war zone face a great deal of uncertainty on a daily basis. We do a great deal to insure safety and awareness in missions as build a routine to stay focused. Things in our immediate area may not seem to change much, but around us we might notice constant change. Or we may be facing a great deal of intensity, like the positive event of a marriage or new born child. Or it could be a tragic event like the loss of a comrade or our own severe injury. A healthy spirituality is one that helps us to face the ever changing aspects of our lives with realism and hope.

A Navy chaplain recently shared the story of a Marine who divulged to him that prior to deployment he had committed a serious crime and had “buried his conscience.” Within a matter of days, the Marine decided that it was important to come clean because he no longer wanted to feel dead inside. He had been working in Mortuary Affairs. To his other Marines he seemed constantly off his game, distracted and preoccupied. Perhaps noticing all the finality around him, he may have decided that it was time to “get right with God and the world.” His chaplain noted that when he came to say goodbye and return to the U.S. and face charges, he seemed more at peace and on his way to a redeemed life. The road will be long, but entirely more hopeful than what he had become and what he feared that he was becoming.

Practicing one’s faith prepares us to make life affirming choices even when the decisions are difficult. A mature spirituality recognizes that life is full of risks and consequences. Yet, faith reminds us that God is abounding in mercy no matter what our situation. Openness, flexibility, self-examination, prayer, the reading of scripture, being a friend, alertness a possessing a moral compass is all part of spiritual readiness. All that is necessary is a desire to grow and trust.

You said, "Seek My face", my heart said to You, "Your face, Lord I will seek."
( Psalm 27:8)

Constellations

When we first arrived here at Camp Taqaddum back in July we flew in during the night. After sitting on a somewhat ratty bus in the hot summer night with our gear piled all over the place, we made the half hour trip to our part of the Forward Operating Base (FOB). After unloading my gear and using one of the latrines, I decide to go by a wall and lie on the ground so as I could face the stars. The Milky Way was clear that night and even though I was dog tired I was in awe of the beauty of the sky.

Since that time, the sky has been more present here. The reason partly is that we are outside more often. The sunsets are often amazing and beautiful. Because most evenings have been clear, it has been easier to follow the progress of the moon. During an evening in early October I saw the very faintest sliver of a moon. I later pointed out in a briefing on the celebration of Ramadan, that when this sliver becomes evident that is when Muslims know to mark the beginning of the holy month.

The presence and activity of the sky inspired me to order a couple books on constellations and simple astronomy. The calls for Mortuary Affairs often come in the middle of the night. One evening as I stood outside under the stark and beautiful night sky waiting for SPC Hargrave I spent the time observing the Milky Way, a prominent red Mars and a clear bright Venus. Hargrave swung by with the humvee and we went on to the somber work we had to do. Recently, I have had as many as seven flag draped transfer cases resting in front of me. This particular evening there was only one. Since I now a veteran of these ramp ceremonies, I have less performance anxiety and am able to be more observant as I read the psalms and prayers. For some reason I became more aware of the field of blue and the stars in the flag. At this moment these for me were not our states, but reflective of the cosmos and the soldiers I had prayed over. As I match up names with the faces that appear on the news tributes, I realize that I will never look at an American flag the same again.

My father’s village in Greece had a cemetery in which two teenagers who had drowned were buried during a summer I was there. The Greeks often place portraits on the grave marker. I think it is so that the image of the loved one won’t fade as quickly. The pictures of the young who die have a mysterious quality to them. I search their faces for any hint of their ill fate. There is none. I often do not know who the soldiers are, but when I see their picture, I feel sadness and love for them. The mystery is this: I don’t know what kind of persons they were, if they had something more to live for than being a soldier, if they were a patriot or not, if their dying in this war really means what it is supposed to mean. I mourn the loss of their future. I love them for being mortal and made beautiful by immortality—I prayerfully see them entering the celestial sphere and being in a place where fear, death, tears and sighing are no more.

I have come to know the Marines who run the MA operation. Their deployments are only eight months, so I will come to know three different teams and their chaplains. No one can be assigned to this work nor compelled to remain. One must volunteer for this work. They remain separate from other units and are often treated as bearers of “bad luck” should another Marine or soldier come into contact with one. So, they keep a rather closed community. They work hard and their chaplain often has sessions with them discussing what they have dealt with. The purpose of this is to help them to learn a level of detachment. This way they don’t let their emotions get out of hand should they find a wallet with children’s pictures in them or a wedding ring or some other item that might have emotional significance.