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.

Happy Memorial Day

We have been doing some traveling and have thoroughly enjoyed God's creation.

We have found that this time of year in MS, AR, LA, TX, and OK reminds us of HI (those are all states, by the way). We even had a gecko on our window.

We also want to wish everyone a happy Memorial day. I think that a lot of folks have forgotten what Memorial day is really all about. However, I am including a picture of a church in LA made up of some folks who have really taken the holiday to heart.

I am also putting up some pictures of our new housing. We are very thankful. The house is great and we are looking forward to getting settled.

So, happy Memorial day everyone.

Have a great day!

We Have Housing!

We have moved into our housing!

We are very excited and will hopefully have all of our stuff out of storage soon.

We are in a quiet neighborhood (for the most part) on a somewhat secluded portion of the post, at the end of a street. I really do not know if I could have asked for a better placement. In fact, it is really close to my office. The only thing that is quite a ways away is the high school. However, I think we can work with that.

Things are coming along. I am still figuring out how this job/ministry actually works. There is PT (physical training) every morning and I try to participate with different groups of Soldiers so I can get to know them, and they can get to know me.

Then there are meetings for training, scheduling, and general command issues, plus chaplain specific meetings.

Then I have counseling sessions with Soldiers for a variety of issues. I also have suicide prevention training that I actually conduct, and marriage/relationship training or retreats that I try to plan and organize.

So, needless to say, life is pretty busy and I do not yet have a chaplain’s assistant. So that means that at this stage, with my government PCs not working quite right, I am trying to do all of that on my own. Not complaining, just recognizing that I might be a little busier than I will be when I get some help. That just makes me appreciate chaplain assistants even more. Those folks do a lot that goes unseen.

We’re going to be doing some traveling for the holiday and block leave coming up. I will try to keep you posted. Hopefully we will be visiting my brother (and maybe my nephew) soon. Should be fun.

Please remember the real reason behind Memorial Day and take time to actually remember.

Blessings.