Oh Say Can You See...

I had the privilege of visiting Fort McHenry this summer while attending CAST (Chaplain Annual Sustainment Training). Probably one of the coolest places I have visited. Fort McHenry was the site of the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the words to the Star-Spangled Banner. Starting out in the visitors center we watched a video explaining how the battle played out over that night. From a ship in the harbor Francis Scott Key watched as the Americans took a pounding from the British ships. The next morning Key strained to see if the British had taken Fort McHenry. In the early light of dawn, Key saw the American flag still waving. At that point in the video our national anthem began to play. All Soldiers snapped to attention. All civilians there rose to their feet. The video screen raised slowly to reveal Fort McHenry through the large windows with our nations flag flying proudly above. Cold chills overtook my body as I remembered the perseverance of those Soldiers that night. As the song ended and people walked away you could see tears in some peoples eyes. A strong reminder of how great this nation still is.



The last picture is from the flag room at Fort McHenry. This is the room that actually housed the flag when it was not being flown. This room had a large table that the Soldiers could partially lay the flag out on to prepare it. The flag flying over the fort the morning Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner was 30 feet X 42 feet. The stars on that flag were approximately two feet tall. I would imagine it was a task within itself just to raise a flag of that size.

Chaplain Candidate to Chaplain

I am edging closer to becoming a chaplain. I completed my Master of Divinity degree in May and will be ordained this August. Once I am ordained I can submit my request for endorsement through the NAMB. Then, I will submit my packet before the chaplain accession board in September hopefully. There is an open battalion close to my home so I am hoping to be assigned there. Little excited and a little nervous but still looking forward to it.

I have to admit it does feel good to not have a paper to write every weekend. School was pretty demanding at times and it took quite a bit of time away from my family. We have made up some time here lately and have had a really good time. Took the boys to Disney for the first time, we didn't want to leave. I am ready to go back but not when it is too hot. Long lines and heat do not mix!

CH-BOLC Training

For those who have not been to CH-BOLC you may not find the humor in this video. Those who have and have spent some time with the cadre in the video you will have a good laugh. After some time with the cadre you begin to pick up on their sayings and mannerisms. This video was made by LT Jones, 2nd Platoon, he put a lot of time into the video. This video was shown to the cadre at our graduation banquet. They seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. To my friends going through CH-BOLC right now I am praying for you. I pray the Lord will give you strength through each challenge you face.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I am going to try to start updating my blog more regular. I have a break from class and a little extra time now. Seminary starts back on the 17th. This is my last full semester for my master of divinity. Ninety hours is almost like getting a second bachelors rather than the typical thirty six hour master degree. If I decide to move forward and get my phd I will need to full ninety hour degree to be able to do this. Still not sure what the future has in store, I am open to where the Lord leads me. I am currently attached to an Military Police Brigade as a Chaplain Candidate. Once I graduate in May I will hopefully become a Chaplain and be assigned to a battalion. Then we will see where that leads. It has been challenging and fun being in the Army Reserves. Big change going from an all chaplain school to an actual unit. It is fun to meet the people and hear where all they have been and all they have witnessed. I wish I could stay at my current unit, the chaplain's assistant there is an outstanding person. We have a lot of good conversations.

It has been interesting to talk to old classmates from CH-BOLC. Some are already in Iraq. One just happened to take his Elvis costume with him. I saw a good picture on Facebook the other day. CH Fry is definitely one of the coolest, most entertaining chaplains you will ever meet. I continue to pray for all of our soldiers safe return.

CH-BOLC was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. It seemed to last forever while I was there but looking back it flew by. I made some good friends there. Some I wish lived closer so we could still hang out. We stay in touch through text and facebook though.

I wanted to include some pics from CH-BOLC for those of you either about to go through school or those who are thinking about applying. When I was preparing to go to CH-BOLC (chaplain school) I looked at all kinds of blogs to get an idea what it may be like. You can see there were good times and hard work.

Did I mention that it was about 100 degrees everyday while getting to do all of these fun things! It was probably the hottest summer we have had in a few years. Nothing like crawling through a mixture of sand and water when it is 105 in the shade. I cannot complain though, it was nothing compared to the heat our Soldiers in Iraq have to endure.

CH-BOLC

It has been a while since my last post, we have been extremely busy. I have done things I didn't think I could possibly do, guess that is why some of the courses are called "Confidence Courses." I made it through the Victory Tower without too many problems, only fell once. I was moving along good on the rope and next thing I know I was bouncing off the net. I enjoyed rappelling down the wall, that was cool. My days seem to run together during training. Some of this won't be in order but you can see what I have been up to. The pic below was just before the day infiltration course. Talk about hot! It was 95 degrees before lunch that day. All that extra gear made it a few degrees hotter that day. I think we had three or four soldiers go to the hospital with heat injuries that day. All in all it wasn't a bad day, it was just hot. The training was good though. We had some down time in between training sessions and we had some entertainment from the Chaplains and Chaplain Candidates telling jokes. The coolest thing about that day of training was the night infiltration course. We went through that training with a group of soldiers going through basic training. It was pretty rough crawling that far in the sand. There was explosions all around us and machine gun fire zooming over our heads. We could see the tracers flying over top of us. I was beat at the end of that crawl. Slept good that night. That was one of those nights when you get in the shower with your clothes and boots on. Makes things much simpler.

Victory Tower was really cool. First time rappelling for me!

We had a few freeze up going off the top of the rappelling wall. That first step is a rough one. Once you get going it is pretty smooth .

Continuing were I left off, I started this post several months ago. Each time I try to download it is locks up. Let's try it again. Below is a video from Victory Tower. It was a good time.

Drill and Ceremony Competition

Saturday we had the drill and ceremony competition. 2nd Platoon was the winner. We received a ribbon for our platoon flag and we have a week off from being duty platoon. The competition was really close. All of the platoons worked hard for the ceremony. A lot of hot hours training in the parking lot. Drill Sergeant had us "picking cherries." Our arms were worn out!!!!!

Here is a video of 3rd or 4th Platoon during part of the D and C competition. It was fun, everyone enjoyed the competition.

CH-BOLC CIMT Week 2

Another week is complete, just two more weeks of CIMT. This past week was a busy week and next week is supposed to be even busier. Last week the PT picked up in intensity. This is still a struggle for me but I am getting through it. It actually makes my body feel better, of course not while actually doing the PT but afterwards!

Monday was the Team Development Course. It was both fun and challenging. This course is designed to develop teamwork and leadership skills. Some of the task seem impossible to complete while others we simply ran out of time. The course was mentally and physically tough. We only completed 1 of 6. I am proud to say I was the team leader on the one we fully completed! We had a strong team though. Hooah! We went through the Chaplain Corps museum later that day. It was interesting to see the full history of the Chaplain Corps.








Tuesday we had Tactical Radio Communication class. Most of us had no clue what we were really saying but we sounded professional anyway. The cadre teaching the class had a lot of combat experience as medics. They had a lot of stories to tell and a lot of experience in Medevac situations. It was a good class, very well taught.

Wednesday was the day of days so far for CIMT, NBC training. Not NBC as in T.V. training, but Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical warfare training. GAS, GAS, GAS...we had 9 seconds to remove our mask from the holder, put on the mask, clear the mask, and seal the mask. After classroom training we were taken to the CBRN range. I have never seen so many grown men cry at one time! When the CS gets in your eyes, nose, and throat your body starts immediately trying to flush it out. Tears, mucus, slober, drool, and everything else is dripping from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Good times!

2nd Platoon after the Gas Chamber!

Thursday and Friday was First Aid training. It was good information to learn. Some of it was a little boring because of all the powerpoints but the instructors were really good.