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.

Hails and Farewells

It has been a nice relaxing week as I have been on leave all week.

Last Friday the staff at Andrews had a going away party for myself and another departing chaplain. We had an Italian themed lunch and a chance to visit together for some time. I will miss working with these fine individuals. As I shared with them, it was a great time, but I could not have accomplished the ministry and work without them. I have greatly appreciated the leadership of my seniors and the dedicated assistance of our enlisted staff as well as working on the team with our fellow chaplains.

The Sunday before, my worshiping congregation bid farewell to me and my family. I will be back to visit though and do occasional preaching. I'm already headed back the 23rd of this month. These are just a fine bunch of folks, quite a diverse group, all united through a history of military service and a love and appreciation for the Gospel.

Monday I'll be jumping into Arlington. It will be a fast paced week. Lots of learning to do and I suspect I'll be spinning up fast. Hopefully my uniforms will be ready by mid week. I don't relish the though of doing funerals in wool dress uniforms in this heat wave we are having. The ceremonials are a bit more friendly in such an environment. But you do what you have to do. I admire the honor guard because they are out there every day all day in the heat, rain, or cold always rendering crisp honors for their fallen comrades. Truly admirable service.

Transitions

Ok, I'm beat. Tired. We moved this week. As of tonight, we are about 98% unpacked and settled. Our movers packed us up Monday and moved us Tuesday. Starting Wed morning we pushed hard to get it all in place.

I took leave Wed - Fri, but wound up going in to work anyway on Wed and Thursday because of a big project I am working for the CAIB. I'm serving as the exec this month pushing through the Community Action Plan. This is my last major project at Andrews. Plus I had another report to work that was coming due. I shared this with my chaplain candidate: if x is due on a certain day, it is due, leave or not leave, sick or not sick etc... the mission must be done.

This is the first I've sat down to just sort of veg out for a few minutes. The week before I moved I was working 12-14 hour days and still making the gym after work. I'm on a profile for my knee which was a bit sore (feeling much better now) so I've been working my upper body. Saturday a week ago was very busy. I had a funeral for a Navy Chief (retired) who served in the North Atlantic, the Med, and South Pacific in WWII. That evening I attended the 70th birthday party of one of my parishioners, and incredible man I look up to. He was a POW for 7 years in Vietnam. He is an incredible man to learn leadership from. The party was a hoot. His wife hauled me out on the dance floor. I was so embarrassed. But it was a good time.

Last week I was finishing up paperwork and training for the Chaplain candidate that I was assigned to supervise. I had training at Arlington. Some of the tricks of the trade for wearing the uniform struck me as a bit odd, but they do make for a sharp look. The marching elementals are somewhat different: slower and more deliberate.

Sunday will be my 2nd to last Sunday at Andrews. I plan to preach on followership. After the service I am going to take a couple of hours and do the final tweaks on the CAIB meeting for next week. I don't normally have to work on Sunday afternoons, but since I was on leave to move and some folks needed a bit more time to get their ducks in a row, I decided to wait until Sunday to finalize the product. Besides it will be fresh in my mind. I am briefing the Wing Commander early Monday morning on the meeting. Sunday night I'll celebrate my 42nd birthday with my family. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was sitting in Montgomery doing field training on my 40th birthday. Time really flies when the pace is quick.

Next week my major tasks are taking care of the CAIB meeting, completing my outprocessing checklist, my continuity binders (so my replacement can be fully spinned up), and hopefully getting off my profile so I can run my PFT on Friday. The week after I have 3 days at Arlington for training and then a final day of outprocessing.

I'm learning the drive to Andrews for the next few weeks will be a bit of a stressor from here. I'm close to my job at Arlington, but it took me 45 minutes to drive 18 miles tonight back to Andrews. Traffic for the bridge going over the Potomic is at a crawl. I was thinking to myself I could run the bridge faster than I can drive it. Gotta love some things about DC!

Arlington is already growing on us. We went shopping today for a few items for the house. Every major chain store was on a strip not to far from the house and for once I didn't feel like I was running a risk of getting mugged. The neighborhood is very quiet with many retired folks, some of them military. Quite a few of our neighbors have stopped by to say hello. It's going to be quite cozy, but I told the family not to get too attached. In two years we'll probably be doing this again.

Blessings!

New day dawning

I feel as if I am standing on the edge of dawn with the sky starting to lighten in the east. In a month I will move to Arlington National Cemetery. Yesterday, circumstances actually had me participating in my first funeral there. An airman from one of my squadrons had passed away after a long battle with cancer, one I thought he had won, but it came back upon him and God called him home. I had gotten to know him before I deployed while he was taking his first round of treatments at Walter Reed. A very brave, strong willed young man dealing with some very difficult challenges, he tackled each one with gusto and a not give up attitude. I had met his parents a year and a half ago when they came to visit. Yesterday I saw them once again as I spoke with them about their son.

The presiding chaplain was kind enough to allow me to participate in the service. It was a true privilege to render honors to him there at Arlington. I got to know some of the honor guard I'll be working with a bit more. I already know the chaplains as they just came from Andrews, and have known the chaplain assistants from prior working with them at Andrews.

I expect to be running as I leave out the door. Lots of things to do from preparing for the quarterly CAIB meeting, IDS items, wrapping up the supervision and mentoring of one of our chaplain candidates, out processing Andrews, continuing to get our records in order for an upcoming unit compliance inspection (I have a great NCO who is shouldering a big share of this task), a dozen other smaller items to complete and as always counseling and unit presence. And OAS (my terminal illness) has interfered slightly.

OAS??? -- Old Age Syndrome. Sorry... have to laugh at myself sometimes. But old men shouldn't go from running 3 miles to trying to run 12 miles, something I used to do weekly, but haven't done in a good six years. My left knee has stiffened up on me, forcing me to postpone my PFT that I was planning to do tomorrow, but now will likely have to push off a couple of weeks.

Top half great so far

It has been a great week so far. It started with my chaplain candidate coming in. He is a seminarian who is finishing up his education. Chaplain candidates do two month long tours for training and exposure at various installations. The one I am supervising is off to a running start, largely because he is experienced already being prior service and having some time as a candidate already in place. I am going to truly enjoy the experience of mentoring him.

My endorser stopped in for a few days as well. We were able to spend some time talking over ministry yesterday evening at dinner. Today he met with my Wing Commander and my supervising chaplain. It turned out to be a very nice visit that I hope was as much a source of encouragement to him as it was to myself and the folks I work with.

I have a special briefing on Friday as the Air Force IDS Chief is here to hear what our IDS team is doing at Andrews. And Saturday looks to be great fun as a bunch of DC area AF chaplains are going deep sea fishing together. I hope to catch one this big: <:-----------------------------<

Hopefully not a <:----^------<

LOL

Blessings

Kicking up the pace

This week turned out to be one of fairly high tempo. I anticipate the next month and a half until I transfer to Arlington to be more demanding. Our staff has shrunk by two people and I have picked up additional duties. Plus we had some unexpected items pop up this week.

Our staff was a little thin as our Wing Chaplain had just transfered and the next ranking Chaplain was TDY. We had a request to provide support for a funeral for Sen. Craig Thomas. I serve as the chapel's coordinator for funeral services. With the help of our team stepping up and rapidly making things happen along with some excellent above and beyond help from other Andrews folks like our 316th CES squadron, the chapel was ready and shining for the event. My wife even had the privilege of playing for the service.

I will be supervising a Chaplain Candidate for the next month for his annual tour. I'm looking forward to this opportunity to further expose and mentor a future minister.

I will be running point for the IDS and CAIB. IDS is composed of representative of selected offices specifically directing resources to enhancing the lives of our airmen. The CAIB is a higher level commander driven organization which is briefed by the agencies of the IDS, but ultimately sets the direction and policy. The IDS then serves as the action arm carrying out the plan. The Chapel is in charge of facilitating the CAIB at the moment, which will give me busy few weeks getting ready for our July meeting.

On top of this there is housing privatization for Andrews. We were planning to just stay and I was going to take the Metro to Arlington. We like having neighbors who share a common lifestyle with us coupled with the convenience of the commissary and BX. But we found a house in Arlington that has twice as much space, is 4 miles from the cemetery, and whose school systems runs circles around the schools we would utilize here. So we will also be moving in July.

So I a full and fruitful six weeks to come.

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".