Hubs' 5th week

Here's Hubs' first official Army picture. He's so cool!

Here's his week 5 summary:

I just finished my last week at Fort Benning. I am all set to check out first thing Monday morning and drive back home. I'm really looking forward to seeing Christie and the boys.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week, the Chief of Chaplain's Office convened an Accessions Board to review a group of applications including mine. On Wednesday evening I got the phone call I'd been waiting for. The board had accepted my application for active duty chaplaincy following graduation from seminary! On one hand I was relieved. I knew that God had called us out of the Navy to prepare for military chaplaincy. I felt as though I'd been faithful to that call and made myself completely available. On the other hand I had tried to prepare myself for a decision of non-acceptance. I knew that God had a plan for my family in ministry and that He'd work out the details. Frankly, being denied by the Army would have caused us to avoid some difficult seasons of separation. I was willing to minister in a deployed status, but would have preferred to never leave if possible. So as all these feelings swirled around, a peace came over me because the road ahead is clear now. Numerous "what if" questions that Christie and I were sick of entertaining are removed from the table and, in a humorous twist of irony, they have been replaced with a whole new set. But at least they're fresh and new. The truth is that there is great need for the message of hope in the Army and we are ready to stand in that gap.

The basic timeline looks like this: complete last semester of seminary (Aug-Dec), graduate from seminary (20Dec2008), finish the Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course in Columbia, SC (spring 2009), and report to my first assignment in early April 2009. Exactly when Christie and the boys relocate will depend on where we get assigned since Gator will be in his second semester of kindergarten. Our preferences for assignment are presently: #1) Columbus, GA; #2) Savannah, GA; #3) Germany. But we'll see what happens!

I spent the first three days of the week with the Chaplain of the Ranger Training Brigade (RTB). RTB is where they take young, male, top-notch athletes and train them how to persevere through unimaginable conditions. They are pushed to the very limits of bodily endurance while being sleep deprived (2-3 hours a night on average) and food deprived (around 2000 calories a day while their bodies are burning 3000-3500 a day). They train for three weeks here at Benning, for three weeks in the North Georgia mountains, and then go down to Eglin AFB in the panhandle of Florida to play in the swamps. I drove down with the Chaplain to observe a field worship service for the class in Florida who only had a week left until graduation. You've probably never seen dirtier, smellier, more tired and worn out looking men in your whole life. I literally considered rolling in a mud puddle just so that I felt worthy to stand in their presence. My clean uniform made me feel a little embarrassed. When the (voluntary) worship service started, 115 of the 200 students joined us for worship and nearly everyone else joined the Catholic Priest we'd brought in. Everybody wants some Jesus when you're that beat down! As the service closed, the Chaplain had them sing "Jesus Loves Me." Try and picture 115 of the toughest Rambo-esque men you can imagine singing Jesus Loves Me at the top of their lungs in the middle of a Florida pine forest. God rocks, doesn't He?!

Thursday was spent observing the Family Life Training Program where the Chaplain Corps trains a select group of Chaplains how to be counselors on the next level. The students receive a master's degree in counseling through Columbus State University and go on to provide each Army post with a expert to which Battalion Chaplains can refer clients before engaging Licensed Professional Counselors, Psychologists, or Psychiatrists. I was able to observe a counseling session via video and audio feed to a remote room. What a joy to see a couple enter considering divorce and leave holding hands with tears in their eyes. The combined effects of the Global War of Terrorism impact families greatly. This is one way we can mitigate those effects.

Friday, my last day of training, was spent with a Basic Training Chaplain. We had the opportunity to counsel a few recruits and help address their concerns. Since attending Basic Training myself in November 1994 to January 1995, I had not been around that environment. It was good to be reminded of just how hard it is to convert a kid from mama's boy to warrior in a few months.

Please let me reiterate my thanks to each of you for your prayers and support during this period of training. Many of you have emailed me and encouraged me. Thank you. If I haven't gotten back with you, know that I still love you and will be in touch as soon as I can. May the Lord richly bless you as you seek to serve Him more.

For God and Country,
Hubs