Fr Corby gives absolution to the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg as they stood in the breach
I have been watching the events in Egypt as well as other parts of the world with concern. We live in very dangerous times. I do not want to sound like an alarmist but things are looking like we are heading into some very perilous waters. For me this is personal because I have friends serving in harm’s way, I serve those wounded in body soul and spirit from their time in combat and I know in my heart that we will but blessed beyond compare if nothing else blows up on us. But I am not optimistic.
The United States and its Allies have been fighting a war against Moslem extremists and terrorists on multiple fronts. Some of these have been of necessity because they were where Al Qaeda and its allies were based such as Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa as well as a number of places in the shadows around the world. In 2003 President Bush elected to invade Iraq and another from was opened which drew the bulk of our combat forces into a protracted counter-insurgency campaign which we seem finally have been able to extricate ourselves from. After years of neglect President Obama ordered a surge of troops into Afghanistan where the situation had deteriorated. The fight is still raging there with the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies receiving support from various entities in Pakistan supportive of their cause probably including parts of the Pakistani Intelligence services.
In these wars the all volunteer U.S. Military has performed many remarkable feats but suffered over 5000 deaths and more than 35,000 wounded not counting those with the unseen wounds of the soul and spirit. Parts of it including the elite Special Operations Forces according to their Commander are stretched and frayed. The operations tempo of deployment, redeployment, training and deployment is continuing to take a toll on active and reserve forces.
If this was all that we had to be concerned about it would be enough. Unfortunately it seems as if the Arab world is about to experience a revolution. While we normally cheer the triumph of people over tyrants it is unknown how this will develop. Conceivably it could be a good thing should moderate forces take control of the situation in Egypt should Hosni Mubarak step down. Unfortunately history shows that the control of revolutions seldom remain under the influence of moderates as extremists are far better organizers and much more likely to use violence to gain control through terror, especially in cultures where there is little experience of freedom or or history of non-despotic rule. Egypt lies at the heart of the Arab World and what happens there will likely influence events in other Arab nations.
Meanwhile Iran, Syria and their Hezbollah confederates work to destabilize the region and Iran seeks to build weapons capable of carrying WMD which could be used against US Forces, our Allies in the Middle East and Europe in defiance of international organizations. In light of all of this the outgoing Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces has told his country that it needs to prepare for “all out war.”
I could go on and talk about all the other simmering cauldrons but the point is that no matter how much we would like not to be involved when the cauldrons boil over we will. It is a very dangerous time.
Our forces, Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force which have fought gallantly for 10 years will be sent into the breach. The place and time are not yet determined but it will happen. And unlike Iraq and Afghanistan which are counterinsurgencies this will be a fight like we haven’t seen in many years and it may even come to our shores in the form of terrorism.
While all of us that volunteer to serve have our own motivations ranging from idealism to simply needing a job we all have volunteered. We know that we are at war and it is not going to end anytime soon. For me the call is to be with my Sailors, Marines and Soldiers wherever I am sent, which for the moment is caring for those injured in mind body and spirit at a Naval Hospital on a Marine major Marine base but I know that I will be involved again somewhere and I am alright with that because this is a sacred calling. That call for me is call as a Priest and Chaplain to serve our Sailors, Marines, Soldiers and Airmen wherever I am sent. Many others have this as well as the call to the profession of arms and share in the brotherhood of war. We are a brotherhood knit together by war as Shakespeare said “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” This band of brothers will be called into the breach the only question is where and when. May our hearts and spirits be up to the task as just as Henry V prayed:
O God of battles! Steel my soldiers’ hearts.
Possess them not with fear. Take from them now
The sense of reckoning, if the opposed numbers
Pluck their hearts from them. Not today, O Lord,
O, not today, think not upon the fault…
Peace
Padre Steve+
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 
Thank you, Padre, for steeping forward to serve. And thank you to all your brothers and sisters who have also volunteered for that noble duty. While I cannot be there to serve shoulder to shoulder, I and others like myself will do our best to ensure you the best tools and training we can get. We will support you from near and far, with letters and Email and phone calls back to your loved ones. And we will stand tall, and welcome EVERY soldier back home proudly, whether they come home to their families, or make that sorrowful last trip home. God Bless You, Padre, and God Bless all our Soldiers. And once again, Thank You.
By the way, Padre, if you are not aware, there is an excellent website called http://WWW.ICASUALTIES.ORG. They track and list each soldier from all countries involved who has paid the ultimate price, whether in Afghanistan or Iraq. You can also get tabular data by country of origin, by month, and so forth. It is part of my daily routine, albeit a sad one, to check the list. Despite the sorrowful nature of the list, it has helped me to make contacts in countries around the world. I have received personal responses to my letters of condolence from the Defence ministers of Romania, Denmark, and Australia, and have exchanged Emails with wonderful people in Defence ministries from Britain, Canada, Poland, Germany, Spain, Ukraine, and several others. I highly recommend Icasualties – it shows that the US is not alone in our battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last Wednesday night, the boys I teach in Bible Study were clamoring to know how long I had been in uniform. I had been pushed for time and arrived at the church without changing. I smiled and retorted, ” Let’s see now,” very studiously considering my watch. “About 16 hours and twenty minutes.” I was very quickly informed that was not what they meant!
” Actually,” I said in my best lecturer voice, “If you count the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Civil Air Patrol, military academy, Regular Army, Army Reserve and the Police Department, you can say I’ve been in uniform all my life!”
Like you I watch the news and the happenings around us. I pray for, and think constantly about the young friends on the force who have been called to duty through the Reserve and the National Guard. I attend to the needs of their families, just as much as I do the families at church. I know this is serving and in my advanced age this is what is left for me to do. But I can’t help thinking that when the bugler sounds his call on some future dawn, I’m going to feel a great loss because I can’t stand tall in formation.
Padre, whatever happens you will be in my prayers and my thoughts, and a little piece of me will be a piece of you. And maybe when it’s all over, you and I will share a couple of dogs and cold ones as the Birds slap a few over the fence.
May the Lord bless and keep you,
and may you return safe with Honor.
Bill
Padre, Bill, if you’ll accept the company of a lowly civilian, I’ll buy the beer and dogs, deal? 🙂