COMMENTARY>>Chaplains meet spiritual needs of Airmen

By Chaplain (Capt.) Sean Randall
19th Airlift Wing, chaplain

We carry no guns, yet U.S. Air Force chaplains are considered a force multiplier in the war theater.

Today in Iraq, Afghanistan and at home, the military expects its chaplains to meet the spiritual needs of today’s warfighters.

But it also recognizes the Chapel Corps’ importance in everything from counseling the hurting, encouraging the dejected and to being a leveling moral presence among the Airmen. Mixing faith and patriotism is a part of our higher call of duty.

In every war fought, there have been spiritual leaders who brought a message of hope and counsel to the men and woman in battle. Elisha the Prophet is one such leader. Today, we might call him a military chaplain. It was said that he had an ear for the voice of the Lord. He knew about the strategies and tactics of the Syrian army that had laid ambushes to destroy the Israeli army. Elisha was used of God to save the lives of the Israeli military repeatedly by revealing the enemy’s plans.

We continue to see U.S. Air Force chaplains answering the call of God to serve both God and country. Today, our chaplains stand with commanders, officers and enlisted alike, offering wisdom and insight that come from on high.

An outstanding illustration of the role and ministry of the chaplain comes to us from the Gulf War nearly 20 years ago. Gen. Ronald Griffith, former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and the commander of the U.S. 1st Armored Division in the Gulf War tells his amazing story regarding his unique relationship with his chaplain, Danny Davis, and the influence of prayer and God’s intervention in that historic war.

Although our military forces that fought in Desert Storm were the best trained and equipped of all armies that have ever fought, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and our generals feared there might be mass casualties and thousands of wounded men.

After a long extended staff meeting held by General Griffith in the desert prior to the invasion of Iraq, Chaplain Davis approached the general and asked for a private meeting with him.

Chaplain Davis asked, “General Griffith, what’s bothering you, Sir? I sense you are under a lot of stress and worried. I see it in your body language and hear it in your voice. Would you like to tell me about it?”

The general told him about his great concern for the men. The thoughts of having to send his men home in body bags to their moms and dads, wives and sweethearts and brothers and sisters tormented him day and night.

Chaplain Davis said to the General, “Sir, I have been talking with God. He has told me that the battle will not be long and drawn out. It will last only a matter of hours. You will not suffer mass casualties and injured men. The battle is not yours, but the Lord’s. Go to bed . . . get a good night of rest . . . be at peace.”

General Griffith said, “I sensed that God himself had spoken to me through my chaplain. I went to my tent, got into my bunk, fell asleep immediately and slept soundly for about four hours.”

What was the result? The war lasted only a matter of hours. There were only four casualties and 57 men wounded in the division. He continued, “I want to give God all the glory, and thank him for giving me a chaplain, a man of God, who hears from heaven.”

One sage from historical documents by the name of Solomon, wrote, “The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry.” (The Message translation).

The U.S. military chaplaincy was born of a combination of desire and need. As Gen. George Washington battled the British, he desperately wanted providence on his side. In order to ensure this, he reasoned his troops needed to be above reproach - and one way to ensure this was to have chaplains as a part of his team. Washington wanted chaplains to be religious leaders, but they were also to visit the wounded, take care of the dead, write letters home for Soldiers who couldn’t write and give discourses of a patriotic nature to keep the Soldiers from deserting. The chaplain became a very important link between the commander and the troops.

In the Civil War, their first duty was to advise the commander on the moral and spiritual health of the unit and then make any other suggestions for the happiness of the Soldier.

When Col. Ulysses S. Grant took command of the 21st Illinois infantry regiment, he had a Methodist chaplain, James Crane.

One day Colonel Grant ordered a Soldier to be tied to a tree and whipped for desertion. As they began to apply 50 lashes, Colonel Grant asked Chaplain Crane, “Chaplain do you think this is a good sentence?”

The chaplain said, “I don’t think it’s my place to say anything about that.”

Colonel Grant said, “No, it is your place. You need to advise me about whether what we’re doing is what we should be doing ... I know what the law permits; what I want to hear from you is whether you think this is the right thing to do.”

The chaplain said, “I think it’s an excessive number.” So Colonel Grant stopped at 25.

As one of Team Little Rock’s Chaplain Corps it is both my privilege and calling to serve beside you during a time of war. The vision is clear, “Mission first and people always.” And our ministry is to the people.