Chaplain School (Part 1)

Now that the first week is almost complete, I can sit down a reflect a bit on what the school is like. It has a great deal of redundant information this week as the instructors and curriculum attempt to ease the new military members into a fleet command. There are still some very annoying remnants of Officer Development School such as standing behind our chairs after every single break awaiting permission to sit back down. This one has been quite irritating, but I am just playing along with the game trusting that there is a purpose I may never quite understand behind the requirement. The Gunnery Sergeant is one of the funniest men I have ever met yet still locked on and as hard as anyone could imagine for a Gunnery Sergeant.

I will say that my classmates are a great group of individuals that should all succeed as Navy Chaplains. The class has a good mix of those going on Active Duty, Reserve Duty and Chaplain Candidates like myself. There are also about a quarter of us with prior service of some form. This mix of experience along with the breadth of faith groups represented make for enriching conversations and debates. I had the privilege of accompanying a Rabbi on his grocery shopping tonight ahead of Sabbath tomorrow. It was a valuable learning experience that doesn't drop into the lap of everyday Christians. We both discussed our faith openly and honestly attempting to learn from each other. I am convinced that after hour experiences such as that are far more valuable than following the curriculum in the school house. The instructors are also very open and agreeable to allowing the free discussion in the classroom to guide the course as that also enhances our learning to be Navy Chaplains.

Next week looks to be a way to dig deeper into the Chaplain way of doing things and also into the military aspect of the job as it stands in relation to religions of peace. We also get to begin our stream of overnight and day long field trips. We will eventually get a chance to tour a submarine. That should be quite a trip as I haven't been an Ensign on a submarine in a long time and I am actually looking forward to the odd stares I will get from the crew seeing a submarine qualified Ensign with a cross on his left collar. I may actually spend more time explaining that to the tour guide than getting an actual tour. It will be especially interesting if we tour a LA class boat, but we will see when that comes around.

New Beginnings

The whole becoming a Chaplain idea didn't really take hold until this week as I actually put on my uniform with the Ensign bars. This was a shock after seeing myself in photos as a Lieutenant Commander just slightly more than a year ago. Now I am starting it all over again at the bottom and learning a new specialty in the Navy. I know the submarine training will serve me well, but that warfare training will bring some frustration as well. I expect the Navy to operate in a certain way, the way I was trained, and it seems to not be that way in the Chaplain corps. The most frustrating aspect is the lack of any urgency in getting things accomplished, especially crucial paperwork for getting me ready for school. I got a call the day I left to come up here requesting certain things they discovered I needed to submit (again I might add) that day. Hard to do when you are on the road and frustrating knowing they have had a year to get the information. The second frustration comes from something I did once as a leader in the Navy, add time buffers to requirements. We have to report at 0715 tomorrow and the school is essentially across the street from where we are all staying. Simple enough, leave right at 0700 to get there on early and turn in the mound of paperwork they need before 0715. Well, I get a phone message today that we have to meet at 0630 to make the 2 minute walk together and make sure no one is late. Treat people with a lack of trust and that is what you tend to get, hence why I attempted time buffers only once in my career. Others tend to do that and there is never any need to take away personal responsibility from people. Enough of that rant. Regardless, I am excited about the next 7 weeks.

Dejavu

Last night as I iron uniforms for the first time in 18 months I had a strong sense of dejavu. The last time I got so many uniforms ready at the same time was almost 16 years ago when I was under severe time constraints to have uniforms inspection ready for a gunnery sergeant in NROTC. I chuckled frequently as I thought back to those days while ironing my uniforms. Secondly, the last time I put on a uniform for active duty I was a LCDR in the submarine force. Now, I am an ENS again back in the initial training phase for a Navy career. I am almost certain this set of schools will be less mentally challenging than the whole nuclear pipeline, but it will still be rewarding. I sat amazed at the whole loss of rank thing last night. All this just to follow God. I am not the only one to do this, I remind myself, and I know the end result is what is important.

On another note, a good friend that is out of the Navy but in the reserves was just recalled involuntarily for duty in Iraq. He is excited about the challenge of working plans at Camp Victory, but I still wish him success and safe travels over the next 400+ days. As more and more people I know are sent over there, the warrior mentality kicks in for me and I feel slighted that I am not over there using my skills. It is hard to see your brothers in arms go into harms way while you are stuck stateside. We always wanted to be on deployment and the pointy end of the spear while on the boat, and this is no different. Military personnel want to be with their brethren when they are in danger as we so often relied on each other.

Montreat Rocks

I finished two weeks of ministry during the first two weeks of the Montreat Youth Conferences in Montreat, NC. This is an amazing time during which hundreds of Presbyterian high school youth from around the country descend on the sleepy town. The conferences have a fairly set schedule with energizers, music and a keynote speech each morning followed by two small group sessions, I was there to lead one of those, worship every evening and then discussions with their home churches to close out the day. The youth are focused around a biblical theme that attempts to challenge them to live out their faith in the world. I have attended in many capacities over the years and am really grateful for the opportunity to continue my participation every year. It is a tiring and rewarding experience. They youth are phenomenal and are allowed to just be who they are and the staff are an amazing group of people as well. I am amazed at the number of close friendships forged every year in such a short time.

This year was especially interesting as I actually performed on stage for a portion of keynote both Tuesdays. I have not been on stage to act in almost 20 years, so it was quite a thrill to participate in that way this year. The experience has me wanting to come back sometime as a keynoter or even the preacher once I am out of seminary. I think it would be a powerful experience to deliver a message to a group of youth eager to make their mark on the world. The amazing thing about the audience is that by the end of the week, most of the youth have dropped all their walls and are ready and willing to listen to what people have to say. They see a glimpse of what the body of Christ means and maybe some of them go out and try to live that life outside the gates of Montreat.

Now that I am back from that mountain paradise, I have to deal with packing for my Chaplain training that I depart for on Thursday, get an AC unit fixed, get the car in the shop, complete some scholarship applications and try to get some sleep and relaxation before school starts. I plan to make entries every week from Newport, Rhode Island but we will see how that goes.