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The path from Texas to Iraq
I am on active duty on special orders at the airfield in Dallas/Grand Prairie until June 8th. My average day begins at about 5 a.m. and goes until about 6 p.m. or whenever the battalion commander says we can go for the day. Our staff meetings are after hours and can be long.
My orders change to title 10 orders at Fort Sill, Okla., for deployment. Title 10 orders are for combat operations in Iraq, and I will be at Fort Sill under these orders as we conform to standard war-fighting combat readiness.
At Fort Sill, we will marry up with the overall 34th Aviation Brigade until the end of the summer, then go to Kuwait for a short time and on to Iraq. The brigade will provide a good part of aviation support for Operation Iraqi Freedom, until relieved by another aviation brigade.
The 34th Aviation Brigade is comprised of National Guard units from Minnesota, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. Most of our Texas Pilots and crews that make up the 2/149th General Aviation Support Battalion are from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Austin, but we represent the other parts of Texas. There are 450 Texans total in the 3,500-member brigade. We also have other war-fighting capabilities within the brigade structure.
My job in all of this is to provide religious support to soldiers, families and authorized civilians. I am the commander’s religious leader and special staff officer. I provide moral leadership and professional expertise to the commander on free exercise of religion, on morals and on the ethical impact of command issues.
The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees every American freedom of religion. It is a major area of my responsibility to make sure this freedom is protected and for me to provide awareness of these words: ” Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
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Blessings at a staff meeting
When one has been preaching in local congregations for over 20 years, there is always the concern that by the time the preaching time rolls around, people are looking at their watches and wispering to their spouses, “May the almighty grant us a short sermon.” So that might be a universal truth, even in military circles. But it did not seem to be the case for this group of primary and special staff, commanders and senior enlisted soldiers that evening.
When it came to my turn for the floor, I shared thoughts about holding on to one’s moral and ethical foundations as we experience our faith in God. I quoted Reinhold Niebuhr: “Our infinite capacity for rationalization is the surest sign of original sin.”
And then I said that if history teaches us anything, we all need to remember that people like Hitler believed that he was a moral person who was doing great work for the world. This is the kind of thing we are up against in our world as we fight against evil and even as we track our own motivations for doing the right thing.
A senior warrant officer stopped by my office and asked for the Niebuhr quote again and asked for the scripture that I had used. The passage from 1 Corintians 13 simply states that God’s love endures and keeps us eternally connected to a meaning and purpose that provides us with a moral context for decision-making and purpose in life.
I am blessed to be apart of this group of National Guardsmen and the blessing is reflected in our leadership, which has a spiritual foundation affiming that God’s love will not dissapoint us.
On the wedding day of Jenna Bush and Henry Hager, my hometown of Crawford is alive with the hopefulness and blessing of God’s enduring love and we are all blessed because of it. God’s love remains our guiding light as we experience the renewing power of his grace.
Chaplain Kent Berry
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Army Aviation is a great place to be
Being a chaplain for the National Guard Aviation is great because the pilots and air crews typically are people who like to go fast and live on the edge. Yet I have learned that they are also very responsible people who look for the devil in the details.
The spiritual well-being of soldiers means everything to me and my chaplain assistant. We are blessed to be apart of this group of people. A soldier just stopped by my office and shared with me that while going through recent training in a field environment, the reality of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the possibility of death really hit home.
A gathering took place on the spot with a little scripture reading, praying and sharing. It started out with six in the group and quickly expanded to 12. One soldier told me the group “really felt connected to each other and the spirit of the Lord was upon them.” God is working in wounderful ways in the lives of these National Guardsman as they seek a spiritual grounding in God.
Keep us all in your prayers
Chaplain Kent Berry
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Getting started
Greetings
There are questions in the minds of many Americans regarding our involvement in Iraq that strike at the heart of our ethical and moral center of gravity.
This is my second trip to Iraq, to this ancient land of the Bible, and I am learning again that everything we do in life must be subjected to review. The starting point for asking good questions, in my mind, is one that recognizes our own fallibility.
As I prepare for deployment, the recognition of my own limitations, my need to develop and adapt to change remains critical for my own spiritual and mental health.
Given the power struggles taking place in our own country and in Iraq, it is important for me to recognize and note all of the claims and counterclaims for legitimacy within these power struggles.
As a religious person with a faith based moral and ethical decision making context, Gods grace provides me an added demension of considerations. Nevertheless, I maintain a uncompromised faith that God is working in a big way by providing America with a moral compass that will direct us toward the future.
The development of democracy in Iraq matters, and our faith in God will lead us — as nation — to do the right thing.
I am looking forward to honest dialogue with others as I experience, again, my involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Chaplain Kent Berry 2/149th GSAB Texas Army National Guard
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A big Salute and Thank You to you and all those who serve to protect and defend freedom throughout the world. God bless yall.
... read the full comment by heyhey | Comment on The path from Texas to Iraq Read The path from Texas to Iraq
Thanks for the memories. Yes, I have seen the small prayer group start out with a couple of soldiers and as others start noticing whats going on they join in also. Thank you and your troops for the job you do. God bless you all and God Speed your journey
... read the full comment by mikey | Comment on Army Aviation is a great place to be Read Army Aviation is a great place to be
Thank you Rev. Berry for your service to our country. I am a friend of Bethany’s. I met her while she was holding a sign supporting your service in Iraq against Cindy Sheehan. (I ended up organizing the ditch across from Cindy.)
Your daughter
... read the full comment by Valerie Citrano | Comment on Getting started Read Getting started
Support our Troops. End the War. Bring our Brave Men and Women home…..now.
... read the full comment by Fred | Comment on Getting started Read Getting started