Chaplains go where needed

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Reginal Woodruff
  • 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Iraq (AFPN) --  The Geneva Convention of 1949 gave military chaplains their status as noncombatants, which, among other things, means they are not allowed to carry weapons.

Given that fact, it would seem rational for chaplains to stay behind their desks or pulpits out of harms way; however, that is not where you are likely to find chaplains here. They go where the people are, offering hope and comfort during this time of war.

“We see ourselves as visible reminders of the holy,” said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Steven Keith, 447th Air Expeditionary Group head chaplain. “Our vision is to bring God to people in the work place.

“Many people here work different shifts and [are] out in the field, so it’s not always convenient for them to come to the chapel. So we have to take God to them, wherever they are.”

Chaplain Keith, who is a Baptist chaplain, said his staff is not just here for believers in the Christian faith.

“Everyone here has a chaplain; they can be any religion or no religion,” he said. “We make sure all people (here) can exercise their First Amendment right of freedom of religion, worship.”

There are four chaplains and three chaplain’s assistants on the chapel staff here to serve the 1,500 people assigned to the 447th AEG. And the staff also extends their services to other military people in the Baghdad International Airport area.

“Since (chaplains) are in a critical shortage, I volunteer to do mass for Army units and special operations units that include (other branches of the military) all in one group,” said Chaplain (Capt.) Chad Zielinski, one of two Catholic priests on the chapel staff.

“When you see (people from different branches of the military) sitting (at mass), it tells the story of the how the U.S. military does business,” he said. “It truly is a one-team concept.”

Chaplains exemplify that concept with the work they do with local Iraqis and injured military members at the group’s Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility.

They routinely leave the safety of cement barriers and razor-wire fencing to join with Office of Special Investigations agents and deliver food, clothing and toys to Iraqi children and reassure their leery parents.

“We’re doing our part to try to win the hearts and minds of (Iraqis) so they’ll stop shooting at us,” said Chaplain Keith.

Chaplains see firsthand the results of gunfire and improvised explosive devices.

“We provide chaplain services to (servicemembers) at the CASF and (expeditionary medical squadron),” said Chaplain (Capt.) Janis Dashner, a protestant chaplain here. “They’re wounded and scared and tired -- exhausted physically, spiritually and psychologically. As chaplains, we’re able to sit and talk to them in a nonjudgmental way. Many of them talk about the aftereffects of combat.

“Two or three nights ago, a wounded soldier came in; he had killed the (Iraqi) who shot him,” said Chaplain Dashner, who spent six years as a nurse before becoming a civilian minister and later joining the Air Force. “It took him a while, but he started to question himself, his actions. He was a nonviolent person by nature and felt really bad about shooting someone. This is the first time many of them have been in a kill-or-be-killed situation.”

“I prayed with one troop who was on a respirator with a tube inserted in his lungs,” Chaplain Keith added. “We were really worried about him.

“I prayed for him and his eyes welled up. He had been hit by an (explosive device) so his face was damaged. But he grabbed my hand, pulled it up to his lips and kissed it. I looked up and all the nurses and doctors were all in tears.”

Chaplain Keith, who like many people was reluctant to leave his family during the holidays to come to Iraq, praised America for paying to send chaplains where servicemembers need them most.

“If there is any place that people need help, this has got to be the place. And that’s our calling as chaplains, to serve people, any time, any place,” he said.