Back in the mid 80s shortly after I was commissioned as an Army Officer there was a series of historical novels by W.E.B. Griffin called the Brotherhood of War. The series traced the paths of several Army officers as well as family and friends beginning in World War II. I am not much of a reader of fiction, but this series, as well as Anton Meyer’s Once an Eagle well captured the unique culture of the career professional soldier through both war and peace. They treated their subject respectfully while also dealing with the effect of this lifestyle on families as well as the soldiers.
I’ve been a military officer in both the Army and Navy now for almost 26 years with nearly 28 years total service. I grew up in a Navy family. The last 10 have been in the Navy. In 1999 in order to return to active duty I resigned my Army Reserve commission as a Major and entered the Navy Chaplain Corps as a Lieutenant with no time in grade. Outside of marrying my wife Judy, who somehow did not kill me when I did this, going in the Navy was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Part of my time in the Army and Navy has been my time in the Chaplain Corps of each service. I have been a chaplain for almost 17 years. My best friends are other chaplains, some from my own church and some from other communions. The ones that I have the most connectedness to are those who have served in combat, especially those who served in Iraq, or ships in the war zone conducting various combat and maritime operations even when we were in different places.
Tonight I was with a number of chaplains from my church gathered for our annual conference. Some of these men I have now known for at least 10 years, some more. I’ve seen the young guys start to age and others retired from the service. What has made this conference different from past gatherings is that all of us have had one or more combat deployment or are getting ready to go back. Last year was difficult for me because of how my PTSD was manifesting.
We have shared our stories but now they are the stories of men who have all seen war. In our careers we have have all experienced success, as well as heartache. Due to our duty we have been often isolated from the church and each other. I don’t think that most of us returned from the war unchanged. There is a lot less bravado than years past, more reflection, less intense discussion of the theological issues that have divided the Christian Church for centuries. I know that at least two of us have PTSD, one case of TBI, another with an Iraq acquired constrictive bronchiolitis, or bronchiolitis obliterans which has no cure. This young man has won two Bronze Stars and now has the lung capacity of a 70 year old man. We have others who have won awards for their service in combat. Some have experienced the indifference of the medical and administrative parts of our service. When I returned I found my personal and professional belongings crammed into a trailer with those of my assistant. There are things which I considered important that are still missing and likely never to be found. Others have had experiences where they felt the cold indifference of bureaucratic systems often staffed by civilian contractors who act if the returning or injured vet is there so they can have a job. Of course not all are that way, but these kind of people seem to show up frequently.
We have by and large matured, seeing death and destruction and being exposed to danger from enemies that could strike in the most unexpected moments in the most unexpected ways. We have experienced sometimes difficult adjustments to life back home, a knowledge that we are different and that we are even more cognizant of our own obligation to care for God’s people. Our brotherhood has deepened as a result of war, of that I am sure. Peace, Steve+
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 