Spring has Come to Arlington

The weather has warmed considerably here, and Spring has certainly arrived. The cemetery is awash in color from Cherry Blossoms to the first flowers of the season.

This first picture I call "Law and Gospel". In my faith tradition we have this complimentary dichotomy in our theology. The "law" refers to that in God's Word which shows our shortcomings and sin. The Gospel is that which in God's Word declares God's love and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished in His death and resurrection. The picture at the right expresses the the hope that I have and many of the folks have who I minister to here at Arlington. In the midst of the reality of death (the law) there blooms the hope of life as the cold dead season of winter gives way to the incredible beauty of spring.

As Chaplains, we are surrounded by the reality of death every day here at Arlington. Each person we bury and every family member we minister to is a unique person. There are so many incredible lives that we honor. I've held services for men and women who have served their country in such amazingly difficult and demanding situations and did so with honor and sacrifice, who then went on to lead amazing lives in the civilian world as well. I gain a very unique perspective on our military community here as I am allowed the privilege of one coming to know to some small degree these amazing heroes and as I am allowed to participate in the ceremony that assists the families with bringing closure and come to see in some small degree just how much their loved on meant to them. It is very humbling to serve at Arlington.

But death is the reality. Yet there are so many encouraging stories. So many things to bring a smile to one's face. I rejoice when I see loved one's whose faces light up with hope as I share the promises of God with them. For me, even the cemetery itself cries out hope, as the trees and flowers come to life. Here the dead are honored and remembered, but hope is also flourishing.

There are certain spots in the cemetery that are especially meaningful to me. The spot near the Pentagon where the memorial to the victims of Sept 11th sits and many of the dead are buried, is a place I like to view and meditate upon. It reminds me of one of the key motivators that lead me to put the uniform on again. It reminds me of why victory must be won and freedom must triumph.

And finally, I had to give you one good shot of the famous Cherry Blossoms of the DC area. These are from Fort Meyer, which sits adjacent to the cemetery. It is there that we do most of our grocery shopping, where I get my gas, and go to the gym, most of the time.

The pace has picked up with Spring coming on. Monday I had 6, but my boss took a couple of them from me, so I dropped to 4. Week after next though, I am on temporary duty down to Atlanta for training in "SafeTalk" a new suicide awareness and intervention program. I'll come back as a trainer. The other big program that I've been managing should wrap up this week. It was not bad at all because I had some really great folks working with me and they made this happen.

Have a great spring!

On this Anniversary of the Iraq War

This is worth looking at: "Not Ready to End the Fight"

Read the story behind the video here

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

I think it is important for folks to remember we who serve volunteer to serve. We go in harms way to defend liberty, our nation, and our families because we want to serve.

There are important lessons from our history we must never forget.


I also find myself moved by this video on Youtube set to
Toby Keith's: "American Soldier"

I'm just tryin' to be a father
raise a dauther and a son
be a lover to their mother
everything to everyone
up and at em bright and early
i'm all busness in my suit
ya i'm dressed up for sucsess
from my head down to my boots
i don't do it for the money
there's bills that i can't pay
i don't do it for the glory
i just do it anyway
providing for our futures
my responsibility
ya i'm real good on the pressure
bein all that i can be

i can't call in sick on mondays when the weekends been too strong
i just work straight through the hollidays
sometimes all night long
you can bet that i stand ready
when the wolf growles at the door
hey i'm solid
hey i'm steady
hey i'm true down to the core

And i will always do my duty
no matter what the price
i've counted up the cost
i know the sacrafice

oh and i don't want to die for you
but if dyin's askin me, i'll bear that cross with honor
cause freedom don't come free

I'm an american soldier
an american
beside my brothers and my sisters
i will proudly take a stand
when liberty's in jeapordy
i will always do whats right
i'm out here on the front line
sleep in peace tonight
American Soldier
i'm an american soldier

ya an american soldier
an american
beside my brothers and my sisters
i will proudly take a stand
when liberty's in jeapordy
i will always do whats right
i'm out here on the front line
so sleep in peace tonight
American Soldier
i'm an american
an american
an american soldier

Above All II

I was reading this morning that the Air Force has awarded the contract for our much needed new tanker. My attention was grabbed by a line that while the contracts is very expensive, it is nowhere near as expensive as the Army's new Future Combat Systems Program. I went to watch the video "warning order" at this site http://www.army.mil/fcs/ and I had to smile. In the midst of all the high tech training and combat there is one essential piece of the puzzle to getting the army from their home station to the fight: The United States Air Force! Hoorah!

Above All

Above all -- an apt description for our Air Force. Thanks to the professionalism of our people and the dedicated planning for the future, air dominance will be maintained playing a key part not only in the security of our nation but also in that of the world. Since the invention of the air plane, no war has been won without air dominance.

Great video here

Project Officer and farewells

I've had the privilege of serving as project officer for several different events, some major ones and some small ones. Serving as a project officer is not an uncommon thing for a chaplain at my level. But the project I'm working on now though is a key one and special, one I will remember I think as a highlight of my career. I am organizing the annual Air Force Assistance Fund Campaign for the wing that I am assigned to and serving as the alternate and assistant to the lead project officer for the entire Air Force command in the area. As I shared with my commander this week, this is a project that I know makes a difference in the lives of our airmen. The AFAF raises funds that will be used in the next year to take care of emergency financial needs of our airmen when tragedy or the plain circumstances of life happen. And AFAF also provides funds and places to stay for widows of Air Force veterans who have no other place to turn to. Air Force Aid, one of the beneficiaries of the campaign, is known for quickly providing emergency funds to our airmen when emergencies and tragedies strike. Life happens and it can often be very difficult in the regimented lives of our airmen to have to adapt suddenly to taking time away from work, to coming up with money for plane tickets, car repairs, and unfortunately but at times even funerals. But military members get sick and their families get sick and the big events of life that we all face, happen to military families as well. My first funeral at Arlington, was even before I was assigned here, a young airman who lost the battle to cancer.

My main responsibility is publicity for the campaign, and organization and training of volunteers to go to our military members to share how important this event is in our taking care of one another, and finally accounting for the funds raised and passing them up the chain toward their final destination. To learn more about AFA you can click here.

I love this about the Air Force, what we call the wingman concept, but really is another word for family. The Air Force is certainly a professional and military organization with structure, core values, mission statements, expectations for behavior and so forth -- but it is also a bunch of folks who care deeply about one another and work hard to take care of each other. This was reinforced to me this week as certain fellow airmen stepped forward without my asking to offer assistance in a rather large task.

I was over at the Pentagon last week for my initial briefing and training on the program. This was my first time in the Pentagon, and it was not what I expected. I don't know how to describe it other than to say it seems like a whole bunch of tunnels and corridors and not too many windows. And lots of people.

This week we also had a farewell luncheon for one of our chaplain assistants who will be departing us to go to his new duty station. He is a most unique person who is just fun to serve with and has one of the kindest spirits of anyone I have ever known. He is going to be missed greatly. We teased him that we were really using his going away as an excuse to eat chicken. My wife was kind enough to BBQ enough chicken for about 40 folks to have a rather nice lunch.

Last Sunday I was blessed to be invited over to Bolling to preach for their liturgical service. I truly enjoyed this. I miss not preaching every Sunday. And these are a fine bunch of folks who attend the service. I received a special treat watching a young girl light the altar candles. Here face just shined with her smile as she did so. Truly a blessed morning that was.

On a side note, I would ask my friends and relatives who keep up with me here to keep my mother in your prayers as she is having some medical issues that are rather serious.

Early morning prayer

I was truly blessed today as I attended Bolling AFB's annual prayer breakfast. The guest speaker was Chaplain Cecil Richardson, the next Air Force chief of chaplains. This was the first time I have heard him speak. He certainly lives up to his reputation of being a great speaker who can connect with his audience. Many times one hears speakers who you realize that after time passes little to nothing may be recalled of the presentation. This one though offered several key ideas and anecdotes that I suspect I'll carry in memory for the rest of my career. I especially appreciated his description of how Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that became our Star Spangled Banner. If you have never done the research you should read up on it, and read the entire poem/hymn. I find the last verse to be especially encouraging. You can read about his message here.

The Air Force's Singing Sergeants were out in force. They were amazing. I loved the expression they put into their music. My music background is instrumental, but I have to say these folks needed no instrumental accompaniment.

Rain and ice are coming in tonight with rain tomorrow. Will make it interesting for my first service early in the morning. It can be challenging marching in our dress shoes in the snow and ice. But hopefully the roads inside the cemetery will be cleared by the time service start.

Hold your ground

Today, I walked through the cemetery at Arlington during a quite blustery afternoon after having gone into the office for a bit to work on our database. I was over near the 9-11 memorial, a site close to where I frequently do transfers for full honors ceremonies from the hearse to the horse drawn caisson. I pondered how long the struggle for freedom and peace has gone on among humanity. There are people buried in the cemetery from conflicts all the way back to the civil war. But of course conflict has gone on much longer than that, much longer even than the existence of our country. From the beginning of human history, there have been those who have sought to impose their tyranny over others - to take their wealth, resources, and freedom -- to enslave for ideological or pure selfish reasons. And there have been those willing to lay their lives on the line to defend liberty for themselves and others. I am proud and humbled to stand among some of today's warriors who stand for freedom. So often the struggle has been long and hard with cost and sacrifice. Freedom lives because people have served.

I hear a lot of truth in these words of fiction of Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings saga as he stood before the hords of evil:

Hold your ground - hold your ground! Sons of Gondor - of Rohan . . . my brothers!

           I see in your eyes the same fear that would
           take the heart of me. The day may come when
           the courage of Men fails; when we forsake
           our friends and break all bonds of
           fellowship; but it is not this day - an
           hour of wolves and shattered shields, when
           the Age of Man comes crashing down - but it
           is not this day!!! This day we fight! By
           all that you hold dear on this good earth -
           I bid you stand!  Men of the West!

Check out the Raptor!

See Video of the F-22 from this spring's airshow at Andrews. Here are some photos that I took of the bird.

Outstanding.

Enough of these and tankers and folks to support them and I think Air dominance is ours for some time to come.


HERE is another decent video of the Airshow (music needs a bit of work in my opinion but hey... someone else did the work).

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.