Chaplains in action
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By: Capt. Mike Thompson | 48th IBCT | Georgia Army National Guard ach day, before the command briefing at Camp Phoenix, the chaplain leads with a word of the day from scripture and a prayer, but that is just the beginning of the day for the unit ministry team. “Chaplains are a force multiplier to any unit they serve in,” said Maj. David Burris, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team chaplain. “Soldiers deal with a variety of issues during deployment and, through counseling, we help Soldiers focus on the mission and get back into the fight.” The chaplain team provides religious, moral and spiritual support for Camp Phoenix and the Kabul Base Cluster. The chaplain’s core commitments are to nurture the living, care for the wounded and honor the dead. The chaplain leads and supervises religious services, pastoral counseling, religious education and holiday events. The chaplain also ensures all denominations represented on Camp Phoenix have a minister for their respective religious service. Burris supervises the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment chaplain, 1st Lt. Drew Robinson and the 48th IBCT’s
Photo by Capt. Mike Thompson | 4 8 th IBCT | Georgia Army National Guard
chaplain’s assistant, Staff Sgt. John Howard. The challenges come from not only assisting Soldiers, but managing reports, maintaining seven religious service schedules, six bible study classes, five practice sessions for the gospel choir, two praise and worship band rehearsals, distribution of donated items and a host of other services on and off camp per week. “I love what I do, because I enjoy helping Soldiers,” said Howard. “I feel like I help make a difference in their morale and in their lives.” Most of all, the chaplain team provides positive partnerships. They want couples to sustain good relationships through good communication while separated; not just through the ease of video through the internet, through skills such as thinking before speaking. Even though making it through a deployment can be difficult, service members do not have to be isolated. By attending chaplain services and reaching out to the religious support team when in need, Soldiers can realize an increase in well-being and build a better foundation for an easy deployment.
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