New Experiences and Unforgettable Memories

This week was insane for the students at Chaplain Basic Officer Training. Guys like me, new to the Army and the Chaplaincy, experienced things we'd only dreamed of (um...nightmared of...)

On Wednesday we experienced the effects of gas and learned how to use gas masks.

Why? The reasoning is that it teaches you to trust and value the gas mask. It worked. It also gave us a very clear indication of the dangers of gas. Personally, I learned a few very important lessons:

1-Rambo died in the first five minutes of battle. That is a common saying in the Army, at least at CH-BOLC. There is no such thing as a one-man army. Without teamwork, we're toast. The dangers of war, especially one that may potentially include chemical warfare, require us to rely on each other for our own safety. I'm most likely to find out from someone else that something even nastier than that gas chamber is coming my way. I need the team. The team needs each other to survive. That was especially emphasized earlier this week when we did the Team Building Course. There we all worked on solving life-size puzzles and dilemmas as small teams.

2-I have a totally new perspective on what the victims of the Third Reich's extermination campaign experienced. What I went through was bad. What they went through--horrific.

3-I'm being called to minister to people who will experience some unmentionable things. What grace I need to fulfill this role!

The week had other firsts.

We climbed and descended and climbed and descended the Victory Tower. We learned to tie a Swiss seat (a very tight and uncomfortable climbing/rappelling harness tied around the waist and between the legs), rappell off a 100' wall, climb two different types of rope bridges, descend down a HUGE line, and climb down a cargo net. Up and down, up and down. But I tell you what, people faced some fears and learned things about themselves that day.

Many of us (myself included) administered our very first IV's. Each of us stuck a soldier with a needle, and got stuck by that same soldier. I found it nerve racking. But the trainers were excellent. This was all part of learning emergency first aid for the field. That training continues tomorrow.

We did our physical fitness assessments...we started Physical Training....and we learned Sgt. Foglia's PATENTED Sit-Up Secrets.

In all this commotion, one of ours now has to go home to decide whether or not to terminate the life support of a very dear loved one. I think our class shined the most today when we laid hands on him and prayed, all together. We also opted to provide financially for the cost of his travels. It all goes back to that first lesson I learned--we need each other.

My prayer for this class is that we all grow dependent on those around us. I pray that we leave behind our independent-mindedness. I pray that we learn to operate as a unit, a team, a Fellowship.

We were also challenged with the magnitude of the ministry and calling we're entering. Chaplain Austin taught us that "there are no vanilla Chaplains." He meant that each of us is to minister strongly according to our own faith, tradition, and convictions. When we hold our own services, we don't do it in a generic sense. We do it with passion and conviction as we are called. But I took his statement to mean something else. There should also be no whimpy Chaplains. The soldiers need Chaplains that will be strong in their own faith with a passion. They will draw from the Chaplain an calm and a strength. I learned that today during a briefing by the medic staff that trained us with IV's. They told us about the invaluable encouragement and peace that came from the Chaplains deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Friends, Family, please keep us all in your prayers. We miss our wives, husbands, daughters, sons, moms, dads, and everyone else back home. Some of us miss not having these people to miss. We're being challenged in ways totally foreign to lifestyles that are decades old. And we're doing an ungodly amount of push-ups! Most of all, pray that we remember to keep our focus: ministry in the Army. Let us honor our faiths by serving the Soldier's that give themselves for our benefit. At the same time, pray that we remember not to take ourselves too seriously.

Thanks for all your prayers, your support, and your love. Keep an eye on this blog for more articles and reflections.

Blessings to all,

2LT Andre Ong
Chaplain Candidate
PAO, CH-BOLC 09-001 (um, that's Public Affairs Officer, not the latter half of Kung-Pao! HA!)

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