Red Bull Chapel

Deployment Communications

2009-12-07T00:54:00.000-08:00

Great Growing Conditions

2009-11-28T00:53:00.000-08:00

INNER PEACE

2009-11-26T05:26:00.000-08:00

"The real secret to handling the demands upon you is possessing inner peace. No matter what the problems, the tensions, the pressures, one can only help oneself by thinking clearly and acting calmly and resolutely. This cannot be done without inner peace, born of prayer...in search of light, inspiration, and courage. I have a simple three-word prayer that has served me well for many, many years: 'Come, Holy Spirit.' It has never failed me."

Theodore Hesburgh, GOD, COUNTRY, NOTRE DAME, p. 309

I meet a lot of military personnel and civilians who are ‘stressed out’, ‘bummed out’ or ‘burned out’. They are unhappy and often hard for those they live and work with to be around. The wear and tear of a combat deployment can rob us of our inner strength and steal our joy.

There is an ancient practice that can help you recover your inner strength and actually find peace in the midst of your challenges. It is called ‘prayer’.

In the Christian tradition prayer takes many forms, but it is always personal and it is always directed to a loving God who is personally concerned about our welfare.

I invite you to adopt the practice outlined by Father Theodore Hesburgh in his quote above. When you feel stressed and are challenged by the pressures of life…invite God, by His Spirit, to help you. God will answer that prayer…and you’ll find inner peace in the midst of the challenges you face.

CH (LTC) John Morris 34th INF DIV Chaplain

Going the distance

2009-11-21T00:52:00.000-08:00

Rising Water

2009-11-05T05:25:00.000-08:00

There’s an old story about a guy whose house is surrounded by floodwaters. He climbs up on his roof, hugs the chimney, and prays to God for help. While he’s praying, someone from a nearby bridge throws him a rope and tells him to grab it. “No way!” he shouts, “I’m trusting God to help me.” Then a boat pulls up and the sailors yell, “Get in!” Still clutching the chimney, he says, “My salvation comes from the Lord.” Finally a helicopter hovers overhead and the crew sends down a basket to retrieve him. With one hand he pushes it away and says, “God will save me!” Eventually the waters rise above the roof of the house and he drowns. When he gets to heaven, the man is indignant. “I prayed for your help!” he says to God, “Why didn’t you save me from the floodwaters?” And God responds, “I tried to save you! Why didn’t you accept the rope, the boat, or the helicopter I sent???”

Good question! Could it be that you are overlooking God’s help?

• Do you or your family need counseling, financial coaching, debt management support, addiction assessment/support? Minnesota Service CORE is a program through Lutheran Social Service that provides those services free of charge to veterans and their immediate families. One call to the LSS hotline (1-888-881-8261) or the LINKVET hotline (1-888-546-5838) will get you the help you need.

• What about expanding your education and vocation possibilities for you or your immediate family? One visit to the Education Office here in Basrah (next to the post office) will get you on your way.

• Are you concerned about getting a job when you return from deployment? Take action now by contacting the Veterans Employment Services at 1-888-438-5627.

The only way these services can help is if you decide to use them. If you need them, use them. It’s a whole lot better than waiting for the waters to rise…

God’s Peace,

CH (CPT) Richard Rittmaster 34 ID Family Life Chaplain

Panning for gold

2009-10-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

Have you ever ‘panned for gold’? I have discovered that it takes a good technique and a lot of patience to pan for gold, to wash away copious amounts of mud in order to find the little flakes and nuggets of the precious metal hidden within. At the end of the day it was not the technique, the water, or the mud that I valued—it was the gold. Finding the ‘gold’ in a combat deployment can be accomplished with similar diligence.

I often meet with soldiers who are unable to find any ‘gold’ in their combat tour. Their job turned out to be much less meaningful than they expected. They don’t like their roommate, or their boss. They want more time outside the wire, or less time outside the wire. They want more danger, or less danger. Whatever the cause they feel that they are wasting their time and life in their present circumstance.

They don’t know how to ‘pan for gold’. The apostle Paul was a man who was ‘deployed’ often and who knew the hardship of injustice. He was beaten for his convictions, shipwrecked, betrayed and misunderstood. He could have quit on a dozen occasions. But he did not quit.

Paul learned how to ‘pan for gold’ in the midst of difficult circumstances. He chose to learn from, grow and develop in spite of and because of his hardships. We can do the same.

We can develop educationally while we are deployed. We can choose to grow spiritually while we are deployed. We can take care of our physical fitness while we are deployed. The choice of whether we will grow or stagnate is ours, no matter our circumstances. We can ‘pan for gold’ during our combat tour.

I invite you to ‘go for the gold’, chose to grow in every dimension of your life while you are in MND-S.

If you choose to do so, in the years to come, it won’t matter how bored, hot or uncomfortable you were, what will matter will be the ‘gold’ you found in your experience and growth.

Remembering

2009-10-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

Psalm 133:1

2009-09-10T05:24:00.000-07:00

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.” Psalm 133:1

Unity of effort is one of the most difficult things for a military unit of any kind to achieve. There are a million reasons most units never maximize their potential as a team: personal agendas, differing perspectives on the mission, poor leadership, poor followership, lack of talent, etc…

The bottom line is that without unity, the unit is weaker, more vulnerable and less capable. Military history is full of examples of units that were seemingly facing overwhelming obstacles but overcame their enemies by working as a unified team.

How unified is your unit? Are you bound together in purpose and synchronized in effort?

Are you part of the problem or part of the solution to the unity of your unit? In my faith tradition we worship a God who models unity, promotes unity and reflects unity in all of his creation. I look to God to seek ways to be a ‘unifier’, not a ‘divider’.

When I look to God as revealed I see that unity begins will committing myself to welfare and success of my team members. Are you committed to every member of your organization being successful? Do you show that commitment with you actions. If you do, then you are promoting unity, and pleasing God.

When I look to God I see that unity means the welfare of the unit is as important as my own. That means I often have to put the mission of the unit before my personal agenda. We call that selfless service in the Army Values.

When I look to God I see that the closer I am to God, the more alive I am through his spirit the less likely I am to destroy the unity of those I serve with. Why? Because unity means I am committed to their welfare and working for their success, as well as the unit’s overall success.

I pray you are a unifier, not a divider. Our Army, at war and our Nation at war . . . cannot survive . . . without unity . . . and it begins with you.

God bless

CH Morris

Deployed Chaplains Minister to 'both Sides of the World'

2009-09-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

ARLINGTON, Va. – For many chaplains, providing spiritual and mental support for Soldiers is a calling.

But, for one Minnesota Army National Guard chaplain, providing that care and support is only part of the equation. The real calling is that of being a Soldier.

"I've often said in sermons to Soldiers that I believe serving in the military is a call, and that it's a call to be a peacekeeper or a peacemaker," said Lt. Col. John Morris, chaplain of the 34th Infantry Division, which is currently deployed to Basrah, Iraq.

"These phrases that we use like selfless service, which is a common phrase in the Army, it's a vocational, religious connotation whether a person has a spiritual background or not. We're calling them to self-sacrifice on behalf of other people."

As he makes his rounds among the division's units, Morris said he often talks to the Soldiers about sacrifice.

"Soldiering here at this time is a call to serve the Iraqis as well as serve the defense of our nation," he said. "And to be willing to be that person in the middle to enable peace and enable conditions to happen in that a new country can be born, I often present that to Soldiers and they are often visibly moved and often encouraged by that."

Spiritual support is important throughout a deployment, but it is especially needed when a Soldier is wounded or killed in action.

"From the time a Soldier is wounded and goes up to one of our medical facilities, we'll do everything to get one of our chaplains up there if there is enough time," said Morris. "A lot of times the Soldier will be evacuated so quickly to a higher level care that it will be a chaplain at that end, but there will be a hospital chaplain somewhere along the line."

In such a case, the chaplains often work with more than just the wounded Soldier.

"That chaplain will minister to that Soldier but then will also stay and minister to the staff after that Soldier passes on to the next level of medical care that is available," said Morris. "We'll follow up with that battalion chaplain or brigade chaplain and work with the chaplain to circulate through the unit and follow up with the Soldiers who are affected and the commanders.

"A lot of times people forget that the commanders are tremendously affected by the injuries or deaths of their Soldiers."

If there is a death within the unit, the chaplains have additional roles.

"We'll do a memorial service, which is a very distinct ritual to provide support to those who are remaining and rebuild their fighting resolve," said Morris. "We'll also ... help put together a DVD of the memorial service for the families at home because we've found that to be tremendously comforting. So, this ministry goes to both sides of the world to those in the fight and those at home."

While chaplains are often busy talking with Soldiers, they often don't leave time for themselves.

"Caregivers are notorious for not seeking care for themselves, and chaplains are no different," said Morris.

To alleviate that, there are a number resources among the 34th ID chaplains. One of those is the family life chaplain, who works to provide training and serves as a debriefer among the chaplains and chaplains' assistants of the division.

"He is providing direct pastoral care to chaplains and the assistants, and he's tangled with some pretty tough issues that are the result of chaplains having repeatedly dealt with death and having repeatedly deployed," said Morris, adding that the family life chaplain has "earned his pay twice over" taking on those duties.

Ensuring that the chaplains of the division have someone to turn to or the support they need is one of Morris' primary duties.

"I'll meet with the command chaplains and establish a relationship with them and try to provide pastoral support to the level they want to be, and then, as I travel through their battalions, I'll do the same thing," he said. "They realize I'm not there to force anything upon them. I'm there to make sure they are successful and have the care they need."

Each chaplain in the division is encouraged by Morris to seek out each other for support.

"(They are encouraged) by me to establish some kind of working relationship with another chaplain on the battlefield or another military chaplain that they can talk to confidentially, so that they have got somebody that can put some support or encouragement behind them as they are giving everyday throughout the day," said Morris.

Support also comes from sources outside the military.

"Each chaplain is endorsed by a denomination, and their endorser provides another level of pastoral care by reaching out and making sure the chaplains know they are supported," said Morris. "For example, I'm a United Methodist and my endorser calls my wife to see how she is doing, regularly sends her notes of encouragement and does the same for me."

As a result, these chaplains are able to support Soldiers in the field.

"I find this generation of younger people that we have today, they want a mission bigger than themselves," said Morris. "They want to be about doing something that makes the world safer and better and soldiering does that, particularly in the place that we are."

Holy Joes opens to large crowd

2009-08-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq – It may look like a large snack cake with its yellowish foam covering and elongated shape, but Holy Joes Chapel Tent, located in Red Bull Life Sustainment Area at Contingency Operating Base Basra, is designed to do more than cater to the sweet tooth.
Soldiers were able to get a preview of the facilities contained within the tent during a party hosted by the Special Troops Battalion chaplain’s office Aug. 15.

Sgt. Jonathan Groeneweg, chaplain assistant for Special Troops Battalion, 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, said the facility is about to earn its keep on COB Basra.

“We plan on having a program called Art for Iraq, where we decorate the tent with local art,” said Groeneweg, who hails from Marshall, Minn. “We also will host Bible studies here, open (microphone) and movies nights, games, all kinds of stuff!”

“We just wanted a place where Soldiers can hang out and have a good time,” Groeneweg added.

Chaplain (1st Lt.) Mike Lotzer, DSTB chaplain, said the facility will also host something he calls “Poetry Slam” and leadership retreats for company-level military leaders.

“We are also thinking about moving Financial Peace University out here,” Lotzer added.

Lotzer said he owes a debt of gratitude to the people who made this vision a reality.

“I especially want to thank Staff Sgt. Scott Wiechmann, the LSA Red Bull camp manager, for all his hard work,” Lotzer said. “He was the lead builder on this project and without his hard work this would have never happened.”

For more information on the ministries, events and services to be hosted at Holy Joes, contact the DSTB chaplain’s office at 858-4596.

Iraqi bishop holds Catholic Mass on COB Basra

2009-08-10T05:22:00.000-07:00

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq - A Catholic Mass was celebrated in the Chaldean Rite by the acting bishop of Basra Aug. 8 in honor of the Soldiers serving here.
Unlike regular services held for Soldiers here, Bishop Imad Al Banna, a priest and native of Basra, spoke Aramaic, an ancient language spoken in Palestine in the time of Jesus, and still spoken in parts of Iraq.

Al Banna, who visited with Multi-National Division - South leaders in early July, led the Catholic service, hosting nearly 50 people in the small room.

This was a chance for service members to have fellowship with the leader of the local church here and for the bishop to minister to them, said Chaplain (Capt.) Kevin Peak, chaplain, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Brigade, 4th Infantry Division.

Soldiers come forward to receive the Eucharist from Bishop Imad Al Banna during a Catholic Mass held on Contigency Operating Base Basra Aug. 8. Al Banna, a native of Basra, led the Mass for service members. Many attendees said they will never forget the once in a lifetime experience of being able to attend a Mass led by an Iraqi bishop. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Darryl L. Montgomery) "It was a great opportunity to expose our men and women to the local Christian population of Basra Province," Peak added.
Peak, an Atlanta native, said the conflicts in Iraq have taken a heavy toll on the Christian population here. Before the war began in 2003, there were a total of 1.2 million Christians in Iraq, now, six years later, that number is down to about 600,000.

Christianity has come under persecution throughout these years of violence due to extremist groups targeting them. The Christian population is trying to help make peace throughout the country by helping everyone they can, he said.

"I work for all people in Basra, not only Christians," said Al Banna. "Our goal is to create a peaceful coexistence among all religions."

Chaplain (Lt. Col.) John Morris, MND - S chaplain, said he commends Al Banna for working through the hardships his religion has faced during the years of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "He is a great example of a good shepherd."

As the service concluded, Al Banna opened himself to the crowd by offering to help with anything he could, just as he does for the people of Basra. For more than an hour after the liturgy, he sat with Soldiers sharing food and posing for pictures.

He also said he was grateful to be able to be with the American Soldiers for the Mass and thanked them for what they are doing for his country.

"We Catholics believe that the Last Supper was the first Mass and that every Mass that has followed is a reenactment of that first one," said Sgt. Neil McCabe, field historian, 311th Military History Detachment, MND-S. "Tonight, we heard a Mass celebrated in the same language that Jesus used in that first Mass. How cool is that?"

"I will never forget this day," said Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Ulmen, mortuary affairs noncommissioned officer, 34th Infantry Division, and resident of Madelia, Minn. "It was an incredible experience to attend a Mass conducted by an Iraqi bishop, definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Challenges to Morale

2009-07-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

The Dryness of Depression

2009-07-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Chaplain John Morris thanks Washington county

2009-04-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

You are not alone

2009-04-22T00:46:00.000-07:00

Worry and anxiety

2009-04-22T00:45:00.000-07:00

Staying connected

2009-04-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

Dealing with stress

2009-03-15T00:39:00.000-07:00