Link to "Dear Depression"

If you have wondered what it is like to deal with depression, here are some thoughts.  I would encourage anyone struggling with peace, joy, contentment, and happiness in their lives to consider if there is a chance that you are possibly wrestling with depression and trying to fight that battle alone.

http://imnotjaded.blogspot.com/2015/02/dear-depression.html?spref=fb

Millennials and the Demise of Print: Five Implications for Churches -- by Thom Rainer

From Thom Rainer's post

As the president of an organization that has huge investments in both print and digital assets, I watch the trends related to the two closely. Current discussions focus on a few basic issues. First, digital communication is pervasive and growing. Any metric will affirm that reality. Second, print as a form of communication is suffering in most areas. Third, print will have occasional rebounds that will give print adherents hope that it is not going away. In the past couple of years, for example, print book sales have stabilized.

But a recent article by Henry Blodget in Business Insider shed some fresh perspectives on this issue. He notes the allegiance to print media is highly influenced by the age of the readers. Simply stated, the older you are, the more likely you are to like, or even prefer, print. Of course, that information is really stating the obvious.

The Stark Reality of the Future of Print

But Blodget notes recent research that is almost breathtaking. The research looked at media preferences for different age groups. The stark reality of the future of print is most noticeable in the 16-to-24 age group and the 25-to-34 age group. The Millennials have absolutely no loyalty to or preference for print media. Blodget’s words are worth repeating:

“Media consumers in the 0s, 10s, 20s, and 30s have no such print alliances. To them, the idea of printing on a dead tree and then trucking it to houses and newsstands seems ludicrous, old-fashioned, inconvenient, and wasteful. To these folks, paper-based publications are a pain to carry and search, easy to misplace, and hard to share, and the information in them is outdated the moment it appears. For those who weren’t raised on paper, digital is superior in almost every way.”

Wow. Those words are painful for an old print adherent like me. But facts are our friends, and I would rather deal with reality than deny reality.

Five Implications for the Church

Of course, after I read the article, my mind traversed quickly to implications for local churches. I see at least five at this point.

1. Churches not fully acclimated to the digital age need to do so quickly. It’s a matter of gospel stewardship. There is no need to compromise biblical truths, but there is a great need to be relevant.
2. More of our congregants will be turning on their Bibles in the worship services rather than opening them to a print page. Some pastors view this practice as troublesome. One pastor recently commented to me: “How do we know if they aren’t looking at sport scores or something else?” We don’t know. And we don’t know where their minds are wandering if they don’t have a digital device with them.
3. Church leaders should view this change as an opportunity to be more effective missional leaders. We would not expect international missionaries to go to a place of service without learning the language and the culture. The language and the culture of the Millennials are all digital.
4. Leaders must keep current with changes in the digital revolution. While old guys like me will never be as conversant with the digital culture as our children and grandchildren, we must do our best to understand this ever-changing world. What is current and relevant today may be dated and irrelevant tomorrow.
5. Social media is a key communication form for the Millennials; churches and church leaders must also be connected. I recently wrote an article on this issue. For now, a church not involved some way in social media is neglecting a large part of the mission field.

Implications and More Implications

I recently was reading a print magazine article to one of my grandsons who was cuddled in my lap. He saw a photo on the page and tried to swipe it like he would on an iPad. When nothing happened he declared my “picture was broken.”

That is the age and the era that are quickly approaching. The implications are many and staggering. But we in churches cannot be complacent. The very communication of the gospel is at stake.

So there I was...

Or I could say, "Funny thing happened on the way to Camp Henry..."

Paul Melucas, Gyu Tae Jang, and I had just finished up leading a luncheon on the first of the Army Values, Loyalty.  We also touched on the rest--Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.  We also covered the Soldiers Creed.

On our way down to Henry, we were trying to work with the Daegu traffic and we got to a point when the 8 lanes funnel down to 6.  We were in the far left lane in order to turn left at the next light when a bus a few vehicles in front of us slows down, weaves around something and continues on.  The car in front of us did the same thing.
As I pulled up to the spot, there was something on the left of the lane, leaning against the center divider.  At first I thought it was a bag of something, and then I realized it was a dog.

So, as I started,...  "There I was", trying to decide what I needed to do about this.  There was a crowd of people on the curb to our right, three lanes over, who were thinking the same thing.
I thought about what was the right thing to do, thought about safety, and then decided that I would check on the dog, hope for the parting of traffic, and then go from there.

The dog looked a lot like a dog that we use to have who is now living with the Bruners.  I let the dog smell the back of my hand, and realized that he had probably already been hit.  He did not nip at me or anything.  So I scooped him up and went into football running back mode figuring I would be dodging traffic to get to the curb.

Curiously, (God-thing maybe) our unit ministry team went into "split-ops."  PFC Melucas was flagging down one lane of traffic, and a bus was blocking the other.  Jang stayed with the vehicle in case our curb stop got extended.

I got the dog to the curb and then saw that he had some blood on him.  I turned to a civilian, asked if he spoke English, and in perfect English he said, "no, I do not speak English."  I asked him if he could call a "dog doctor" and he smiled at me and said yes, and was already pulling out his phone.

I think the dog was about to be mugged with love and so we scooted back across traffic and got in our car.  When we came back by a couple of hours later the dog was gone, hopefully being cared for by professionals.

I guess you just never know when you may be immediately challenged with the exact thoughts you share with others.

A Christmas "What-if"

I am including here a sermon/devotion that I shared for our Christmas Eve service. It asks, and gives a potential answer to the question of the shepherds the night Jesus was born.

Have you ever considered that the largest display of angels demonstrated in preparation for Jesus' birth was to a group of shepherds?

Here is the devotion with some added notes...


I hope you are open for an abnormal Christmas Eve devotion. Because I think we need some abnormal.

If you don't care for it, it is on me and please understand, I did not ask anyone ahead of time for permission.

If you do appreciate the thoughts this evening, then give the credit to God, and The staff here because they asked me to share it.

I am challenging you to change your Christmas greeting. "Merry Christmas" is really a shortened version of "Have a Merry Christmas" and Happy Holidays doesn't really count.

I challenge you to change it. It is kind of like when someone says how are you? Next time that happens, stop and actually tell them, and see what happens. It will freak them out.
This year try, "have an abnormal Christmas." And see what happens.

We have become too comfortable with a story that many of us have heard all our lives and picture in our minds from Christmas plays, cartoon specials, and Christmas songs.
This thought came to mind when my oldest son, back from college, asked when we were going to have a "normal" Christmas and we started to question what is normal. You see Christmas has become about what media and the songs tell us. This is not a “rant” on what Christmas has become; it is a challenge to our view of it all.

This Christmas we are getting set to pack-up our house, last Christmas I was in Afghanistan, the Christmas before that we were at Walter Reed delivering Christmas cards, the Christmas before that we were in Boise, ID with me getting set to head to South Carolina.
But the Christmas songs would have you believe that Christmas is about family coming together, eating far too much food, and one even suggests telling “scary ghost-stories.” I’m not sure about that one.

I’m not against family coming together of course,…

But it is only in the classic Christmas CAROLEs that we are reminded of Christ, and the gift He is, and the gift He desires.

When I was growing up we still did Christmas plays in public school. We watched a Charlie Brown Christmas every year, and you can almost picture the setting with all of the players and surroundings. But in the midst of all of it, I wonder if we have missed something.

Have you ever wondered about the shepherds in the story.

I would like for us to look at a little bit of history, and ask a “what-if”.

We may be missing a little bit of the story. There is significance to the presence of the angels, and why they came in mass to the shepherds.

--Appearances of the angels concerning the birth of Christ.
JOSEPH: Matt 1:18 -- The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.
    20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."
ZECHARIAH: Luke 1:8 -- When his division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 it happened that he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome with fear.
MARY: Luke 1:26 -- In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
SHEPHERDS: Luke 2:8 -- In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  10 But the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. 12 This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger."
    13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!
    15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."

Why the shepherds?

As is highlighted here, http://www.jesus.org/birth-of-jesus/shepherds-and-angels/why-did-the-angels-announce-jesuss-birth-to-shepherds.html these were very likely not your ordinary shepherds. According to other research that has been done, these were possibly shepherds who were tending to the temple flocks. This would be the sheep who were intended for the temple sacrifices. When the angel encourages these men to go and see the Child, he in essence is encouraging them to go and inspect the Lamb of God in the same way that they are tasked with inspecting the lambs for sacrifice.

It was a VERY ABNORMAL NIGHT. The message of the angels concluded with the clear message that this is a gift of God to those He favors. His favor rests on those who have given themselves to Christ, and accepted that gift.

Christ is truly the Lamb whose sacrifice covers our sins forever, if we know Him. Do not let Him stay as a baby in a manger. Recognize Him as the Savior and Lord of all. Do you know Him truly?

The True Hope of Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7670CXvPX0

It is a beautiful song with even greater strength when we understand the story behind it.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem that became this song on Christmas day of 1864.  The end of the Civil War was still several months away.  His oldest son had been injured in battle, and his wife had died just three years prior.

Many of us would struggle with finding praise for God with those issues around us—death, injury and war.  And yet Longfellow finds hope in God.

The verse that he is referring to is from the King James Version of Luke 2 where we read, “¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Although we may desire peace on earth, according to W. J. Durant, from 3421 years of documented history, there are only 268 years without war.  This would also demonstrate that there is generally no “good will” between men.

However, it is possible that there was a different point that the angels were making.

A more accurate translation is found in the Holman Christian Standard Bible, “Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:  ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!”

The context of this statement comes from the angels announcing that God has chosen again to remind us of His presence in our lives and our world.  The announcement is to say that God is still in control.

Can a man who has dealt with so much pain sing praises to God again?  Can a Soldier who struggles with present and past battles sing those same praises?

Longfellow was eventually able to say, “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: ‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!  The wrong shall fail; the Right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men!’”

Our Soldiers can know peace on earth as well.  Maybe not free from physical battle, but we can know peace from the inner battles.  When we trust God with every aspect of who we are, then we will know peace.

We know God’s favor because of the gift of His Son.  Our sound, solid relationship with Christ is the demonstration of God’s favor. 

A Soldier understands the concept of Lordship.  Everyone wants a Savior; but submitting to Lordship is a different challenge.  The Soldier though knows that they cannot control every aspect of an operation.  They must trust those they work with and the orders that they are given.  They must trust that those over them are competent in the design of their plan.  We can all trust that the Designer has a design and plan, and we can leave all of it in His hands.

If we all seek to trust in Christ at the deepest levels of our lives, then we can know peace on earth.  It will be a peace, based on a trust, which rests with our Savior, who was born as a child, announced by angels, and is Lord of all.

Merry Christmas

Testing Out New Technologies

There are some benefits to being in a very rural part of the world. By this I do not mean rural America. I mean rural Afghanistan.
For one thing we did not have to deal with TV commercials. In fact, for the most part, the only time I enjoy commercials is when they are interrupted by the Super Bowl, or on a show that is highlighting the best commercials from around the world. Curiously, I ended up being home on R&R leave for the Super Bowl this year.
However, there is one key negative to being in a very remote corner of the world; we were somewhat out of the loop for news, and especially technology news.  As an example, the "tablet" craze got started just before we left. I can think of only one Soldier who was with us who had an IPad. Many of the phones that we have today were not even on the radar. So I share this to let you know that this is the first blog posting that I am attempting to do from my phone. I hope it goes well. Keeping up (or catching up) with all the technology changes has been a challenge, even if it has been nerdy fun.

New Adventure Possibly Ahead

So I realize that it has been quite a while since I posted anything.

This would of course be due to the fact that I was deployed to Afghanistan for a year, and I did not have access to this page very often.

However, we are now back and I have been given a "heads-up" about the next adventure to come our way.

My family and I have been told that we should expect orders in January for us to report to Camp Casey, South Korea. We are very excited.

Although Korea is a long ways from here, it will be an awesome opportunity for us to experience a different culture, and see the world from a different angle.

What I would like to do with this and upcoming posts, is to relate some of what we are experiencing as this process goes proceeds. Who knows, maybe it can help someone else. Maybe one day you will be moving overseas, maybe even to South Korea.

For now, let me put this out there--you probably have more stuff than you really need. We are learning that quickly as we start thinking about what we are, and are not going to take with us.

Hope to post soon.

Deployment Ministry

So what is deployment ministry like?

Well, imagine that you have been asked to become the pastor of a church in a small town.

Then, imagine that the town is several hundred people; most do not go to church; everyone works together; everyone is under the age of 60; and no one is related to anyone else in town.

Then imagine that nearly all of them are men, with just a handful of women, and that those who do have a church background all come from various backgrounds.

Then imagine that the "town" has existed for a while, but only in the sense that the buildings are all there. Not only are you "new" to town, but everyone else is too. AND, everyone is only going to be there for about a year.

Oh, and did I mention that yours is the only church in town, and that you are the only "pastor" located there? Other than you and your assistant, your only church-related resource person is a couple hundred miles away and they are the ones that you try to coordinate with to provide services occasionally for "town-members" who are from other faith groups.

And a large portion of your ministry is in pastoral counseling to everyone. And you have the responsibility to try to be familiar with everyone's background so you can support them in the best way possible for their issues.

Oh, and don't forget that you are also the local hospital chaplain and serve on the city council and as an adviser to the mayor and city managers. Plus, you are required to maintain certain uniforms and physical fitness.

But, recognize that you also have "town members" who live and work in some outlying locations from town, and you know that you really need to try to visit them every so often, but the only way to do it is to catch a copter to get there. So you have to schedule those visits while maintaining presence at meetings, counselings, hospital visits, Bible studies, morale contacts, and your church services.

That is a little bit of what deployment ministry is like. And don't forget that in the midst of all this,... you are having the time of your life serving God and following His calling. Hoo-ah!

More Details on Deployment

Last few days of February, and we are all getting as ready as we can.

I had the opportunity to share with a group of Soldiers and their spouses the other night and asked them to remember the month of January when we were training at Ft. Polk, LA. I encouraged them to recognize that it was not just training for the Soldiers, but also for them. A key point of that training was that "they needed to know what they didn't know. We cannot start to learn what we do not know until we know that we don't know. So hopefully you still remember what you did not know and now know it or are working on figuring it out." A mouthful, but true.

We of course have a lot of briefings and training to come, but details are starting to emerge concerning our deployment.

It had already been posted in our initial orders that we were going to Afghanistan and Regional Command East. Here is a link to an article from the Department of Defense concerning the way that they are working the orders:

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=57874

Also, here is a page from NATO that shows a map of Afghanistan with some information about the different commands:

http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/placemat.pdf

3rd BCT has already mostly moved into place. There is a great article about their change of command here:

http://www.cjtf82.com/regional-command-east-news-mainmenu-401/2401-us-army-pfc-christopher-mckenna-task-force-rakkasan-public-affairs.html

I will try to keep everyone up to speed as more details become available.

Please keep Operation Enduring Freedom in your prayers. Please ask for success and safety in bringing peace and security to the people of Afghanistan.

JRTC Completed

JRTC for the 1BCT is done.

JRTC is Joint Readiness Training Center, and it is located at Ft. Polk, LA. And 1BCT is my brigade.

We headed down toward the beginning of January and spent most of the month training and pretending that we were in Afghanistan.

The training was excellent. Although it was tough to be away from our families, we gained quite a bit by serving with one another in this type of an environment, and by working with trainers who had recently served in Afghanistan themselves.

As a brigade we were spread out across a large area. In my case, we stayed in large tents or metal frame buildings on cots. Our latrines were outdoor port-a-potties and our showers were down the road a ways. In this picture you can see a white tent down the road. The showers were 3 buildings down from that.

We had the opportunity to train in a variety of environments, including different personnel, role players, and interpreters.

One great benefit was to be able to work with Soldiers in a totally different scenario. This included chapel services. We had four while we were there and I was able to preach for two of them. It is encouraging to be able to share with one another while we are all in a situation that pushes us all to be our best.

I know that my unit did very well in the training and came home with a new focus on our upcoming training. I would appreciate your prayers as we prepare ourselves and our families for our pending deployment.

Simple Surprises

It always makes me smile when I consider the idea of waiting on God's timing, and how short my memory tends to be.

It is easy for us to shake our heads at the ancient Israelites and wonder how they could so quickly forget about God's provision. Yet we tend to do the same thing in our own way.

In my case, I have to try to remind myself to not get caught up in my own schedule.

As Americans we have the habit of putting together our own plan and then getting upset when it does not get executed the way that we planned. We get frustrated when all of the lights are red, when the lines are long, and when we get delayed for whatever reason. What we forget is that sometimes those delays save us from unforeseen difficulties. We also may never know about what we avoided or gained because of those distractions.

I just had an opportunity to actually see God's hand in delays.

Our family recently completed a trip along the East coast. Yes, in the winter.

We drove (not in this order) through Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. This was because, as a family, we have now visited 48 of the 50 states. We plan to get the last two (New Mexico and Alaska) within the next couple years.

On the trip we decided that we would like to catch a Christmas Eve service in Washington DC and then visit Walter Reed hospital and drop off some Christmas cards to the Soldiers there. Well, we hit some delays and did not arrive in time to find a Christmas Eve service or visit Walter Reed that night. We were disappointed, but decided that we would go ahead and visit the hospital on Christmas day.

When we arrived Christmas morning we found greeters at the door. We started to ask if they could direct us to the chaplain's office, but they asked if we were looking for the DFAC (dining facility). They gave us the directions to the chapel and we were on our way. As we went we noticed a good amount of staff dressed in their dress blues.

When we arrived at the chapel we discovered that a Christmas morning service had just begun. So we were able to attend a Christmas service instead of a Christmas Eve program. It was a small crowd, but very nice and encouraging.

Afterward, we asked the chaplain about our cards being delivered since we knew that we would not be allowed not do it ourselves. He excitedly said that he would make sure that they were given out to the recovering Soldiers and we stepped out the door.

It was about lunchtime and we had to decide what to do for food before we continued down the road. Figuring that there may not be much open on Christmas day, we decided to see if the DFAC was open.

As we headed down the hall we began to hear a brass band playing. Upon entering the facility we were greeting by a host with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. We soon discovered that the hospital staff was hosting an extravagant Christmas lunch with most everyone in dress blues, and menu choices such as pecan-encrusted tilapia, prime-rib, and stuffed chicken breast. We were amazed.

The food was wonderful and we felt so thankful that we decided that we wanted to personally thank those responsible. As I thanked one of the civilians and asked who was the coordinator of the event, a NCO came over and nonchalantly mentioned that the vice president was there. I asked if this was the vice president of the hospital and he smiled and said, no, the Vice President of the United States. Sure enough, as though on cue, Vice President Biden and his wife walked into the room and took up positions to help serve food.

To make a long story short, I gathered up the family and we introduced ourselves to the Vice President, shook his hand, and I took a quick picture.

It still makes me smile to think of how much we would have missed if we had held to our plan instead of resting in God's timing.

In the end we even got to eat lunch right next to the chaplain and assistant who's service we had just enjoyed.

Truly an amazing day.

Fellow Soldiers Deploying

Merry Christmas!

I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season.

The announcement was just made today that some of our fellow Screaming Eagles will be deploying shortly after us. Here is the announcement from Bloomberg:

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon today announced the deployment of 6,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan, the second wave in President Barack Obama’s planned surge of 30,000 troops.

The units include 3,400 troops from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky that will deploy in June 2010 and 2,600 personnel from various unspecified support units that will arrive in Afghanistan starting in late March, the Pentagon said.

The Pentagon announced the first wave of deployments on Dec. 7 -- 16,000 troops, including 1,500 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina who are arriving this month.

--I have some friends in the 2BCT so please be praying for their preparation.

--We are getting set to travel to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Ft. Polk, LA to really focus our training and preparation for Afghanistan. However, before that we are enjoying some block leave to enjoy the holidays with family and friends--weather permitting. ;-)

Remember Pearl Harbor

Today is Pearl Harbor Day.

With so much going on it is easy to forget, but we must not let that happen.

There are a couple of articles that give some current views to that day that I thought I would share. As a current member of our military I am thankful and proud of those who served and stepped during this time of our nation's history.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091207/NEWS08/912070347?source=rss_localnews

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20091207_sea_yields_clues_to_41_attack.html

1-32 CAV in the News

Here is a link to an article concerning our brigade and unit. It was published by the Associated Press and then picked up by a number of newspapers across the country.

BASTOGNE! (that's the name of our brigade)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmHzKawNv1z4N9erIGe5ygY0KhwwD9C0SH4O0?index=3

Orders Issued

For those of you who did not hear my brigade, the 1BCT, has received its orders. I am including a copy of a article about the announcement from the local newspaper, "The Leaf Chronicle." You can view the page directly at http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20091021/NEWS01/910210331/1002/1st-BCT-receives-Afghan-orders

1st BCT Receives Afghan Orders--101st brigade one of three to deploy
By JAKE LOWARY • The Leaf-Chronicle • October 21, 2009

Another 101st Airborne Division brigade is going to Afghanistan, and the Pentagon said Tuesday it's "very possible" more 101st units could be heading there as well. The Defense Department announced Tuesday the 1st Brigade Combat Team will deploy to Afghanistan in spring and summer 2010, about the same time the division headquarters heads back to Regional Command-East, where it held command for 15 months from March 2008 to May 2009. The 1st BCT's deployment involves about 3,700 soldiers. Also announced Tuesday were deployments for the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany, and the 2nd BCT from the 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa National Guard. Together, Tuesday's announcement covers about 11,200 soldiers. Also deploying next month will be a 200-member Marine unit specializing in the use of MV-22 Ospreys, which will deploy to Regional Command-South, based in Kandahar. The 3rd BCT, 1st BCT, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade and division command group have all received orders sending them to Afghanistan. Though orders for the 2nd and 4th BCTs and 101st Sustainment Brigade have not been released, officials at the Pentagon say it's "very possible" those units also could go to Afghanistan, where more attention and focus has been directed as combat troops begin to withdraw from Iraq. The Pentagon was cautious not to confirm or deny any rumors of deployment orders. "We can't make an assumption that they will go," said Lt. Col. Lee Packnett, "but it's very possible."

Keeping 101st intact
When the Army announced the orders for the division command group, it said the Army is trying to keep units with their divisions. "We will seek to better align the rotation of units and their headquarters for force cohesion," the release stated. Packnett said that effort is not only for the benefit of the units deployed, but also for the local populace, so they become familiar "with the Screaming Eagle patch of the 101st." Packnett said all Fort Campbell infantry units already heading to Afghanistan will be under the command of the 101st, which will take over for the 82nd Airborne Division command group, currently controlling RC-East.

The 101st CAB will be deploying to the southern part of the country, which is currently under the control of Dutch Maj. Gen. Mart De Kruif. RC-South control rotates between the Netherlands, Canada and Britain.
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The 1st BCT and 3rd BCT will replace units currently in RC-East. Packnett did not say which units would be replaced by the 101st units.

All of the 101st's deployments are part of regularly scheduled rotations and are not part of any troop buildup being discussed in Washington.

Packnett said it's too soon to determine if the 101st will be part of any increase in troop numbers.

"Right now we can't speculate on anything," he said.

Getting ready
Maj. Gen. John Campbell, commanding general of the 101st, said in a Tuesday news release that the 1st BCT has been preparing for months to deploy to Afghanistan, a place where the brigade has yet to serve in the war on terror.

"They continue to train hard, and I have no doubt they will be prepared to face the challenges of the tough fight in Afghanistan," Campbell said.

Col. Drew Poppas, the brigade's commander, said the brigade has benefited from the previous deployments of current battalion commanders and an ongoing working relationship with units currently there.

"We're incorporating all of these lessons," Poppas said.

The tactical training the soldiers are participating in doesn't differ much from preparing for Iraq. Cultural, language and terrain training do differ, and those preparations began when Poppas took command late last year.

"We've adjusted a little bit because of the specific dynamics," Poppas said.

Poppas too said his soldiers are more than ready as they expand their preparations to larger, more complex and diverse exercises.

"We were prepared yesterday, we're prepared today just as we will be prepared tomorrow," he said.

Busy Time

The title kind of says it all.

It has been a "busy time", and will continue to be so for a while. However, I can say that we have a new tool to help with that.

First, let me step back and give a belated blog congrats and happy birthday to the new SERGEANT Robert Ramos! He was promoted recently. Just in time for his birthday. You can see from the pictures some of the ceremony. One of the cool aspects of being in a cavalry unit is that we have a fairly rich heritage. That is why you see many of the Soldiers in Stetsons. It is not required, but there is a strong camaraderie with the units and Soldiers. By the way, I don't think CH Randall is really that tall. I think the rest of us were standing in holes. ;-)

So, back to the new tool for ministry. SGT Ramos and I finally have a HMMWV (or Humvee) in order to get in and out of the field. There are times when we are asked to share it with other groups in our unit, but for the most part we are able to use it to get back and forth.

Why this is really significant is because we typically rotate Soldiers in and out of the field for training. So at any given time, I have Soldiers at one or more of our training ranges, and then some back at our main offices. Fort Campbell is pretty large and so some of the ranges are 45 minutes away. As a chaplain, a lot of my service comes in the form of counseling. It can then be difficult to counsel at the offices when I am out at a range, but there are needs on the ranges as well. So therefore, having our own vehicle to be able to go back and forth as needed REALLY makes a difference. Of course we also had to get licensed and that took time too, but now we are good to go.
Another side-benefit of having our own vehicle is that we have a fair amount of gear to haul if we want to do a "full-blown" field service. A field service is pretty much like it sounds--a form of a church service in the field. Now the "field" could be an outpost, or in some sort of structure, or usually, literally in an open field.

If you take some time to consider all of the elements that are usually included in a standard church service, you begin to see our potential dilemma. The Army though has had A LOT of experience at this and so we have chaplain kits and a few other items that help with these challenges. However, having a vehicle helps because we are able to bring out the gear that we need, and then even use the vehicle in order to setup. In our case, this last week we were able to do a field service and even included communion with it. It seemed that the Soldiers who came very much appreciated what we were able to share with them.

An Act of Thankfulness

There are certain careers that often times do not get the thanks that they deserve.

Doctors and lawyers are often in this category. People appreciate that they have a large earning potential, but they do not seem to recognize that their skill set is mostly based in their knowledge. Therefore, you hear of stories all the time of folks meeting a doctor or lawyer at a party or get-together and asking them for professional advice. This would be the equivalent of asking a professional baker for a free cake. We would usually never be so bold.

In the Army we recognize that there are some folks who have an intellectual skill-set that we appreciate. Specifically, locally, a professor who is very knowledgeable in the realm of Islam, the Taliban, and middle Eastern culture. So we invited him to come and share with us, and we offered to pay him for his time. He accepted our offer to come, but declined the offer for payment. He appreciates everything that our military does and is happy to support us. But we wanted to do something to say, "thank you."

He asked for some items for his grandchildren because they really enjoy the Army, and that got us thinking. Needless to say, our leadership came up with some really great ideas. So much so that it hit the local paper.

Here is the link: http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908220323

We really appreciate the professor and all of his work and study. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

Hoo-ah!

Trying to Shape Up

As a more "mature" Soldier, life has been very interesting.

I say "mature" meaning, "older".

Most of the guys that I am working with are literally about half my age. And because I was out of shape for so long my body is trying to figure out what in the world happened. It probably thinks that this is a case of the "Body Snatchers."

Potential conversation of the body to the brain--"Hey! Who are you and what did you do with the original owner!?!"

We recently started doing road marches again. I say again, because we had stopped due to block leave and other special activities. I asked one of the senior NCOs if he had any suggestions for getting back into it and he said, "well, for me it is a body memory thing. I just throw on the gear and start walking and my body memory kicks in. I just remember road marching." My response was, "yeah, but my body memory is the couch."

So needless to say, road marching and running have been interesting challenges, but I am making it through.

I should explain that this is not like walking through Disneyland in shorts and tennis shoes. You are in full uniform, with a Kevlar helmet, body armor with plates, and a ruck sack. All of it weighs probably around 40-50+ pounds. Typically, when I am done with a road march I have lost about 3-5 pounds of body weight.

I've included a picture of my assistant and I getting ready to head out on one of the current marches. I can say that I think our bodies are starting to make some new memories concerning road marches and ruck packs.

Welcome Home

This week Ft. Campbell is hosting a semi-annual celebration called the Week of the Eagles. We have already had opening activities including a couple concerts, an airshow, and a special event that took place this afternoon.

When 101st Soldiers come home from deployment there are all kinds of briefings that they go through, but one of the moments that is most special is the welcome home.

The post will try to let family know when their Soldier's plane is landing at the airfield. That way the family can be there. But the post buts on a large ceremony of welcoming for the Soldiers. It is something that many Soldiers of the past did not receive. This is especially true for many of our Vietnam and Korean war vets.

Well, some of the folks around Fort Campbell decided to try to change that. They worked with the leadership of the post and the 101st Division and put on a "Welcome Home" ceremony for previous vets, especially those from the Vietnam war. They thought that some of the vets might welcome the idea of having a special ceremony just for them. What was a little bit of a surprise was the number of people who were willing to travel in order to be a part of the celebration.

What started as a plan for "A" welcome home became 3 different welcome home ceremonies because they could not fit all of the vets into one celebration in the hanger. Yes, you read that correctly. They had so many vets respond that they could not fit them all into an airplane hanger. They had to break them into 3 different groups. I am proud to say that no one was turned away.

I expected to see emotion in the faces of the vets, but the emotions of their family members in the stands was even greater. These people represented entire families who had struggled for 40 or so years with some of the pain of how they were treated, and it seemed as though a good amount of healing was accomplished.

It was an awe-inspiring moment, and we were glad to have been a part of it, and very proud of our post, leadership, and the community to bring it all together.

Endorsement Conference

We have just returned from our endorsement conference with the ECA.

The conference was in Branson, MO and included some excellent speakers. One of our favorites was Dr. Norm Geisler. Dr. Geisler has written a number of books (I think they said 70) concerning the foundations of Christianity. His presentation addressed a number of current issues facing America as well as the church.

Another excellent opportunity though was to hear from other ECA chaplains. The ECA has 113 active duty chaplains and during a luncheon meeting we were able to hear from some of them who were in attendance. It was especially nice to hear some suggestions from some of the spouses.

This was our first time to Branson, MO and we did not really have a lot of time to try to catch any shows, and did not really want to pay for any of them either. I guess the one suggestion I would make is to understand that traffic in town moves really slow. When we tried to leave to come home it took us 20 minutes to go about 5 miles to the interstate.

Just a heads-up in case you are thinking of visiting.

Blessings