Deployment Communications

Great Growing Conditions

INNER PEACE

"The real secret to handling the demands upon you is possessing inner peace. No matter what the problems, the tensions, the pressures, one can only help oneself by thinking clearly and acting calmly and resolutely. This cannot be done without inner peace, born of prayer...in search of light, inspiration, and courage. I have a simple three-word prayer that has served me well for many, many years: 'Come, Holy Spirit.' It has never failed me."

Theodore Hesburgh, GOD, COUNTRY, NOTRE DAME, p. 309

I meet a lot of military personnel and civilians who are ‘stressed out’, ‘bummed out’ or ‘burned out’. They are unhappy and often hard for those they live and work with to be around. The wear and tear of a combat deployment can rob us of our inner strength and steal our joy.

There is an ancient practice that can help you recover your inner strength and actually find peace in the midst of your challenges. It is called ‘prayer’.

In the Christian tradition prayer takes many forms, but it is always personal and it is always directed to a loving God who is personally concerned about our welfare.

I invite you to adopt the practice outlined by Father Theodore Hesburgh in his quote above. When you feel stressed and are challenged by the pressures of life…invite God, by His Spirit, to help you. God will answer that prayer…and you’ll find inner peace in the midst of the challenges you face.

CH (LTC) John Morris 34th INF DIV Chaplain

Going the distance

Rising Water

There’s an old story about a guy whose house is surrounded by floodwaters. He climbs up on his roof, hugs the chimney, and prays to God for help. While he’s praying, someone from a nearby bridge throws him a rope and tells him to grab it. “No way!” he shouts, “I’m trusting God to help me.” Then a boat pulls up and the sailors yell, “Get in!” Still clutching the chimney, he says, “My salvation comes from the Lord.” Finally a helicopter hovers overhead and the crew sends down a basket to retrieve him. With one hand he pushes it away and says, “God will save me!” Eventually the waters rise above the roof of the house and he drowns. When he gets to heaven, the man is indignant. “I prayed for your help!” he says to God, “Why didn’t you save me from the floodwaters?” And God responds, “I tried to save you! Why didn’t you accept the rope, the boat, or the helicopter I sent???”

Good question! Could it be that you are overlooking God’s help?

• Do you or your family need counseling, financial coaching, debt management support, addiction assessment/support? Minnesota Service CORE is a program through Lutheran Social Service that provides those services free of charge to veterans and their immediate families. One call to the LSS hotline (1-888-881-8261) or the LINKVET hotline (1-888-546-5838) will get you the help you need.

• What about expanding your education and vocation possibilities for you or your immediate family? One visit to the Education Office here in Basrah (next to the post office) will get you on your way.

• Are you concerned about getting a job when you return from deployment? Take action now by contacting the Veterans Employment Services at 1-888-438-5627.

The only way these services can help is if you decide to use them. If you need them, use them. It’s a whole lot better than waiting for the waters to rise…

God’s Peace,

CH (CPT) Richard Rittmaster 34 ID Family Life Chaplain

Panning for gold

Have you ever ‘panned for gold’? I have discovered that it takes a good technique and a lot of patience to pan for gold, to wash away copious amounts of mud in order to find the little flakes and nuggets of the precious metal hidden within. At the end of the day it was not the technique, the water, or the mud that I valued—it was the gold. Finding the ‘gold’ in a combat deployment can be accomplished with similar diligence.

I often meet with soldiers who are unable to find any ‘gold’ in their combat tour. Their job turned out to be much less meaningful than they expected. They don’t like their roommate, or their boss. They want more time outside the wire, or less time outside the wire. They want more danger, or less danger. Whatever the cause they feel that they are wasting their time and life in their present circumstance.

They don’t know how to ‘pan for gold’. The apostle Paul was a man who was ‘deployed’ often and who knew the hardship of injustice. He was beaten for his convictions, shipwrecked, betrayed and misunderstood. He could have quit on a dozen occasions. But he did not quit.

Paul learned how to ‘pan for gold’ in the midst of difficult circumstances. He chose to learn from, grow and develop in spite of and because of his hardships. We can do the same.

We can develop educationally while we are deployed. We can choose to grow spiritually while we are deployed. We can take care of our physical fitness while we are deployed. The choice of whether we will grow or stagnate is ours, no matter our circumstances. We can ‘pan for gold’ during our combat tour.

I invite you to ‘go for the gold’, chose to grow in every dimension of your life while you are in MND-S.

If you choose to do so, in the years to come, it won’t matter how bored, hot or uncomfortable you were, what will matter will be the ‘gold’ you found in your experience and growth.

Remembering