Category Archives: Loose thoughts and musings

June 23, 2014 · 22:32

Raw Edges: Are there other Chaplains out there Like Me?

Friends of Padre Steve’s World
I am actually writing something that should be posted later tonight. However, that being said in light of something that happened today I am compelled to re-post this article. It is one that a newspaper editor noticed in 2010 which brought about a front page story in the Jacksonville NC Daily News in April 2011which brought about a film interview with the DOD Real Warriors program, a contribution to David Wood’s Huffington Post series on Moral Injury and a front page story in the Washington Times this year.
What happened today was upsetting, I left work both hurt and angry do to the actions of a Chaplain who may or may not have realized what he did to provoke my reaction. I have to admit I am extraordinarily sensitive to sights by fellow clergy, real or perceived. So that being said I have to ask. Are there other Chaplains or clergy out there like me?
Peace
Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Before a Convoy

The past week or so I have had to go back and revisit my Iraq experience. Part of this is due to work, we have had seminars on the spiritual and moral affects of trauma, the challenge of forgiveness and most recently discussing best spiritual care practices for those who suffer from PTSD or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  The training has been excellent but has kicked up a lot of stuff in me.  Added to this have been reports out of Afghanistan about more casualties in particular of a helicopter that crashed that killed 9 Americans, the Taliban claim credit for downing the aircraft but the circumstances are not fully known.

One of many helicopter flights, this a daylight flight in a Marine CH-46

The course last week on the spiritual and moral affect of trauma and the challenge of forgiveness brought up issues from Iraq but…

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June 22, 2014 · 12:04

Knight’s Cross with Golden Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds: Hans-Ulrich Rudel and the Problem of Soldiers Serving Evil Governments

Friends of Padre Steve’s World
Nothing new today. Things have been busy, Eucharist at my chapel and preparing for our incoming class at the Staff College. I am getting ready to head out to the baseball game between the Norfolk Tides and the Indianapolis Indians in a few minutes, when I get home I will be watching the U.S. play Portugal in the World Cup. So with all that in mind I am doing a re-run of what I think is a thought provoking article about military personnel who accomplish great feats in service of an evil state. Some are actually men of very decent temperament who conducted themselves with individual honor despite serving in the militaries of nations whose actions were criminal, or whose ideology was evil. Men like Erwin Rommel, Robert E. Lee and others come to mind. So anyway, enjoy, have a great day and if you get the chance do some thinking about a pertinent topic, for many around the world accuse the United States of some of the crimes that we have placed leaders of nations and military officers on trial, especially in regard to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a place that I served in 2007-2008.
Peace
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padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Colonel Hans-Ulrich Rudel was undoubtably the greatest ground attack pilot that ever lived. His record is unsurpassed by any combat pilot flying ground attack missions. According to official Luftwaffe records he flew 2350 combat missions beginning in June 1941 and ending when he led the remains of his squadron to crash land on the American occupied airfield in Kitzingen on May 8th 1945.

Born in Rosenheim Bavaria in 1916 he joined the Luftwaffe as an officer cadet. Like many of his era Rudel was an ardent Nazi. Despite that and his unrepentant admiration for Adolf Hitler his combat achievements are unmatched.

His early career was inauspicious. He was not regarded well as a pilot and spent the Polish campaign as an observer and did not take part in a combat role during the campaign in the west, the Battle of Britain or Crete in 1940 to May of 1941. Assigned…

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June 19, 2014 · 16:53

The Long and Winding Road of 31 Years of Commissioned Service

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Today marks another milestone in my life and career, at least in terms of longevity. Thirty-one years ago today I was with my soon to be wife Judy, as well as my dad and brother at UCLA where I was being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Six days later I married Judy who has over the past 31 years seen me go my down the long and winding road of my military career. Truthfully the long and winding road has been to use the words of Jerry Garcia a “long strange trip” and usually not the Yellow Brink Road.

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Let’s see…service as a Medical Service Corps Officer, platoon, leader, company executive officer, maintenance officer, NBC officer, and company commander, and brigade adjutant. Texas Army National Guard, Armor officer, Chaplain Candidate (Staff Specialist Branch) and Chaplain serving with Combat Engineers, and Chaplain in the Virginia National Guard with the Light Infantry. Army Reserve Chaplain, drilling and mobilized to support Bosnia mission, Installation Chaplain at Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania.

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The Army, Cold War Germany, the Fulda Gap and the Berlin Wall, supporting the Bosnia mission, exercises, and active duty for training, even doing an exchange program with the German Bundeswehr.

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Then the path took a different direction. After 17 1/2 years in the Army Judy was looking forward to the day that I would retire from the reserves and she would have me back. Instead, I took off my rank as an Army Reserve Major and became a Navy Chaplain. Two tours with the Marine Corps, Second Marine Division and Marine Security Forces, Sea Duty on the USS Hue City, a tour with EOD, interspersed with an individual augmentee in Iraq followed by 5 years working in Medical Naval Centers or hospitals and finally serving as Chaplain and doing teaching in military ethics and military history at the Joint Forces Staff College.

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Lots of field exercises and underway periods at sea, travel around the world to support deployed Marines, a Marine Deployment to Okinawa, mainland Japan and Korea including the DMZ. Then along came the 9-11-2001 attacks and war. A deployment to the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Oman and the Northern Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Southern Watch aboard the Hue City, served as a member of a boarding team making 75 missions to detained Iraqi Oil Smugglers and helping keep peace on those miserable ships. Traveling to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Guantanamo Bay Cuba with the Marine Security Forces, standing at Gitmo’s Northeast Gate, and completing the “Commie Trifeca” of Cold War German, Korea and Cuba.

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Then there was EOD, serving with some of the most amazing men and women I have ever met, a tour in Iraq with my trusty assistant, bodyguard and friend Nelson Lebron. Of course as any reader of this site knows the time in Iraq changed me forever, the aftereffects of that tour remain with me every day, the battle with PTSD, anxiety, hyper-vigilance, depression and the shattering effect of seeing that my government leaders had lied about the reasons for war and by their actions devastated a country and helped throw a region into chaos. I saw the suffering of Americans as well as Iraqis in Al Anbar Province, death, badly injured Marines, soldiers and Iraqis, poorly treated third world nationals working for Halliburton and other contractors. After coming home dealing with all of my shit while trying to care for others in back to back tours at two different Naval Medical centers or hospitals. The ongoing violence in Iraq and the fact that that unfortunate country and its people are going to suffer more haunts me. I miss Iraq, I would go back not because I love war, but because I care about the Iraqi people.

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Now I minister, celebrate Eucharist in my little chapel, care for people and teach. The highlight of my life is leading our institution’s Gettysburg Staff Ride and being able to research, read, ponder, analyze and write about that campaign, the Civil War and relate it to what we teach at our institution.

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Throughout my career there have been two constants, my long suffering wife Judy who has spent close to ten of the last 17 or 18 years without me and those who I served alongside, many of who I am still in contact with through Facebook. I am amazed at the quality of men and women who have served alongside of me since 1981. The funny thing is that even though I probably still have another five to six years until I finally retire to civilian life, that I am watching men and women who entered the military 10-13 years after me retiring from the military.

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Thankfully I still love what I do and serve in a great place. To those who have served alongside me all these years in any capacity I thank you. You don’t get to where I am in life without a good deal of help, sage advice from men and women not afraid to speak the truth and without a bit of good luck and fortune and maybe a bit of the grace and mercy of God.

Yes it has been a long strange trip down a long and winding road, but it has been more than I could ever imagine.

Have a great night and thanks for reading,

Peace

Padre Steve+

 

 

 

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June 18, 2014 · 17:56

The Painful Lessons of Looking in the Mirror of Social Media

Friends of Padre Steve’s World
Nothing new tonight but I was thinking about something I wrote about a year and a half ago about the shameful way that some people demonize and try to destroy others that disagree with them on social media. What triggered this was a comment I got about last night’s article by someone in Texas, I know that because I googled his name and he is the only person in the United States with it, I do love google search, but I digress… Anyway in his comment which was all capitalized, which means that he must not have thought that I would hear him, I don’t hear well but still all caps is kind of rude. The man wrote in response to my journey “YOU CAN’T SERVE TWO MASTERS.” Of course he didn’t elaborate but I assume that he wasn’t insinuating Jesus and the Koch brothers or Ayn Rand. Since I try, often not very successfully to serve Jesus, being that I am a “Mendoza Line” Christian, meaning that my batting average as a Christian is about .200, just enough to keep in the league but not Hall of Fame material. Likewise I serve my country, which I have done for almost 33 years with no end yet in sight. I guess that does mean I serve two masters, but even then I doubt that is what my new buddy Graland from Burleson Texas meant either. I think that he was talking about the Devil, who I probably shook hands with at least once in my life. Anyway, I have had some times on social media where I have behaved pretty badly and thankfully, with rare exceptions I am able to refrain from getting nasty on social media. On those occasions I am reminded of my own faults, and sometimes looking in the mirror of social media isn’t fun. But anyway, I am off to the ball game tonight despite the heat index being near 100 degrees here in Hampton Roads. So have a great night, be safe and thanks for reading and putting up with me.
Peace
Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

orange-BloomCounty-morals

I had an encounter this last weekend on a leading social media site. It was not pleasant and I waited for a couple of days to think, pray and meditate on what happen in the encounter before I decided to write about it.

It occurred on a page which is pretty popular and deals with military issues and the man that runs that page I enjoy very much. He frequently brings up very pertinent issues dealing with military issues, strategy and tactics, foreign policy and national security policy as well as social aspects of current military life.

I got involved in an debate, probably not the best thing to do because the debate had already degenerated into a pretty vicious cesspool of recriminations between pro and anti-gay rights supporters. The subject was the actions of the Officers Wives Club at Fort Bragg North Carolina to initially reject the entry of…

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June 15, 2014 · 12:15

In Memory of My Dad: Aviation Storekeeper Chief Carl Dundas, Husband, Father, Grandfather and Navy Chief 27 July 1935- 23 June 2010

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Today is Father’s Day and it has been almost 4 years since my dad Carl Dundas, passed away. This is what I wrote about him a few days after his death and memorial service. Thank you dad for all that you gave to me, Jeff, Mom and your grandchildren. Love you and miss you.
Peace
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padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Aviation Storekeeper Chief Carlton (Carl) Dundas

My dad passed away last week and today we held his memorial service with full military honors in De Young Shoreline Chapel in Stockton California.  The past couple of days leading up to this have been hectic as we thought of things that we needed to do for the service and it was a team effort to get everything done. My brother had handled the initial tasks immediately following dad’s death early Wednesday morning and when I arrived I helped coordinate the honors with the funeral director, the Navy Chaplain performing the service and the Military honors team leader as well as digging through dad’s briefcase to try to find life insurance policies as well as try to deal with the Social Security Administration on the phone, which if you read my last post you’ll know exactly what I went through dealing with the…

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June 11, 2014 · 23:21

The Closet of Anxieties and Maybe a Good Night Sleep: Inshallah, (إن شاء الله) God willing…

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Not much to write tonight. I thought of re-posting an older article but I figured instead just a few words.

Last night I didn’t sleep well, and then my older dog Molly woke me up an hour early and remained restless. When I got to work I felt anxious for no real reason as life is pretty good for me. Perhaps the anxiety was the fact that I went to get back in therapy for PTSD and insomnia and the visit, which was an intake visit caused me to have to re-visit a lot of memories from Iraq.

Likewise I think that much of what I am feeling has a direct like to Iraq. Whenever bad things happen there I get upset and anxious. I left so much of myself in that country and I have been even more concerned and even upset about what is going on in Iraq the past few weeks, especially this week.

When I got to work this morning I was replying to a text message and saw my hand trembling. When I am anxious it feels like there is an electrical current running through my body. I find the experience to be distinctly disturbing. I worry so much about Iraq, the Iraqis that I served alongside and get angry about the terrible cost borne by the Iraqi people and the U.S. and coalition forces who fought and sacrificed their after the ill-advised and stupid decision of the Bush Administration to attack Iraq. That administration sowed the wind and now we and the Iraqis are reaping the whirlwind. It is a massive human tragedy and I cannot shake the memories of my time there, likewise I so wish that there was something that I could do to help other than pray. When I think about my time in Iraq I feel much like T.E. Lawrence who wrote:

“We had been hopelessly labouring to plough waste lands; to make nationality grow in a place full of the certainty of God… Among the tribes our creed could be only like the desert grass – a beautiful swift seeming of spring; which, after a day’s heat, fell dusty.” 

Today was also a day where I did a lot of counseling with staff members at the college. Those events triggered ideas about doing an article on the experiences of my friends that are Christians but happen to be gay. For those that have never met a gay Christian, or rather don’t think that you know any this might not be something you want to read when I get around to doing it. 

I did the invocation at the 239th Birthday celebration for the U.S. Army at the Staff College. That was kind of cool because I spent the first 17 1/2 years of my military life in the Army before I transferred with a reduction in rank to the Navy in 1999.

This afternoon I got together with my old assistant who kept me safe in many sporty situations in Iraq. He has since retired from the Navy and the visit was awesome.

Tomorrow, Judy and I will be attending the Elton John Concert so I don’t know if I will put anything up tomorrow. If I do it will probably be the re-run that I almost ran tonight.

Since I have an early dental follow up appointment I will sign off for the night, unless something emerges out of my closet of anxieties to interrupt.

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Anyway, have a good night my friends.

Peace

Padre Steve+

 

 

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June 8, 2014 · 12:20

Sadness on Pentecost: Remembering South Side United Methodist Church

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It is Pentecost Sunday and I am a bit sad. Yesterday the process of demolishing the building that was South Side United Methodist Church in Huntington West Virginia began. The building has been boarded up since 2008 when the congregation merged with two others and became Community of Grace UMC. Not that there was anything wrong in that move, as South Side was no longer sustainable as an independent congregation. Thankfully the new congregation is doing well, and many of the former members of South Side are vital members of it, including my cousin Paula who serves as the music director. She has carried on South Side’s wonderful music tradition with the new congregation.

That being said for me, seeing the pictures of the building in its final days brought a sense of sadness. It was in a sense a part of my and my family’s spiritual heritage for close to 80 years. My grandparents on both sides of the family were members there dating back to the 1930s, my parents were married there and my uncle Charles who went on to become a Methodist minister had much of his spiritual formation there. My grandparents funeral services were all conducted there by Pastor Mike Chapman in the 1990s and 2001.

I was baptized there in 1960 when my parents took leave and traveled home to have that done. I got my first Bibles there, a children’s KJV and then my first adult bible, a Revised Standard Version which had a section in the back that traced the history of the ancient empires that existed during the time of ancient Israel and the early Church. When I returned to West Virginia in 1995 South Side, though not of my denomination, or my wife Judy became a center of our life.

We have so many memories attached to that building, which in its heyday was the home of a thriving congregation, and boasted one of the most beautiful sanctuaries in the city. The stained glass windows were amazing and thankfully I understand that they were saved. The sad thing is that so few modern church buildings provide so little in their aesthetics and design to inspire us, they are utilitarian and devoid of the touches that help draw people into the mystery that is God and faith. Those windows always gave me a sense of wonder as a child and as an adult, they provided comfort and inspiration. I am somewhat sad that so many people will be deprived of this sense of wonder as church becomes ever more detached from art and beauty.

However the church was a victim of demographics. The Fairfield area it was in went down and much of the area became business or hospital oriented, and the residential neighborhood became poor and crime ridden. As the economy of the city shrank as heavy industry was outsourced, many people who went there moved to the suburbs or had to relocate completely to find work. In a sense the loss of South Side is synonymous with the decline of the city.

So anyway, that is what I am feeling today. At least I am getting the chance to go to a ball game this afternoon with our. Norfolk Tides booster club, the Tidewatchers, to see the Baltimore Orioles take on the Oakland Athletics. I love both teams so it should be good.

Peace and blessings,

Padre Steve +

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June 7, 2014 · 11:07

Ever Wished That Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson Would Return to the Comics Page? Well, He Just Did.

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,
I seldom reblog another person’s post but this is truly newsworthy. Stephan Pastis, the author of Pearls Before Swine has actually encountered the legendary Bigfoot of the cartoon world, the reclusive retired creator of Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson. Even better the collaborated on three strips this week. I should have realized it when there was an attack from Mars in one strip, but Pastis tells how this came about in his blog. Congratulations to Stephan on a job well done!
Peace
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June 5, 2014 · 17:49

Preparing for D-Day

Friends of Padre Steve’s World
Tomorrow is the 70th anniversary of Operation Overlord, the Normandy Landings, or as we know them simply as “D-Day.” In honor of the men who planned and executed that operation I am reposting this article dealing with the preparation that went into that operation. Have a wonderful evening and please don’t forget what had to happen to defeat the tyranny of Naziism.
Peace,
Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

The planning for the Normandy invasion began in earnest after the QUADRANT conference in Quebec in August 1943 and its timetable was established at the Tehran conference where Stalin sided with the Americans on the need for an invasion of France in the spring of 1944.[i] Prior to this there had been some planning by both the British and Americans for the eventual invasion initially named ROUNDUP including a large scale raid at Dieppe in 1942 which ended in disaster but which provided needed experience in what not to do in an amphibious assault on a heavily defended beach.   Dieppe also darkened the mood of the Allies, the British in particular to the success of such operations, bringing to mind the failed Gallipoli campaign of 1915 as well as the opposed landings at Salerno and the USMC experience at Tarawa.[ii] Despite this the Americans led by General Marshall…

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June 2, 2014 · 17:15

An Introduction to D-Day and the Normandy Campaign

Friends of Padre Steve’s World
Sorry but another re-run I mentioned that we are coming up on the anniversaries of both the Battle of Midway and the D-Day landings. Since I am continuing to do some other reading and research on my Gettysburg tome I have decided to re-post this rather lengthy article. Since I have done a couple of Midway posts this be at least the first of a few D-Day posts in the coming days.
Have a great evening,
Peace
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padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

The author with Marines at Point du Hoc, Normandy in 2004

Every year about this time I try to write about D-Day. Last year I posted several articles as I had in 2009 as well.  This year I spent more time on the Battle of Midway writing three articles. Today I have been on the road much of the day and as I drove back to my Island Hermitage I began to think about what I wanted to do this year. When I have decided to do is to re-post a short research paper that I did for one of my Master’s degree courses tonight and follow it with some articles over the week on specific aspects and personalities of the campaign.  What I hope is that people that are not familiar with the campaign as well as those that are can use this as a portal to other resources…

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