Scenes From the Chapel

The surge has hit our base, and Reservists and National Guard from all over are here for training and awaiting deployment. 

I notice it most especially on Sundays, because the pews at mass are filled with people in ACUs.  There they sit, quiet and well behaved.  They pray more than most of us.  They are quick to run out and help the elderly retirees with mobility issues down the aisle.  They shake my hand and say, "Peace be with you," with the added undercurrent of a fervent wish.  They call my son, "Little Man" and compliment him on his hair.  Sometimes they tell me about their sons or daughters at home - they miss them so much.

 

I understand that not everyone finds solace in my religion, or in any religion for that matter.  It is so important, though, that we - and they - find something that gives meaning to our lives. 

We attend base chapel not because it is the closest parish to our house, but because seeing all those  people in uniform - ready to go, ready to do- reminds me every single week what my priorities should be.  I find it hard to kneel and pray for more money, or a nice vacation, or fewer Mother-in-Law issues (although to be fair, her dementia makes it about as difficult as a MIL relationship can be for me) when I see this Band of Brothers and Sisters talking to God before they ship out.  Whatever has been irking me for the week, whatever I wanted to say to God, generally falls by the wayside as the only thing that comes to my mind is, "Dear Lord, please keep them in your heart.  Please protect and guide them.  Please always let them know how much they are loved and appreciated."

Seeing this:

every week resets my perspective.  It keeps me humble.  It reminds me that the world is not all about me and my wants, but that I am needed as a part of something bigger than myself.

My husband's last deployment was the first deployment during which I attended services at a base chapel.  Somehow, being surrounded by stained glass windows like this:

and this:

made it easier.  I felt at home.  What a treasure this was for me and my children!

Our chapel is home to many different religions and denominations.  We all share the same building and the same stained glass.  That, I think, is a uniquely military phenomenon - that there can be so many people of such varied religious creeds in one place helping each other.  I noticed several times that the Chaplains Assistant who helped set up for mass was Jewish.  I noticed several community members of various denominations (including myself) attending the Pesach.  The lobby literature has information for Christians and Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, Hindus and many others.

We have more important things to worry about than vociferous argument over creed.  Those men and women need us.  They REALLY need us, and not our angry words.

And I am reminded of that every Sunday.

Comments

[Sarah]

What a nice post...

[dizzylizzie]

hate to be the bearer of bad news...dont shoot the messanger...but our extensions are about to be further extended...

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,139702,00.html

[armywifetoddlermom]

AFW,

This is a great post, and a delicate one to be sure.

When visiting DH while he is away at school, we have had the good fortune of attending services on post at The Follow Me Chapel.

And although we regularly attend church in the civilian World.

There is certainly something very special about attending services with our military family.

And I am comforted to see services so well attended. It is a fantastic reminder.....

[USMC SSGT wife]

AF wife, thank you for this great posting...although may husband is NOT strong on faith/religion I would imagine even as an agnositc base chapels help you feel closer to home and safety.

Now dizzielizzie, I'm confused about these deployment extensions, husband in 1st time pre-deployment stages leaving this fall. Because one soldier/marines unit is extended does that mean you can expect all to be? My husband is signed up for a 7 month voluntary deployment to Iraq for the the National Capital Task Force...so is this a cross the board thing or are you talking Army, guard, reserve????

[Sgt. L's Wife]

Wonderful post.

[dizzylizzie]

i put a link at the bottom of my post. looks like it will probably be active duty army again based on the quote "...the army needs a plan.."

[liberal army wife]

even an agnostic like me, needs a place to be silent, be peaceful and recharge. Due to my chapel upbringing in England, a quiet (oldfashioned is best for me!) chapel with perhaps the hint of incense or older songbooks, is an automatically peaceful place. Thank you for showing us this lovely place. Prayers and good thoughts, no matter where directed, will infuse a place, whether building or clearing in the woods.

LAW

[Navydocswife]

USMC SSGT Wife, at this time it is Army and National Guard that are getting the extended deployments. I know the Navy/Marines are still on 7 month deployments but that doesn't mean an extension couldn't happen.

[Jewel]

One of the first stops my husband made when he arrived at his deployed location was the chapel. He went to reflect and to look for strength and guidance. It helped him to clear his mind before tackling the job that lay before him.

We may not attend chapel on a regular basis, but we are still very spiritual people. I pray each and every day for all our service members that they may complete their mission safely and come home to their families. It is the very least I can do for all they do for us.

[Amy - Army Wife and Chaplain Candidate]

Thanks for a great post. I loved the photos. Just what I need to get me motivated to get my homework done so I can be a Chaplain. Hooah!

[dizzylizzie]

bear with me here, ive got alot...

Ok so I re-read the article in case I’d missed something regarding the extension of the extension. The article doesn’t clearly state exactly who it will be. In fact it leans both ways (active army vs. everyone else) but the further extension of active duty army is being said as “…the last option on the list..”. However, this almost exact the same statement was said 24 hours prior to the early announcement of the 15 month extension.

On the other hand, I’d like to retract my intitial opinion about this most likely being us Active army, and say that does look more look as though the NG’s will be hit with this extension based on these statements:
“…Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren testified Tuesday that the service is reviewing other options, including relying more heavily on Army reservists or Navy and Air Force personnel, so as not to put more pressure on a stretched active-duty force.
And,
“Geren said he was unsure and cited "numerous options" available, including a "different utilization of the Guard and Reserve"
And,
“…relying on the other services for help…”
And,
“Geren also said it "would certainly be valuable if other departments helped more in rebuilding Iraq.”

but again as with anything else run by the military, there’s nothing concrete being stated. I admit I scanned through the article while sucking down the morning cup of joe, and most likely just figured it was us active duty again by the way the headline was being phrased and, because frankly not many on this base ive spoken with believes the promise of a “guarenteed 12 month dwell time”. Or that the 15 months is all they’ll end up with regarding the extension time.

If I had to do a percentage, of the 100 or so people ive spoken with (friends that live on post & off, family, frg ladies, random people in line at the commisary…), I’d guess 80% believes it will be 18 months, 10% 24 months, 5% 15 months and we’ll say the last 5% as unsure.

In our case, hubs is scheduled to be home in about 8 weeks, however we still have no official confirmation of the 15 month extension, even though their replacements have been pushed back by three months and they are scheduling to send guys to their 4 day vaca in Qatar, which to the best of my knowledge; is only done for the guys that have been extended. Yet we still have no official confirmation.

Now that being said, hubs re-inlisted over there and his MOS changed “to the needs of the army”, in our case mechanic (88Mike I think). Which means when he gets back he’s being assigned another unit. A unit we’ve been told that is already scheduled to deploy to iraq less than 6 months from when he’s due to return. We’ve already been told he’ll have to go regardless of his earned 12 month dwell time. If they extend him the additional 3 months to the 15 month tour, he’ll have about two months ‘dwell time’ before heading right back out for his fourth tour of the sandbox.

it so frusterating. it would be so much easier to swallow if they would just be upfront with us instead of dangling these things and dropping tid bits of information that can be construed in different ways.

i'm interested in others thoughts on the subject... anyone?... bueller??...

[MrsDDalanD]

AFW,

Thank you for putting my feelings into words. I haven't been to the base chapel, yet, but that is exactly how I feel when I see the uniformed soldiers and airmen on base. Just seeing them helps put my life into perspective and helps to keep all my little whines better under control. Wonderful post!

[Marine Wife]

airforcewife,
great post, you made me cry!

On another note, I'm a little confused by the whole Marines are on 7 month deployments thing. I heard the Commandant say they are trying to keep that. BUT my Marine and all the Marines he is deployed with are on a 12 month. Does the 7 month only apply to infantry? It's very misleading to say that Marines are on 7 month deployments because that's not true for all of them.

[Andi]

Love this post!

[KEN TAMASKI]

Hello,I am looking for help to create a place were families from the chicago area can visit with eachother via web camera the church i attend is willing to give up space for this and we feel we are able to staff 24 hrs

[eric]

Hello.

I am the son of a military man, and have a deep appreciation for military personnel and their families. I support the mission and the brave soldiers carrying it out.

I would consider it an honor and a privilege if you would add my blog "The Tygrrrr Express" www.blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com to your list of linked sites if you feel the quality is high.

I look forward to saying "Welcome home" to each soldier as well. Until then, Happy June.

eric

[Navydocswife]

Marine Wife, sorry to confuse, they have orders for 12-24 months (if reservist) So in reality the deployment is for 12 months because they will train for some time before they leave and they will spend 7 months in country, at least that is how our deployments have worked. My dh's orders said up to 24 months, he did 3 months in the states, then 7 months in Iraq and then another 12 months in the states helping with the wounded marines.

[Navydocswife]

Marine wife, just clicked on your blog site, you look sooo familiar. You didn't happen to be in the Navy at one time did you?

[Wiese]

Great Post.

For DizzieLizzie: I read on Military.com Robert Gates stated military personnel will take 12 months off from one deployment to the next. It came out about 3 weeks ago.

[joyce]

The chapel at Fort Benning is wonderful ! We attended when our son was at Airborne school last summer and just loved the casual style. And I'll never forget attending a movie next door and hearing a little voice say, "pledge of allegiance, Daddy" during the playing of the national anthem. It was wonderful.

[dizzylizzie]

Wiese,
you are correct but they way they are doing it is by unit rotation. not individual soldier rotation.

[phyllis]

Army National Guard has 2 months training 1 year boots on ground and 1 month or so of decontamination.

[Tish]

Heartfelt thanks for that post!