THE REWARDS OF FAITH

Chaplain Charles Yost was deployed as an Army Reserve Chaplain to Kuwait and Iraq in support of the 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. With his Chaplain Assistant, SSG Stevie Mick, this Unit Ministry Team tended to the spiritual needs of hundred of Soldiers in demanding conditions.

HIS STORY:

The week before I was activated, there were times the pressure was immense. I would literally force myself to take a deep breath because we expected that weapons of mass destruction would be used against us in Iraq. I had all kinds of thoughts like, "This might be the last time I get to see my loved ones." So I was acutely aware that I was going through the same kind of emotions other Soldiers were.

Being an Army Chaplain is a substantially more involved experience than is pasturing a civilian congregation because you are literally with these Soldiers sixteen, eighteen hours a day. In the civilian world you might be with a secretary for five or six hours—but you're not with this quantity of people, and you're not all sharing very similar experiences.

The hardest aspect of deployment for my unit was with Soldiers having to deal with issues back home. Whether it was their spouse, a relationship, childcare, health issues or a financial dilemma, Soldiers are kind of helpless when they get information like this from home. It was an honor to be positioned to offer a little guidance and support.

When you're deployed as a Chaplain in Kuwait/Iraq, there's a fair amount of going around from tent-to-tent to get to know and be with the soldiers. That's in addition to providing worship and bible study as part of a regular schedule. We offered a daily bible study that was attended by around 25 or 30 different Soldiers there.

I'm not Mr. Charisma, I'm just a Steady Eddie kind of a guy. I tend to do better getting out there and joining the Soldiers as they're doing something—pitching in and gaining an understanding of what they're doing, some of the pressures they're under. I would try to sit with a different set of people during meals to get to know them in groups. And sometimes it would be a one-on-one thing—that's when I would explore where they were on their spiritual journey.

The Soldiers I served alongside of were remarkable. It was a great privilege to be with anywhere from 20 to 200 of America's finest every day of the year. The soldiers I met were so impressive in their competence and in their eagerness to perform their assigned duties. Some of us were able to serve in places like Babylon, a place so steeped in history. What a thrill to stand in that same location where the body of Alexander the Great had lain and where Daniel read the writing on the wall.

May God bless our troops, this is inspiring!

Thanks to GOARMY.COM for this info.