Still a Chaplain

Don't be too scared by the title.

Basically what I am saying is that not too much has changed.

I did pin on the rank of captain, but for a chaplain, not too much should change.

The reason for this is that every chaplain in the Army (for the most part anyway) has the same title, "chaplain." It does not matter if you are a first lieutenant, captain, major, colonel, etc. Everyone is usually going to address you as, "chaplain."

I really like that. Although making the rank of captain means more pay, my attitude and focus should be the same. I need to be concerned about my Soldiers and their well-being and care.

It is the same as when you are a pastor of a church. If you are more concerned with the size of the congregation or your perceived prestige in the community then you are focused on the wrong thing.

Of course all of that is easier said than done, and it is easy to get pulled into a wrong focus or attitude, but for me, I am reminded of the proper focus every time someone says hi,..."hey chappy, how are you doing today?"

Happy Father's Day

It is a little late, but I was celebrating Father's day with my family.

I know that it seems as though there are a disproportionate amount of people who have had negative experiences with fathers as opposed to mothers. I know that I am thankful for the example of fatherhood that I grew up with, and hope to be a good example for my children as well.

We were recently joking around about "wise sayings" from our fathers and two from mine were, "time for a family meeting" and "it will be a good experience for you."

The family meeting one usually meant that there was a lecture of some sort coming. As my sister and I got older we began to tease, "oh, this is lecture #1362 (or insert a number)". But there was always something constructive in the family meetings.

The "experience" one usually meant that we were being told to do, or follow-through with something that we really did not want to do. Sometimes though it was encouragement for things that we just were not sure about. Should we try-out for the team, try a new sport, go for a long, long bike ride, go rafting down the river, etc.

As my family and I have launched off into this new adventure with the Army, there have been many difficult and challenging points. However, I have found myself being reminded about some of these statements.

I would also like to say that Father's day may not be a "happy" day for you, but please remember that we have a perfect example of Fatherhood in our God who loves you more than you know. If you have some time, you may want to check out this video of a song by Jimmy Wayne. It is a powerful reminder. http://www.cmt.com/videos/jimmy-wayne/27630/i-love-you-this-much.jhtml

Happy Father's Day,
Kaaina

Training/TDY

These last few weeks have been focused on these two areas. The first is going to grow from here on out.

The training has come in a couple different forms.

The first, sadly, has been an increased drive to complete suicide prevention training. This was not that difficult to accomplish because most of us have already been up-tempo on this. In the face of a growing number of suicides in the Army, everyone has been trying to do their part to train one another and help one another to see when a person is hurting. Therefore, as chaplains, we have all been very busy trying to get all of our Soldiers trained in a variety of suicide prevention programs. Some of the programs are oriented more toward "self-help" in a sense. We really try to help each Soldier understand how they are doing and encourage them to seek help if they need it. Others are designed to help Soldiers recognize some of the potential warning signs that a fellow Soldier may demonstrate if they are headed toward possible suicide.

The second area of training has been some live fire on one of the ranges here. This particular live-fire was at the squad level. Each troop had each of their squads go through some specific scenarios. As a chaplain I am not allowed to carry or use a weapon, but it was very interesting to see our Soldiers in action. I can say that I was very impressed.

After each of the run-throughs on the scenarios each of the squad members was asked questions and given the opportunity to share some of their own insights. To me, the terms and technical proficiency that the Soldiers used concerning the activity was similar to doctors evaluating a recently completed surgery. These men were very serious about their work and extremely professional about what they were doing and why.

I was able to snap a bit of a picture of one of our Soldiers to give you an idea of the night-vision goggles that we use. It was an "eye-opening" experience to say the least (pardon the really bad pun).

I was also given the opportunity to preach at the post Gospel service last Sunday. That was a lot of fun, and a wonderful honor. The Gospel service is made up of military and civilian folks who really love on people. My family felt extremely welcomed the first time we walked through the door.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if my preaching style would be something that they would enjoy, but I think we ended up meeting each other half way and it worked out extremely well.

Finally, the week ended with me beginning TDY and our household goods arriving. We have been very busy trying to figure out where everything should go and actually doing a yard sale for some of the stuff. I think some may yet end up going to Goodwill or the post thrift store. We'll see.

Talk to you all soon.