Marriage Symposium

I had an opportunity to be back in the saddle with chapel operations as the leadership at Bolling graciously invited me to be a presenter for their marriage symposium today. I spoke on personality type and relationships. I enjoyed this as I haven't had the opportunity since coming to Arlington. They have also extended an invitation for me to preach in upcoming chapel services. This will help keep the rust out of the gears for the next few years.

Special Duty

Now that my assignment is over, I can share what I was doing this week. I was serving as an escort for two conferences involved general officers meeting with the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff. It was a tremendous experience. I served as the personal escort for two retired 4 star generals. One was the second most ranking general at the conference. He was quite a joy to talk with. He started his service in Europe during WWII flying Spitfires, Hurricanes, and Mustangs. He has accomplished what would take most people three lifetimes to accomplish.

My primary duty was transportation to and from the airports and being on hand for response to needs that might pop up. For a part of the day I was tasked with standing in a hall way next to the conference room to keep an eye out which enabled me to hear briefings given by the Chief and the Secretary. I even had the opportunity to have a short conversation with the Secretary.

They were long days up at 0400 and to be after midnight, with periods of nothing much going on punctuated by hyper activity to get something done, but it was a tremendous opportunity to speak with some key leaders from our past who are still quite involved in things and to hear what our chief leaders are about today.

A great week!

A story about the conference can be found here.

Air Force Needed: Recommended Reading

I recommend reading this OP from the New York Times. I've heard the buzz around that the nature of war is changing and air power is not as necessary as it once was. But here are some straight facts and some excellent assessment on that.

"We Still Need Big Guns"

Great Duty

There are many different kinds of tasks or work associated with being a chaplain and / or an officer with the Air Force. Like any profession, there are days where for various reasons the work seems long and tedious. But most days the work, especially as a chaplain, is dynamic and offers opportunities to make a serious impact. Sometimes something special comes along.

This week something special is coming along. I'm not going to go into details for security reasons, but the next few days my duty station is not at Arlington but somewhere else in DC doing something I've never done before.

It look like it is going to be a lot of fun. Long hours though. Have to be on scene at 0500 possibly until midnight and on call when I'm not there. But there are only a handful of us doing this job and it provides an opportunity I would not have expected.

Need a Vacation from Vacation

The Holidays are over. Thankfully. I'm just plain tired. Between a report that was given to me the Friday before Christmas and wrapping up a database design by the first week of January, I wound up working around 40 hours either at home or the office on these projects over the four day holiday weekend. I stayed up late and pushed hard over the weekend trying to get these two projects done to the point that I knew I could meet my deadlines, but the database proved to be a particular bear. I still had to put in some time Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but I did get it to the point that I didn't have to take anything with me when we left on leave Thursday after Christmas. I would have had it done before now, but I was waiting to see if we got a network drive before putting in all the time to rework the individual stand alone version. I got news the network was up suddenly without much warning and with the new year coming, it was best to get the system up for tracking data for the next calendar year. Lots of work, but now our team will always have an up to date calendar, will know exactly what the status is on each funeral, what all the upcoming assignments are, and our chaplain assistants will no longer have to manually track and compute metrics. I even set it up to do charts for them. It has been fun learning how to put Access to work.

The family and I made it to Christmas Eve candlelight services at a Lutheran church not far from us. This was a special treat. Last year I was deployed and the year before I was conducting the Protestant Christmas Eve service at Andrews. This is the first Lutheran candlelight service I've been too since leaving the parish.

I hope next year to be able to take leave over Christmas itself for a good old fashioned family gather with my family back in Tennessee. But we'll see. I might could have gotten leave this year, but initially I thought I was likely going to be recovering from some surgery so didn't request it. I hoped to have this done in the slow time here at the cemetery to have less impact on the team, but Walter Reed is booked solid right now. Not only do they see all the active duty here in the area, they also treat many of the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, and bunches of retirees as well as dependents.

The day after Christmas turned cold and wet on us. I had a fill in from the honor guard. She did a great job and everything went well if we were a bit wet and cold. That evening we visited with friends from my former parish in Illinois whose son lives in the area.

We made it to Tennessee to visit with Mom on the 27th. Traffic down was not bad at all and we made good time.The sunset was incredible on the ride down. It is a beautiful ride all the way once one is out of the DC corridor as you follow the Appalachian Mountains all the way down I-81. For some reason the drastic climate change struck me in a more profound way this time. Not the weather but the conduct of folks in general. People are more courteous and friendly back home and down to earth with good common sense values. I miss that.

I wore a jacket that has Air Force embroidered on it part of the time. Several times I was stopped and asked if I was in the military now, had been to Iraq, what it was really like, and even a couple of times who I thought would be good presidential material. Each time from these good southern mountain folks I sensed a true sense of dedication and support for those who serve and for the mission and job they are doing. It was most heartening to know that my folk back home still believe in what we are doing and still expect that we are going to win. (The picture of PALS is of a restaurant near my Mom's. They started out with two smaller more conventional restaurants and expanded with other like the drive in here. They have become an icon of Kingsport.)

I took the family to Dollywood for the Festival of Lights. My oldest daughter talked me into riding the Tennessee Tornado (a mid-size single rail roller coaster with several upside down loops) - something she regretted doing. (Not that I was the most eager beaver myself). Scared her to death. I'm not talking blood curdling scream kind of scared. I'm talking the white faced, eyes wide, deathly silent, how could you do this to me look after it was over kind of scared. It took me a roll of cinnamon bread from the mill house, hot apple cider, and an hour for her to calm down.

I could have used that cinnamon bread trying to get into Sevierville. 2 hours to go the last six miles. I think everyone and their cousin was aiming for the festival of lights down there. There were a couple of points where I thought about ordering a pizza and having it sent to the car. But the park wasn't too crowded and we got into most everything my family wanted to see. My youngest was very impressed with the train ride. My most refreshing moment was listing to a quartet of bluegrass musicians singing old Christmas carols of the hills. I was encouraged when one gentleman shared that with the blessing of Dollywood they wished us a Merry Christmas with the stress on the Christ in Christmas and then proceeded to give a clear statement of faith in the Gospel of Christ. In Dollywood back in the hills of Tennessee Christ is still the heartbeat of the Christmas season. I spoke with one of the musicians and found that he grew up not far from where I live and that his father pastored a church about five miles south of here. Small worlds.

I spent some time doing odds and ends around Mom's house. Her health is in serious decline. She hasn't been telling me everything. I wish I was in a position to keep a closer eye on her. I did take an afternoon for what is one of my favorite past times in the hills of Tennessee. I picked one of the trails that weaves its way through the hills and countryside and spent the afternoon running. I was sore the next few days, but my spirit was refreshed. My Mom even taught my wife how to make a country pot of soup beans. First time in years that I've enjoyed a bowl of brown beans and homemade cornbread. That was some good eatin!

Our drive back took a bit more time. Traffic was thicker, but I figure everyone was heading home from their holiday trek. The weather had threatened snow, but after a couple of hours the sky cleared and we had a beautiful day. But I'm still just plain tired. Of six days on leave we spent 2 of them on the road and 1/2 of the third one and all of them we were on the go. I feel like I need a vacation from my "vacation". I would like to have taken a bit more time, but that was all that was open and I had to have my oldest back for school.

A lot of military families flex their schedule by homeschooling, but I prefer my kids have the challenge and socialization of a public school, as long as it meets certain standards. Though I will admit if we had stayed where we were, I would probably have home schooled my oldest before sending her to middle school there with the problems the school district had.

Our team has a bit of a slower pace the next few days. Several are taking a day off tomorrow as they have nothing scheduled. I'm going over to Bolling AFB for training for a special duty assignment that will be my primary focus next week. (It's shaping up to look like a lot of fun too!) The chaplain I share an office with doesn't have anything on Friday either and I only have one service at the moment. I plan to use the slower time to get the database installed and work out an outline for marriage seminar that I have a week from Saturday over at Bolling AFB. Look like the next 12 days or so are going to be busy too with this temporary assignment and getting ready for the seminar. I think after next weekend I'm going to try to find a day where I can just kick back and rest a bit.

Sign of the Times

April 8, 1966 the magazine "Time" had the cover "God is dead". Looks like once again, they just don't get it. Just goes to show that freedom of the press is no guarantee of truth.

Time article:

Helping the Air Force Win WWII

Time neglects to mention
+ China is developing next generation fighters.
+ Last few weeks Russia has been more boisterous with the west.
+ The Air Force flies many other kinds of planes than fighters that are essential to national security.
+ The Air Force flies every single wounded or sick military or DOD person home for care.
+ Every single military member or DOD employee that deploys for the war on terror flied in an AF bird at some point.
+ Not to mention the AF moves supplies, and personnel all over the theater.
+ Not to mention the AF is responsible for rapid on call transport of national leaders and essential personnel.
+ Not to mention space command - our communications and eyes in the sky
+ Not to mention the state of art medical facilities we maintain in the theater of operations

Personally I'd prefer to fight the terrorist somewhere else so we have no more 9/11s and keep our military technologically and professionally superior so we don't have any more Dec 7ths either.

ps. I love the bit about dogfighting. Shows a total ignorance of how real combat tends to shake down. I guess they forgot the lessons of Vietnam where our pilots were taking a beating with stand off tactics until the AF returned to teaching them dog fighting skills. But it sounds like "stand off" or "stay out of it" might be the thinking cap this writer is using. Someone should tell the ostriches that you can hide your head in the sand but your hiney is still up in the air. I can imagine the next editorial will be directed toward law enforcement telling them to make do with 25 - 40 year old automobiles since there aren't really any bad guys out there any more (just take it easy on the curves and watch the acceleration.)

Christmas in DC

This week I and several of my military team were invited to the White House to tour the Christmas decorations. (Picture to the left is from 2004, no cameras allowed.) Yes, we were there when the fire broke out next door in the Executive Office building. We thought something might be going on from the scramble we saw with some of the Secret Service. The fire did not disrupt events in the White House though. Outside though, it was evident that big doings were going on as firetrucks screamed through the area.

I was very surprised by a few things. Everything we saw is old, nothing much modern. The rooms were tall but much smaller than I would have thought. But there was not a plain or uninteresting surface, nor is the artistic aspect overdone. It was truly an enjoyable experience. Then it was back to work.


Thursday was a surprising day. The Air Force is doing a major re-engineering of some of my old dental work and I looked forward to a day of having the whole left side of my head numb. (Wasn't dissapointed there.) We had a last minute training evolution dropped on us too. I was lucky though, I got out of my appointment in time to make the session and find a parking place (a huge challenge at Bolling AFB). My teammate drove over and could not find parking near the location so he wound up not taking the training. You don't dare park creatively (illegally) as the DC police dept will kindly serve as your conscience. I've gotten used to parking at the BX and just walking the mile or mile and a half to get to where I am going. But sometimes you don't have the time.

Speaking of time, I wish I had a few more days before Christmas. This will be my third year away from home for the holidays. I hope to take some leave right after Christmas but it will depend on whether I get a few things done. I had some things fall onto my desk this week that I didn't anticipate. I've been tapped for a short term special duty escorting flag officers which has moved up some suspenses of projects I am working on. Looks like during the long weekend that most civilian federal employees are enjoying I'll be working on finishing up two major projects and starting a third. (The gym I use has been closing at 2:30pm already for the holidays and starting tomorrow is completely closed - yes it's a military gym, but not Air Force.) One is very labor intensive as it involves finalizing a design for a database for our Air Force team at Arlington to help us better track and manage our funeral services. The other is not as intensive, but requires precision or as it is called "attention to detail". That one is due the 26th. I hope to knock out most of that tomorrow if I can get into my office which can be a challenge. The military does not control the building my office is in. I've found that my access to my office tends to be restricted to normal business hours, when the civilians are in. Last time I tried to get in on a Saturday, the computer access would not recognize me. Well that is not exactly the case. It knew who I was, it just wouldn't allow me in. I've been told that has been corrected so tomorrow I plan to test it. (Me & computers haven't been getting along lately. Blew the mother board out on my main system at home and my keyboard at the office likes to type on its own sometimes.) If I can't get in to my office over the weekend then I'll go in during the day on Christmas Eve when the computer locks will allow me access during normal business hours. I just wish life came at you in normal business hours. At least the building will be quiet. (Hope the heat is on. Hmmm.... didn't think about that.)

I'm reminded every day practically that our service members don't really have regular office hours when I see the security forces personnel manning our gates at one of the local bases. A local radio station is asking for people to pray for those overseas and away from family. But I wonder if folks realize that even military people right here at home are pulling duty away from family. This is a job that takes the vast majority of our folks away from home. Not many can take leave, because we always have the job to do and we must always be prepared for contingencies. Our cops are standing security in the cold. Our communications and command and control folks are in their work centers. Our hospitals are staffed. There will be a lot of our young men and women working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Our family will spend part of Christmas Eve in worship at a local Lutheran congregation that is holding a candelight service. I bit early for my taste (5:30 and 7:30pm) but it looks to be very nice. Christmas Day we will likely visit a different church for worship. There are a bunch of great Lutheran congregations in the area. Wednesday I have a full day with funerals as I am the only chaplain doing funerals that day. I hope to be able to leave for the mountains of Tennessee on the 27th to spend some time with my Mom. The holidays weigh on her now that my father has passed to be with the Lord. I also hope to get my girls down to Dollywood for the festival of lights. Then it will be back for training, escort duty, and finalizing preparations for a marriage workshop that I am supporting at Bolling.

Wreaths At Arlington

It was quite cold as my oldest daughter, her friend, and myself met with our IMA Chaplain and one of our chaplain assistants and his girlfriend to join in the annual wreath laying at Arlington. This year the number of wreathes was doubled to 10,000. There was a huge crowd of folks. I would guess there were 3 to 5 thousand people here. We took a wreath a piece and found gravesites to lay the wreath. The girls laid their wreaths on soldiers who fought in the Spanish American war. I laid my wreath on the grave of a sailor who fought in World War I.

I buried an airman who retired from the Air Force after many years of service. He started his service in WWII in the Army Air Corp where he flew 7 missions against the Ploesti Oil Fields in Romania which were the main source of petroleum products for the Nazi war machine. Casualties were very high. At one point so many plains in his squadron were shot down, that his plane became the lead plane.

I am especially moved by those services where the families share my hope in resurrection through what Christ accomplished for us at the cross. Each family grieves the loss of their loved ones, but St. Paul is so right when he says that those who have faith do not grieve as others do. You can see the hope in their eyes when the traditional passages of Scripture promise are read. Christmas is especially moving as it is very much in remembrance that the Savior came to this world to defeat sin and death. Even as the holiday season expands due to various cultural and social influences to include non-Christian traditions, it will always be the birth of Jesus that is the source for why their is a Christmas celebration. And death, the biggest problem of them all still finds its only solution in the promised salvation and resurrection that is God's gift to us through faith in Jesus Christ. My favorite services are those where I not only honor the memory and sacrifice of military service made by the deceased, but where I also proclaim and celebrate with the family our shared hope in Jesus.

Beneath the Air Force Memorial

These are fields of honor spread out beneath the Air Force Memorial.

There is a great deal of history here, a great deal of valor and sacrifice, stretching back through the corridors of time to the Civil War itself. The trees are peaking in their color and once again the seasons shift as time progresses. There is in the midst of the passage of time, something timeless about Arlington - the values that lead men and women to serve country even with the risk that such service may call forth the ultimate price. It is humbling to be part of what Arlington is about. Arlington is far more than the trees, and the green fields; the new crisp stones and the weathered ones; more than the view. As I share in each service, "this is hallowed ground, hallowed by the service and sacrifice of those who are buried here."

Hallowed is an ancient word, far older than Arlington, but likely not more ancient than war and struggle to defend oneself and one's loved ones against oppression and tyranny. Hallowed means to be set apart and above for a special and unique purpose. In religious though it pertain that which is sacred and of the realm of God. But there is a hallowedness to military service as well. For military service is first and foremost service. For the Air Force, this expressed in one of our core values "service before self". Arlington is ground set aside to recognize, honor, and inscribe in stone the remembrance of those who gave their life in that service. In my opinion, the honor is not bestowed through burial here, but recognized. The honor is bestowed in the faithful service of those who buried here.

I am blessed to work along side every day some of the most dedicated and honorable people I have ever known. I'll also admit than when I walk or drive through the pathways of the cemetery, I smile when I see the arches of the Air Force Memorial rising up over the treeline of this ground - for each arch reminds me of a core value that I truly believe are more than just words for the Air Force - but are truly lived by our service members every day: integrity, excellence in all we do, and service before self. Those arches remind me of why I am here. They challenge to rise and meet their challenge for service.

Profound Honor

There is a part of our honors ceremony that is most profound to me - the most profound 3 seconds of my day. It comes after I have presented the flag to the next of kin, and having risen, look down at them and execute a 3 second salute of that very flag in honor of their loved one's service to our nation.

Every salute, the same motion, the same honor - but a unique family, a unique pair of eyes that I look into, a unique story, a unique contribution.

Last weekend I traveled with our honor guard to Pennsylvania to pay that honor to young man who lost his life in Iraq. Irwin PA is a beautiful town full of beautiful patriotic people. All over town the flags were at half staff. Members of the Patriot Guard came from all over to pay tribute as well. Local law enforcement and fire were out in force. It was a cold crisp day and I am very proud of the job done by the young men and women of the Air Force honor guard. They were precise and incredible. I was honored to stand by their side to conduct the graveside services. After the service I stopped to grab a cup of hot coffee to warm up at a local convenience store. Still in uniform, I had a number of people approach and thank me for the service our team rendered. I was very moved by their loving words of support not just for the family but also for the troops and airmen who remain fighting the war. Sometimes I wonder if our people really get this war, what it is about, why it has to be fought, and why it has to be won. But I'm convinced the people I talked to in this small town get it.

Last Tuesday, I conducted graveside services for for another young man, whose family had come to Arlington to bury him here in these fields of honor. He died in the same blast as the man I buried on Saturday. He made the same sacrifice. Once again, it was a profound honor to serve his wife and children, to serve his fellow airmen who grieved his loss. I read with deep appreciation a comment the man himself had made not long before his death about the importance of his service and the job he was doing and how the tide turning and we are winning. I journeyed to Andrews for the funeral and rode back with the family in a motorcade to Arlington. Here too law enforcement had turned out in mass, the thin blue line showing tribute to one of their own who happened to serve in the military.

That is one of the big things I like about the Air Force. We are professional. We are good at what we do. We get the job done. He know about -- we live integrity, honor, excellence, service. But we are also family. We surround one another and care for one another. I shared with both families that today or years from now, if they need us to reach to us - their Air Force family - because we will not forget. And we will not fail.

These days I remind myself quite often when I listen to the news and comments of some various folks, the works of Rocky Balboa in the latest installment of the Rocky series: "It's not about how hard you can hit... It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward... that's how winning is done."

pacis ex victoria

Thanksgiving Day Interview

Thanksgiving Day Fox News radio is going to have an news special about troops and their life in forward deployed location including a segment with an Air Force chaplain. I look forward to hearing this, but I have to laugh thinking about it.

Monday night I checked my email for the first time in several days. To my utter shock and surprise I had an invitation to be interviewed by Fox for this segment. I had read an article by one of their correspondents about how he was in the process of loosing half his body weight, something I myself had to contend with 20 years ago today. (Yep, believe it or not - I topped out at 320 when I was 22). I had written him a quick note to encourage him to keep with it and he had written back that they wished to find an AF chaplain for this segment. They were taping at 1400 (2pm) yesterday, so I informed and secured the permission of my supervising chaplain, and from Public Affairs in my chain of command. IN the midst of this I was attending a meeting for my supervising chaplain and a uniform fitting for cold weather over at Bolling. But everything came together like clockwork. My colleague having graciously took my funeral, and I was arriving at Fox having made my way through DC traffic, (almost as difficult as loosing the weight so many years ago) when I received a call from the Air Force Chief of Chaplains office explaining that they had arranged for a phone interview with the command chaplain who is currently deployed for CENTAF and that I didn't need to report for the interview. So I made my way back out of downtown and experienced once again the joy of trying to figure out how to get back to where you came from with all DC's one way streets. I finally wound up over on the east side of the belt way before I found something I recognized. That is one nice thing about the belt way - if you get disoriented you will eventually run into it somewhere. It was a hectic day. I had a nice cup of cappuccino once I got home.

I do look forward to hearing the segment especially to compare how things are going now compared to how they were going when I was deployed with the troops last Thanksgiving and Christmas. I recall Thanksgiving fondly, because that night we were being shelled. It was after the service and we were still locked down from the shelling and a handfull of us were still there, including some who have become my friends from the EMEDS unit. We sat around finishing off my wife's famous fudge and singing Christmas carols. It truly was a grand time. I was glad to have my friends with me as a box of fudge is a huge tempation to an ex fat guy.

Fall and the Great Generation

Fall has finally arrived at Arlington, though the recent drought has dimmed the color throughout the cemetery according to those who work here. Friday was our first cold and rainy day. By afternoon I think everyone was cold and soggy including the horses that pull the caisson. But that is part of the job knowing that we go in all weather - the mission will always be accomplished here - to honor those who have served their country in uniform.

I have had some very touching funerals in the past few weeks. There are so many unique stories. I have had a memorial service for a man shot down in Korea whose remains have yet to be recovered. A young man killed in a motor cycle accident. An 82 year old man killed in an accident with a car while he was riding his bicycle. Many unique ones. Almost all my services are connected to veterans or dependents of World War II.

As I hear their stories from their loved ones and sometimes read their stories through tributes and official military documents, I have come to see that perhaps the description of "the greatest generation" is not lost upon them. I would certainly rate today's soldier, sailor, marine, or airman up there with any warrior of that age. And indeed they are engaged in titanic struggle of huge scope and perhaps even more important consequence, but truly there was something special about the generation that saved the world from the tyranny and dominance of Nazi Germany and Japan.

Thinking of that generation, one too has to remember, that the men and women who went off to fight the war, and the men and women who remained at home, did not have the advantage of knowing they would win. They believed they could win. They knew they had to win. And they were committed to winning. But they didn't know, like we know, that they won.

I have a strategy game that reenacts WWII that I enjoy playing from time to time. But knowing how the war went makes it much easier to win the game. How much easier decisions and effort would be if we could someone jump to the last page of the book and ready how it turns out - or at least get some hints about how to reach a successful conclusion beyond the investment of will, reason, and perhaps plain and pure guts. But will, reason, and plain and pure guts is what they had for they didn't have the advantage of hindsight, the possession of the last page of the book. The outcome was far from certain in the early days and costs were high, but they did not quibble.

Costs were high. We have lost some 3,800 casualties in Iraq, and unless I am mistaken, not all that number is due to combat losses. Illnesses, accidents, suicides, and so forth are included I believe. Each death is one to be mourned and a terrific cost in defense of liberty. But the costs of the WWII generation were staggering. Sometimes the first day of a campaign's opening would bring more casualties than our 6 years combined in the war against terror. But they believed they could not afford the cost of loosing. They believed before they knew - before the last page was written - before the pictures - concentration camps, dead children, dead mothers, fathers, grandparents, entire families, emaciated bodies of the survivors. They believed before certain evidence of a desire by those who considered themselves superior in breeding and philosophy to the rest of the human race who considered they had a destiny to rule all others - that liberty was the enemy of human achievement and rule by the select to be our end. How the world would be different had the men and women of the great generation quibbled. But they did not. With penetrating insight they believed. They looked, considered, understood the tremendous price and sacrifice demanded, but understood the cost of not going forth, girded up their courage with with reason, will, and pure guts and went forth determined to not loose for the sake of liberty, for the sake of their children and grandchildren. I am one of those grandchildren. Perhaps so are you. Enslaved nations were liberated. Conquered nations were set free, rebuilt, and have become tremendous allies of liberty in the world.

It is a true honor at the graveside of one of these airmen to manifest the honor and the debt that this nation has for them. But not for warriors alone. I do almost as many funerals for wives and sometimes the dependent husband. And this is where the generation that my uncle who past away last Friday, who fought at Bastone, truly becomes Magnus - (Great). It was not just the nation's men taking up the shield and spear of war and sallying forth into defense of liberty and justice but those who remained at home who committed themselves to winning the war. Manufacturing plants hummed. Food and other goods were shared and people went without that supplies could be sent forth. Even children collected scrap metal. The entire nation reasoned, willed, and went forward with determination to win. Of course I speak with hyperbole, for there were then, as always detractors, doubters, contesters. But that generation would have no whisper of doubt, no whiff of defeat, no weakness of knee detract it from the only reasonable path before it in the face of what was coming. Victory. For surrender was death, perhaps slow, perhaps in the future, but death for liberty to be certain. Death of a dream. Death of what our nation stood for. And this the great generation, this the Magni, could not stand - so forth they marched, at great cost, to great and tragically necessary victory.

Every year the seasons come and go. Summer if followed by fall and temperatures cool and colors bloom. But the winds of coolness remind us that time passes and winter will come. So we gird ourselves and prepare for service in the cold, the rain, the snow, and the ice because it must be done. But Spring comes too. New life. New hope. But even in the midst of spring one knows that to all things there is a season. A time for peace. A time for war. Soon summer comes again. Once again fall comes and winter will rear its cold head. We do what must be done in all kinds of weather - with the same dedication every day, every time heat or cold beautiful day or cold dreary rainy day - for each family, each servant has earned the gratitude and the honor that is our privilege to represent on behalf of the nation at Arlington.

The Serenity of Arlington

The family and I have settled into our new location in Alexandria VA. The area is night and day different from the area Andrews sits in. The schools are something to brag on. (Though I have to say, my oldest had great teachers last year, even if the school system Andrews sits in is challenged.) What is most noticeable is the attitude of folks here when you go shopping or out to a restaurant. They are friendly. People's attitudes are entirely different on this side of the Potomac. There is courtesy and respect. At Andrews, we tended to just stay on base to avoid the rudeness encountered when we tried to go shopping or out to eat. We do miss our friends from on base and our kids miss their friends, but we try to take them over periodically to visit.


I've been at Arlington for close to a month now. It is a most serene and profound place to serve our nation. It is a place where, as a chaplain, I have the opportunity to live out the vision of the Air Force Chaplain service to Glorify God, Honor Airmen, and Serve All. Already I have conducted funeral services for many families both of faithful wives and of dedicated warriors.

At Arlington, the flag honors those whose honored the flag with their service.

So what is it like. The cemetery itself is a very moving and serene place.

These pictures attest to the serenity and dignity that is Arlington National Cemetery. I admit I am very moved as I drive to work past the Air Force Memorial, because the shadow the memorial falls over the cemetery. There are few places within the cemetery proper that one cannot view the Memorial rising skyward.

People are most familiar with the rows of simple white stones arrayed in precision marking the resting places of those who have finished their course in this life. But the cemetery has much personality. There are many older areas where the stones are quite unique. Each has its special story to tell.

The service itself is an event to experience and treasure.

For a Full Honors service, I will meet at the transfer site with the Air Force Honor Guard and the Non-commissioned Officer in Charge or the Officer in Charge. As the family approached, the entire detail including honor guard and band snap to attention. As the hearse draws past, we slowly salute the flag that accompanies the remains, dropping the salute and moving to the position of rest as the hearse passes. When all is ready, all are called to attention and members of the honor guard carefully and precisely transfer the remains to the caisson, a horse drawn carriage. Then we march to the grave side in formation to the music of the Air Force band.

At the grave side, the chaplain leads the team bearing the remains to the grave, or if it is the columbarium, the the central pavilion. There the chaplain conducts a short service of tribute to the person's service. Sometimes an escorting minister will conduct the religious portion of the service. Often the chaplain provides this for the family. Then military honors are rendered. The flag, which has been held motionless over the body by the honor guard for the duration of the service, is now precisely folder and presented to the chaplain with a final salute, who then turns and presents it to the next of kin offering the final salute to this flag which is now retired from service in honor of the military member who is being buried. At this point, an Arlington lady, one of our fine volunteers, comes forward and offers condolences to the family members. Following this, the chaplain offers his personal condolences and comfort and the ceremony is concluded.