Memorial Day Remembrance

Remember. Who we are and who we want to be grows out of who we have been.

The war against evil has been waged as long as history has been remembered. Those who seek to harm others for selfish gain or sometimes out of pure desire for power or even as pure manifestations of hatred seem to always be with us. Between the forces of evil and destruction stand those who put on the uniform of service who apply force as necessary but always with honor and integrity obedient to higher values and in service to all people and to peace. Evil must never be tolerated. It often cannot be reason with. Compromise with evil has never proven effective. Often the price is great.

2500 years ago a huge force of Persians (from the area of modern day Iran) sought to invade and destroy Greek civilization (the cradle and birthplace of western civilization and western values of liberty). A small force of 300 Spartans and some 700 Thespians stood in the gap at Thermopylae to slow the advance and allow the Greeks time to muster for defense. They were slaughtered to the last man. But their sacrifice was key to the preservation of Greek culture from destruction by Persian forces. It has made all the difference. For out of the long tree of history planted in Greece arose the values of liberty and freedom. Buried in the words of great Greek thinkers, concepts such as these would spring to life as they were rediscovered and developed during the enlightenment and would give birth to the founding principles of our nation.

Remembrance. Why have we fought? Why do we fight? And what is worth fighting for? And what can happen when a civilization is unwilling to pay the price for its own defense?

Very soon I will transfer to Arlington National Cemetery where I will place many brothers in arms in their final resting places. It will be a profound privilege to honor those who have sacrificed of their lives to defend our nation and the principles upon which it is founded. Most of those funerals will be veterans of the greatest generation which fought against the tyrannies threatening the world in World War II. And perhaps there will be fellow warriors from this generations struggle to lay to rest. I am grateful for them all and for the sacrifice of all, living and dead, for their country. I am honored to counted amongst their company in some small way. They remind us of who we are, who we have been, and most importantly: who we should be.

Air Show 2007

F22 Raptor


Sheeeew! The Airshow is over! And the base heaves a sigh of relief, for a great deal of very hard work goes into preparing for the Andrews Airshow each year. This is my second time running point for the Chapel staff for the Airshow here at Andrews, and we ramped it up this year. Our team worked to prepare for disaster response in case of an accident, which thankfully was not called upon. We worked to host representatives of the various Chaplain Services as they were present to visit with show attendees. And our team put together a worship service on the flightline. Then closing out, up bright and early reporting at 0600 this morning for a FOD walk picking up debris from the flightline so that the various aircraft could safely depart. I have a day of rest tomorrow, for which I am truly thankful.

Once again the Airshow was a great success. Friday was somewhat chilly and threatened rain, but it never developed. Saturday and Sunday were perfect. Sometimes cloudy, but very temperate. And the performances were top notch once again.

Several highlights stood out to me. This being the 60th anniversary of the Air Force, there were many vintage aircraft flying, some pictured here. The best was the new F22 Raptor demonstrating its phenomenal maneuverability. Truly an impressive aircraft. Andrews was the second base to have this flying demonstration. The Thunderbirds closed out the days with their impressive acrobatic maneuvers. A must see if you ever have the chance.

Sunday morning, our team held a combined Protestant service in one of the Hangers. Our Senior Protestant chaplain preached and out newest team member put the service together and sang a great duet. It was truly a blessing to see many guests from the airshow and several service members here from other locations joining with our regulars for worship.

I also want to extend my thanks to the Army Chaplain Corp Recruiting service and to the Air Force Reserve Chaplain Recruiting service. We set up a booth representing the work chaplains do and these two groups had representatives there meeting people and describing the work of chaplains to those visiting the airshow. We had our own 316th Wing Chaplain display and gave out a pile of free books and literature that we had worked to secure. I have to thank the 316th CES squadron too for exceptional support in securing chairs for our worship space and the 316th Services squadron for loaning us a gator to remove our worship items following the service. Andrews demonstrates the meaning of "team" at every corner.






Flash and thunder. The birds are in the house - the Joint Service Open House 2007 that is.













The first Air Force demonstration teams... yesteryear still flies.











Nice example of precision flying. As much as I love jets, I grew up on stories of WWII prop planes. I love to watch these guys in action.











The Navy was in the house. F-18 Super Hornet buzzes the field.












Yes, those are people hanging from that helicopter.












Gotta love it. Watching this WWII bomber fly over Andrews, made me feel as if I had been transported back to our not so distant past. Here is a bird that helped liberate Europe from the Nazis. Inspiring as we fight a different kind of war for the same liberty.










Thunderboldts in a cloudless sky. Early WWII fighter. P-47













B-25 (Billie) Mitchel medium bomber. Another instrument in the defense of liberty in the hands of those who are named the greatest generation. May our own generation defend liberty with such honor and dedication.

This is the class of plane flown off the Carrier USS Hornet in the response bombing raid against Tokyo only months after December 11 showing the Japanese War machine it was not safe from US war power.




The P-51 taught us what can happen when you have Air Superiority and dominance.

I hope we don't forget it.

A True Honor

Sometimes, one is handed an opportunity that touches one's spirit in humility. Serving as a minister of God and as a chaplain offers many opportunities to serve. I am touched every time someone opens up to me and allows me to have some influence in their lives.

While I was deployed I remembering hearing of a fellow Air Force officer who was killed at my location some time in the past during a rocket attack. Yesterday, I baptized his grandson, who was named in his honor. Not only have I served with him here and in my deployed location, but the family is also from my church body, the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod. The day was a special day for me as I was able to meet many people in the family including his widow, his mom and dad, his daughter and other family. His parents had traveled from Minnesota and his wife's family had traveled from Washington State for the baptism. It was a true privilege and honor to provide this service to his family.

Reflecting on military service

My family's trip back to Tennessee, the first in two years, had us comparing our new lives in the military with the life of parish ministry. We found ourselves missing our friends and the area we lived in. DC has some great advantages in things to see and do, but the county surrounding our base is in a high crime area and there are serious doubts about the quality of the schools. We are blessed to have some great teachers for our daughter in school now, but I hear of concerns from folks with older children. But there are huge benefits too. Living on base is like living in Maybury on the Andy Giffith Show.

Last night our neighbors came over in mass to help us celebrate my wife's 40th birthday. A big surprise for her, as she thought I was too busy and had forgotten. One of our neighbors was conspicuously absent, and upon investigation, we found she is in the hospital with complications regarding her pregnancy. We were able to round up the calvary to support her family, even as the neighborhood is celebrating and rejoicing in the arrival at home of another child who a month ago was on a heart and lung machine. We miss our friends, but we have made some great new ones. The neighborhood is overflowing with children, a huge blessing for our own children to have someone their own age to spend time with.

Work continues to be a blessing. The pace is stiff. And speaking of stiff, we had unit PT Wednesday and I decided to see what I can do with a mile and a half. My time is down from last year and I was stiff and sore following, which tells me in the six weeks I have until my PT test I have some training to do. If Stallone can get in shape for his latest Rocky movie, I can do this too as an old man! ;)

I'm going to have to contend though we loosing a few days out from PT. I'm going to get to experience military medicine next week as I have wisdom teeth cut out. The down side is I still have stuff that has to be done, so I suspect I'll be making my way into my office to accomplish a few things, though on some good pain killers I hope. But it is all good.

I was also blessed this week to speak with a friend who is still serving in Iraq where I was deployed. I rejoiced in his promotion and his being able to come home for some time with his family. And O, if you read this, the fudge is on the way. My wife and I shipped him and his unit 15 pounds of homemade fudge. The fudge she sent over last fall left a lasting impression with some folks.

Trip to Tennessee

You can ask people who know me and they will tell you that I will speak of how proud I am to be a Tennessee hillbilly. I grew up in those beautiful mountains of East Tennessee. Opportunities to return home always recharge me and fill me with bittersweet memories of friends and place that I don't often get to visit. But this past week my family and I were able to return home for a short time. We traveled through Kingsport down to Dayton to visit friends from my former parish. I spent Wednesday with the JROTC at Rhea Central Highschool to say thank you for their phenomenal support for my work in Kirkuk during my deployment. They where instrumental in the collecting and mailing of thousands of cases of Little Debbie cakes to my deployed location for the troops and airmen manning the Airbase.

I spoke with all five classes showing them some picture of the places and people in Kirkuk and then spoke of the general mission and the work of chaplains in a deployed location. I truly enjoyed my time with them. There are some very sharp young people there, many of whom are planning to enter military service this summer and fall. I believe our military will benefit from having them.

I want to thank M&T for having us down. It was truly great to see old friends. I am very proud of Little T who is giving success a whole new definition. This young man is blowing college away and already is developing a reputation with certain government leadership as someone worth listening to and depending upon.

I stopped by and saw my friend Kevin at his cafe Jacob Meyers Deli. It was great when I left over two years ago. It has only gotten better. They have now installed a great cappuccino machine. I truly urge that if you pass through Dayton, to enjoy this stop downtown as one of the highlights that Dayton has to offer. It was sad though to see how Dayton seems to be in a time of downsizing. Many local businesses have closed up including our favorite place for dinner at the Western Sizzler. But word has it that TVA is bringing in lots of folks so property values are starting to rise and I suspect businesses will be coming back if so. Spring City has changed a great deal and is looking great. I am also proud of the work that Manny has down with the local YMCA. It is looking great too.

I think that one of the highlights of the trip was to visit with the Engel family. I was honored to do a baptism for one of the children in the family. I presented them with coins from Andrews AFB where I am stationed. I presented the couple who were most instrumental in starting the collection of Little Debbie cakes for Kirkuk with a flag flown during one of our medivacs from Kirkuk to Ballad. It was a special moment and bittersweet for I find that I truly miss these people. They were a blessing to my ministry in Rhea County, continued to bless my ministry in Kiruk, and are a true blessing to all they work with and who call them friends. I wish I could always have parishes filled with Christian servants like these.

Passing back through Tennessee, I spent a day with my mother taking a few hours to run an old mountain trail that I used to run in college. I miss that too. I'm still a bit stiff and sore. Being 40 isn't like being 30. Who knew?

We also made sure to hit the Super Walmart while in town. We have shopping in DC, but the stores are usually trashed and it is very difficult to find tasteful items that are not hanging damaged on the rack. Plus people are just rude to one another here. So we took advantage of good old fashioned southern shopping and laid in the clothes and some other things for the kids. All in all a good trip to the store.

Remembering the Blue Angels

I have had the privilege to twice see the Blue Angels in action. Some years ago, while I was in the Navy, I saw them perform in Tennessee. Last year I saw them perform here at Andrews during our Joint Service Open House. The picture to the left is offered as a tribute to their service.

My prayers and condolences go to the family of the angel lost today and to his teammates.

Assigned to Arlington National Cemetary

I have the official word. My nomination to Arlington National Cemetery has been approved. I'll be transferring there toward the end of the summer.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/

Lots of stuff is in the air these days. I'm to have a wisdom tooth out in a few weeks. One finally decided to move after sitting still for 40 years.

It was a sad week for us here. We bid farewell to a one tremendous commander who past away over the weekend. This man was truly an outstanding person, someone I looked up to as an example of leadership and quiet Christian confidence. My wife and I had his family, and several of our chaplains, and the man's commanding officer over for Easter dinner. These opportunities to get involved and make a difference truly make it worth while to be part of this ministry. Once again my wife did an outstanding job putting together a first class meal for 20 folks. We all have our giftedness and our vocations for service. Together, we make a difference to one another.

I just returned from the ASF, the unit in the hospital that takes care of the wounded returning from over seas. I had quite a bit of opportunity for visitation and counseling tonight. I truly admire the Red Cross volunteers who are always there. Some of those volunteers seem as if they live there.

There is a great deal I'll miss about Andrews. I'll miss the 5 minute drive to work, especially fighting DC traffic to get to Virginia. I'll miss the incredible team I work with here at Andrews from our chapel staff to the folks in the units. I'll miss the great diversity in opportunities to reach out to our servicemembers and rub shoulders with them. I'll miss visiting with the wounded and leading my worship service.

But Arlington opens up new avenues for ministry. It provides the opportunity to honor those who have served their nation well and to comfort loved ones as they bid the family member goodbye. As a Christian chaplain I feel that I and my fellows have something to say about death. O grave where is your sting? O grave where is your victory? There is reason for hope and that reason is tremendous.

Today, I was asked to do an invocation for one of our Master Sergeants who was retiring after 22 years of faithful service. Being a Christian, he asked me to share a Christian witness and prayer. I spoke briefly from 1 Corinthians about the giftedness of folks and then prayed with thanksgiving for how God has used this man and his gifts to serve his nation and asked God to bless his continued life with service. This man gave a bold witness to the role that his faith has played in his life and his service. It was a true honor to share this moment and to be asked to speak to him, his family, and his friends.

Holy Week at Andrews

This has been a special week for me. As a Christian, this week holds special significance as we celebrate the holy days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and tomorrow Easter. I conducted two Good Friday services. A shorter devotion at noon focusing on Psalm 22 and envisioning the cross, and later in the evening a Tenebrae service. The Tenebrae is one of my favorite services throughout the year. Tomorrow I'll be up early for our 6am sunrise service and will be conducting the Easter celebration for my regular morning service.

I spent quite a bit of time this week working on preparations for the upcoming airshow, the Joint Service Open House. We look to have a substantial chaplain presence there for the public to learn more about what the various Chaplain Services bring to the fight.

I've also been fairly engaged in caring for a family whose child has been very sick. We are celebrating that the news has been good this week.

Debbie, my wife, has been working very hard, especially today. We are going to have several of our staff over for dinner tomorrow afternoon including some family of one of our folks who is very sick in the hospital. My wife has an incredible spirit of giving and is hugely gifted in the art of cooking. She is a true support of my ministry in so many ways. She makes me much better at what I do that I could ever be by myself.

The week has also been a big one as I received some big news. I have been given a new assignment. While the assignment is official, I'm going to wait a bit to announce where and when I am going. But I've known about the possibility since even before I returned home from the desert because I was told I was being nominated for this particular assignment which only a few Air Force chaplains have the opportunity to do. Being a special duty assignment, it has its pluses and its challenges.

I wasn't looking for an assignment. My plan was to finally settle in without facing long TDYs or deployments for a bit of time so that I could invest some time in leading my congregation and interfacing with my squadrons at a deeper level. And I truly enjoy being part of this team. The pace is quick but it is a true joy going to work each day. However, as the saying goes, "flexibility is the key to airpower". I think this new assignment will be just as rewarding for a number of reasons including the big one of knowing and enjoying who I will be working with.

Andrews Ministry

As I wrote before, I was back into the saddle after a couple of weeks off to get used to not being in a war zone, though DC has some similarities. The horse quickly took off at a gallop. I am in the final stages of getting my new office ready over in the Civil Engineering squadron. I'm truly looking forward to being in the midst of these fine folks.

I am once again working on organizing our chapel team's presence at the Joint Service Open House this next year. We hope to be holding our joint Protestant service out on the flight line this time. I have to say that our chaplains and enlisted personnel are truly making a fine and effective team thanks to the hard work of our leaders. My fellow chaplains and staff are a joy to work with. I look forward every day to going to work. I enjoy their sense of humor but also their dedication and commitment to excellence. I especially appreciate that we can depend on each other in our working together to get the mission accomplished. Couple this with some truly fine and outstanding folks coming to our services and the powerful opportunities for service to our airmen and you have the best job in the Air Force. Our team is starting to make our vision happen for the chapel to be the focal point for spiritual growth and wellness.

Last week we hosted the National Prayer Luncheon with the Air Force Chief of Chaplains. He gave a tremendous message. I truly believe the event was a blessing to all in attendance.

Last Friday night I felt as though I was reconnecting to my ministry in the desert. I was at the ASF, the medical facility that receives the wounded. I visited with every one of those who spent the night with us, some briefly and some for more extended periods of time. While I have done this before, and there are similarities to the hospital ministry I had in Cincinnati, I look at the experience a bit differently now having been at the side of wounded men and women in an emergency facility in the middle of the war. These truly are American heroes. I am very proud of the job that my fellow Air Force personnel do in providing care to these wounded troops. It is nothing short of outstanding. I'll be there again tomorrow night visiting with whoever is spending the night with us.

I've been giving a tickle that I could be looking at a new assignment in the next six months or so. That's all I can say right now, but I've come to trust God's direction and provision over the years.

Back in the saddle again

This week I returned to work after a very nice 14 days of rest and recuperation following my recent deployment to Iraq. It was good for the entire family as I was able to not only spend some good quality time with my wife but also with my children.

Today I had my first service with the parish I've been assigned to oversee. It was good to see these people once again. They gave me a very warm welcome home. There are a bunch of great folks out there. Mostly retired military with a good representation of our Andrews folks, they have been very dedicated to attending services.

I presented my wife a flag during the service which was flown on a medivac from Kirkuk during my deployment as a thank you for her work with getting Little Debbie cakes to the desert. I made sure our EMEDS folks stayed well supplied.

I've got several projects already on the burner for this spring including an upcoming Ash Wednesday service and coordinating our chapel response for the Joint Service Open House, a huge airshow sponsored by Andrews. I will say that life is so much nicer this time around compared to last year. We were so short staffed last year that I felt like a chicken running around with his head cut off. It is nice to be fully staffed for a change. We've got a good mixture of diversity, but I think we make a good team. I look forward to working more closely with some of the new faces.

In the States

I made it home from the Middle East Saturday evening. It was truly a strange feeling being at home that first night. It was so good to see my family. I'll never forget walking through the passage way of BWI and seeing them standing there and how my two girls ran to meet me. It had been a long few days. We left Kirkuk on a straight flight to Qatar, which was very nice because many flights out bounce you around all over the AOR picking up people. My assistant and I had been somewhat concerned because we didn't get confirmation of flights until the last minute. But it all came together thanks to someone checking on it for us. We spend a couple of evenings in Qatar. Not much to do down there. We visited Jacks, a sitting lounge, but after Hotel Charlie (our lounge in Kirkuk) it was just too quiet and restrictive feeling. We always had people coming and going, talking and visiting. Jacks is more of a library reading room. We watched several movies at the theater. Sleeping was a bit of a challenge there since we were crammed into tents stacked like cattle in a cattle car with lots of noise, snoring, and comings and goings. But it was only a few days. The worst part of it was waiting at the PAX terminal for three hours of standing room only in the middle of the night before finally being taken to another holding area where we could at least sit down. Then once aboard the plane we were off. World Airlines took great care of us on our flight home. The attendants on that plane did there best to spoil us in truth. Everyone did a fairly good job getting us off the plane and unloaded and through customs fairly quickly. Some of my home team were here to welcome us home. It was good to see them again. Then my wife and my family and I loaded up and headed home, after stopping at the coffee shop for a good American capuccino!

Later that evening though I had trouble sleeping, not because of jet lag or being off schedule. I managed my sleep over the past few days of waiting in Al Udied and on 20 or so hour of flying. For awhile I felt out of place. It is a huge transition in mode of living from there to here. Tonot have any mission responsibilities. Like going from full speed ahead to dead stop - the quiet, the calm, the strange feeling of so long having been moving at breakneck speed to stillness and not having anywhere you truly have to be. There you are on 24/7, even when sleeping - the radio is on and you sleep with one ear open so to speak. You are constantly thinking about the needs of the mission. What is going on. Who needs assistance. What group of folks, what area of the job needs attention now, in the next hours, today, tomorrow. There is always a sort of hypervigilence listening for the swish of inbound rockets. There is always somewhere to go, something that can be done, someone to visit and talk to, a difference that can be made every moment.

And there is comradery. The Commander shared with me before I left some truly powerful words. Three things in his opinion make life great - transcendence, signficance, and comradery. You have all three deployed, or at least we did in Kirkuk. As good as it is to be home, I can say in all honesty I miss the men and women I served with and I miss the job. There was transcendence - being part of something much bigger than oneself but having an impact over history in the making. Significance - tons of it - I think back to so many things where I was able to contribute. People who opened up with their stresses and problems, some very severe. The impact we had on our Iraqi friends when we helped with the restoration of the war memorial site. The many folks who came by the chapel and the tears that were shed as we said goodbye to one another. I will treasure many of those goodbyes. For we did indeed have comradery. Our chapel team invested itself into the lives of folks and they invested themselves into our work. One of the cops said it nicely to me the day before I left. He had come into the chapel to get coffee and shook my hand and said chaplain, it just won't be the same. I told him I'll be praying for them as I come home and they remain for a time to continue to watch the wire. They are out there right now, eyes peering like eagles, locked and loaded keeping my brothers and sisters safe. I was dissapointed the day that I left. I had planned to get to EMEDS before my flying out to say goodbye to many good friends, but our plane left early and I had only 20 minutes of warning time before I had to go. I was touched though when our Commander came by to say goodbye. We had our picture made together in our full battle rattle one last time. It truly was an honor to work for him.

Now that I am home I can post some pictures. I took many. Incredible sunsets and pictures of incredible people and places. Many night the combination of dirt in the air and moisture as teh rainy season came on created some spectacular sunsets like the one to the left. It was amazing to see the transition as the heat faded and temperatures moderated and even became cool with rain showers from time to time bringing out grass and other vegitation. We even had a few days of constant rain, a truly suprising experience given the dry heat and dust storms of our first days there.

To my friends and family who kept me, my family, and my ministry in your prayers I thank you for your support. It was a great ride, an incredible experience that words cannot capture.

Coming to a close

This may be my last entry from in country. I will soon be heading home and handing off all responsibilties to my replacements. It has been one great ride! I want to say here publically to all with whom I have served thank you for making this an incredible deployment. Our commanders come no better than they came here. I've had the privilege to pray for most of them at change of command ceremonies. It has been my privilege to serve them and their squadrons.

My fellow chaplain from the Army in ministry was top notch. As I told him in person, keep your hiney down brother!

EMEDS - You got r done! Thanks for making me part of your family.

Cops, thanks for watching the wire so we were safe and for stopping by so often to visit with us at the chapel.

I brag on the group commander, all our commanders, the cheifs, and most of the senior NCOs but I have to brag on the airmen as well. Worked and play hard with integrity and honor -- this they did.

There is a sadness as we transfer off our responsibilities. I almost feel as if I have sold a beloved home and am moved into the basement while my buyers are moving into the main rooms. I will miss the people I have served with and I will miss the incredible opportunities that exist to make a difference in the lives of so many folks. This is my first deployment to a war zone, but even the veterans of such are talking of how our group of folks were something exceptional, and they were and are. They always had a can do attitude and got it done. There energy level was incredible. They seized opportunities and when they did not exist engineered them. Attacks from the enemy did not shake their resolve in the least. We made a difference. We were encouraged to finish strong and return with honor and it is my sincere belief we did it -- together. I wish I could tell you more specifically about certain individuals and what they accomplished but operational security and respect for privacy prevents me from saying too much.

But I am looking forward to seeing my family. I find myself visualizing my wife coming with my kids running up to give me hugs. We plan to celebrate a delayed Christmas holiday. I have a couple of surprises for my girls that I'm looking forward to giving to them. I don't look forward to the flight home or the transit time sitting and waiting but it is endurable knowing what is at the end.

And I look forward to getting back home to my airmen at Andrews and to my squadrons, to getting back in touch with my folks and getting to know the news one, and even moving into my new digs over at Civil Engineering so I can be closer to the bulk of my people.

Again, to all who supported my work from back home through sending items for Operation Outreach, it has made a huge difference not only in the morale of our folks but also in my ability to connect with our folks. You too were outstanding.

Blessings to all.

A New Year - Continuing Mission

The calendar turned a page. In some ways the transition from Dec 31st to Jan 1st is an arbitrary one. Today is much the same as yesterday. A beautiful sun rose over a crisp morning through the haze of oil burning off from local refineries as our folks went about getting started with their day. But the importance of days often lies not just in what they contain but in the meaning we invest in them. I preached on New Years Day about attitudes and meaning - that we can invest life with meaning. That New Years can be a time for serious reflection on where have we been, where are we going, and is that where I can and need to be?

Take the past months for instance. I could write about a typical day, but in truth each day was unique. I could write that the next folks that will come in someday to replace us will experience something similar, but yet it will be different as well. Progress is happening and change is taking place. I know the media doesn't talk about that much. I wish the media spent half as much time talking about all the good stuff going on rather than just focusing on the bad stuff. We interpret our experiences investing them with meaning, but we do not interpret in a vacuum. We interpret based on the information we are receiving, which is why it is so important for parties that want to influence society to have the media edge. Whey we have public consultants and media spokemen and so forth. The point is, while I've been here, I've had first hand experience of it all. I've been attacked and carried wounded and even the dead. But I can still say the good is far greater than the bad. I've shaken the hands of Iraqi comrads and worked side by side with them on a project or two. I've seen the smiling faces of local children as school supplies were placed in their hands. I've heard the huge celebrations as important milestones were passed. Every day a new day dawns in Iraq.

I was out taking some photos of the section of Kirkuk north of the base with my telephoto lense and noticed and entire apartment complex that was not there six weeks ago. This is an area bustling with growth and activity. The chapel provides school supplies to local schools. So many times I've had our contacts explain to us how much difference this is making and how much things are changing. There are now entire sections of the area where our folks feel comfortable enough and welcome enough to walk down the streets of settlements without body armor knowing they are safe there.

I am very proud of the people I serve with. For the most part they have been shining examples of integrety, excellence, and service before self. I was concerned that being away from family at the holidays might effect them a great deal, but as one airman told me that when you can't have Christmas with your family then make a family of the people you are with.

One of my Army counterparts, one of our docs, and myself made a clandestine run the other night to various areas where the army works dropping off hundreds of boxes of Little Debbie cakes from Dayton TN and other snack items, many of these coming from Lutheran churches in the Cincinnati area. It is very cool knowing you made a difference to folks out there.

No more snow here so far, but it has been fairly cold. Enough that I am glad I decided to bring long underware and other underlayers and that when they offered me an old style field jacket I said yes. That is the only one I've seen on the base so far. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've been asked where I secured it.

Ministry this week has focused on visitation and official functions with some counseling. So I'll wrap up just by saying "Happy New Year".