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The Chaplain had just finished visiting the hospital and talking with the wounded. It was something he did on a regular bases when his duties did not required him at the company. For the most part he enjoyed his visits but today had been a little different. There were several seriously injured young soldiers that had asked for the last rites. The chaplain was not Catholic himself but he was familiar with many different religions.

        WHEN GOD CAN'T BE FOUND The Bible introduces Job as being both spiritually and financially rich. In terms of godliness, he was a role model. He lacked nothing in terms of finances. He had everything going his way. Job was sitting on top of the world. Everything was going well for Job, but suddenly came the storm. He lost cattle, servants and children. Overnight he was broke and lonely. If that was not enough, Job lost his main supporter 'Äì His wife. When he needed her the most, she lost faith and tried to get...

November 25, 2004 Release Number: 04-11-90 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Stuffed toys fill the grasp of kindergarten kidsBAGHDAD, Iraq -- Pick up any child's favorite stuffed toy and there is usually a story behind how he came to own it. Keeping small mementos which remind us of a special event or time in our life or bring us comfort are a common practice which doesn't diminish as one crosses cultural borders. A delivery of goodwill came in the form of stuffed animals; there were several boxes of Beanie Babies and other small stuffed toys received through the chaplain's office at the...

A MILITARY PRAYER THE CHAPLAIN SERIES By Steve Newton (2) The Padre had just received a request from Division to open a high level meeting at Headquarters in the Green Zone. He was supposed to write and deliver a prayer and he was stumped. Under normal circumstances he could write a prayer or simply speak one from the heart with no problem. But to be tasked with writing and delivering a prayer by the weekend was pressure he did not like. He had writers block.

        A THANKSGIVING RECIPE Pigskin, poultry and pumpkin pie is a combination too frequently used on Thanksgiving Day. It is doubtful that this recipe produces a sense of gratitude. At a time when all of us experience both good and bad things in our lives, we need a more deliberate approach. An unknown author has penned the following thoughts. May I suggest it as your Thanksgiving recipe? Count your blessings instead of your crosses; Count your gains instead of your losses. Count your joys instead of your woes; Count your friends instead of your foes. Count...

A bunch of wrinkled elves - or as they call themselves, brazen broads and hussies - are preparing to send Christmas gifts to a company of Marines in Iraq. If it isn't strange enough that the more than mature - in age - Thunder Mountain Republican Women is acting as St. Nick's agent of good cheer, Santa Claus will be played by Marine Master Sgt. Mark Manring, creating another connection between Sierra Vista and Iraq. In August, a dozen members of the women's organization unveiled a calendar of themselves in tasteful poses suggesting some naughtiness. The women raised $1,725 from...

OTTAWA, November 16, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Canadian Defence Department announced plans Monday to remove the Christian symbol -- a Maltese cross -- from the caps of its army chaplains. The move is claimed to be because the military's first Moslem chaplain was hired last year. "We are looking at seeing what developments there could be in that field because, to have a Muslim or to have someone of another faith under that same cap badge -- I think it wouldn't be of service to them," military Chaplain Jean Bourgeois told the Toronto Sun. Both Conservative MP Jason Kenney and...

FORT HUACHUCA - Host families are being sought to share Thanksgiving with soldiers training at the post. The 111th Military Intelligence Brigade is sponsoring its 16th Annual Adopt a Soldier Program for the holiday. The program is designed to connect soldiers with families in the area who are willing to host them for a home-cooked meal. Those interested in adopting a soldier or more than one are asked to call the brigade's chaplain's office at 533-8774 or 538-1252. Host families will meet the soldiers at 7 p.m. Nov. 24 for a get-acquainted party. The event will be held at the...

Rabbi Irving Elson, a Jewish chaplain for the U.S. Marines, was on his way to lecture students in a rabbinical seminar in New York when he learned that a Jewish marines officer was among the casualties in the Fallujah battles. Elson, a tall, mustached man in marines uniform, who recently returned from active service in Iraq, tried to persuade the rabbinical students to join the marines after their ordination. He believes that "every young Jewish man and woman ordained to be rabbis should aspire to serve in the U.S. Marines." "Believe me, the challenge to serve in the armed forces...

        RESPONSES TO LIFE'S PROBLEMS "Times are tough." "Man is born crying, and, when he has cried enough, he dies." "Life is hard, and then you die." You've heard the complaints. Probably even felt that way from time to time. But focusing on the negative and the unpleasant is a tough way to live. P.J. O'Rourke wrote a few years ago that, whenever he heard people begin to complain that times were bad, he thought of his grandfather: Born into a pretty awful world back in 1877. When the average wage was little more than a...

The troop ship glided across the icy waters of the North Atlantic , headed for Greenland. On board, nine hundred soldiers enjoyed an amateur night program organized by the ship’s four chaplains. But in the darkness, a deadly enemy followed them: a German U-boat. It was February 3, 1943 . The ship was the Dorchester, and her four chaplains would soon unite in a famous act of heroism. The oldest chaplain was George Fox, a Methodist minister who insisted on serving despite lingering wounds from the First World War. Rabbi Alex Goode, at age 31, was the youngest chaplain, a...

        ASPIRE TO A VISION A scene in the movie Karate Kid was quite striking. Daniel went to see Mr. Miyagi and found him trimming a delicate bonsai tree. Daniel was fascinated and wanted to try it, but he had no idea how it was done. Miyagi told him to close his eyes and picture in his mind the way he wanted the tree to look. After Daniel found that vision in his mind, Miyagi told him to open his eyes and start trimming the tree. Daniel's every move was deliberate and focused. Then he stopped....

October 30, 2004 3:03 PM Iraq and the Media CAPT. Christopher Bassett, US Army Chaplain in Iraq. Dear Friends and Family: I am addressing this letter to you to express a frustration that I know has been voiced time and again, yet is met with little change. It concerns the media coverage of this war and the effect of that coverage on the morale of our troops. As a battalion chaplain I hear the comments and complaints of soldiers who, while performing an incredibly difficult job under hostile and stressful conditions, constantly see their efforts portrayed as futile. NBC's coverage...

October 30, 2004 3:03 PM Iraq and the Media CAPT. Christopher Bassett, US Army Chaplain in Iraq. Dear Friends and Family: I am addressing this letter to you to express a frustration that I know has been voiced time and again, yet is met with little change. It concerns the media coverage of this war and the effect of that coverage on the morale of our troops. As a battalion chaplain I hear the comments and complaints of soldiers who, while performing an incredibly difficult job under hostile and stressful conditions, constantly see their efforts portrayed as futile. NBC's coverage...

Letter from an Army Chaplain in Iraq: Dear Friends and Family: I am addressing this letter to you to express a frustration that I know has been voiced time and again, yet is met with little change. It concerns the media coverage of this war and the effect of that coverage on the morale of our troops. As a battalion chaplain I hear the comments and complaints of soldiers who, while performing an incredibly difficult job under hostile and stressful conditions, constantly see their efforts portrayed as futile. NBC's coverage this morning (your Thursday evening, 16 September 2004) is a...

Guard chaplains minister to wounded troops LANDSTUHL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, Germany -- Alabama Air National Guard Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Robert Hicks prays with two U.S. servicemembers here. The Baptist minister is assigned to the hospital to comfort Guard troops who have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Bob Haskell) by Army Master Sgt. Bob HaskellNational Guard Bureau 10/26/2004 - LANDSTUHL, Germany (AFPN)  -- There was no doubt in anyone's mind, including his wife's and his father's, that Arkansas Army National Guard Spc. Ronald Baker was going to die. All that kept the man from Cabot, Ark.,...

    For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.     Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!                                 "A CHEERFUL HEART IS GOOD MEDICINE."(Proverbs 17:22)Which came first the chicken or the egg? We may never know the answer to this question, but when it comes to living a fulfilled life, the joy proceeds the good feelings. As a matter of fact, the joy is the antidote to the...

    For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.     Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!                                 MEDITATION ON SUCCESS "Do not let this Book of Law (The Torah) depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8) "Great success, like disgrace, can bring great...

    For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.     Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!                                 GROWING DEEP AND STRONG One day, my mother and I were working together in the garden where we were transplanting plants for the third time. Grown from seed in a small container, the plants had been transferred to a larger container; then transplanted into the garden. Now, because I was...

(Click logo to return to home page)Local group serves deployed troops one Bible at a timeSTORY AND PHOTO BY PATRICK BUFFETT CASEMATE STAFF WRITER At first glance, Suite 6012 in a Newport News office tower seems like any other business. Administrative assistants fuss over computer keyboards and issue the occasional “may I help you?” in response to the chatter of incoming phone calls. Doorplates mark the presence of higher-level personnel assistants and financial managers. A closer look, however, reveals an aspect of this office that sets it apart from any other in the world. Throughout each business day, teams...