Two Years Ago

I wasn't really aware of how long it has been since I posted something here until I got on to post something about that night two years ago in Hawthorne, NV. Guess I need to pay more attention when I am actually in port and not on a government computer and able to post.

Anyway, today was a special day not just because it is a day in which all of the Deadwalkers from 1/9 remember our seven brothers lost in a mortar explosion. Today, one of the Corpsmen from that night was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his bravery and actions that night. This is the highest award for heroism displayed in peacetime.

On that night, Ian was severely injured by the blast. So much so that he is still recovering from his wounds and has endured multiple surgeries to rebuild his face. Despite his significantly more severe injuries, he repeatedly waved off efforts of others to assist him directing them to his injured Marines. If fact, his airway was blocked and he intubated himself to open the airway, thus saving his own life. I can't even imagine enduring his trauma, much less having the clarity of mind to perform a life saving technique on anyone, including myself.

I didn't get to speak with him that night as he was one of eight Marines and Sailors airlifted to Reno, NV for treatment. However, I was able to speak with him a few days later when he was in between a few surgeries. I walked into his room to check on how he was doing and if there was anything he needed from me or anyone else. Before I could finish saying hello, he had written on a sheet of paper. How are you doing? Corpsman to the core of his being.

The next time I visited two days later, he had an iPad and was rapidly communicating via technology and had been contacted by one of his heroes. Ian, like myself, is from the Triangle and WRAL had done a story on him and alluded to his actions and it came up that he was a huge Duke fan (of course this sat well with his Duke graduate chaplain). Well, Coach K got word of this and personally called Ian's hospital room and spoke with him for a few minutes and promised him the game ball from their upcoming NCAA tournament game and I think also provided him a jersey from that game as well. Small tributes for a outsized man.

I am glad I get to know and work with men and women such as this Devil Doc. He is a Deadwalker to the core.

I got to see photos of him receiving his medal today and am proud of him and his progress towards a full recovery.

Enough Already

I usually don't delve into theological debates here as the main focus is to try and provide a glimpse into the everyday life of a Navy chaplain. Those stories alone, many of which can't be told due to confidentiality, could take up many hours relating on a blog. However, this whole Rob Bell/Universalism/Is Hell Real debate is getting old, especially now that the collateral damage is hitting close to home.

For those that don't regularly follow theological debates that rage on the Internet all around you, I'll provide a bit of background. Rob Bell has written a book titled Love Wins that delves into the topic of hell. I haven't personally read the book yet and hadn't really intended to until it came out in paperback. But, picked up a copy today using a gift card so I wouldn't feel too bad about paying for a hard cover book (I stopped buying hard cover new releases while in seminary to cut back costs while I didn't have a steady job). Even before the book hit the shelves this past week people were blowing up the Internet with reviews of the book they hadn't yet read calling him a heretic and all kinds of other nice names we save for the people who rankle our theological leanings. Those who saw him as a spokesman for their theological positions disowned him, etc. Granted, I haven't yet read the book and even once I do I won't bother to post a review, as most people probably could care less what I think of the book.

What bothers me is the reaction. I hadn't really paid much attention to the lead up as I was out in the field serving my Marines and had more important things to worry about. And frankly, you could probably say I still have more pressing problems: an accelerated predeployment schedule, leaving for deployment training this week, getting Easter services prepped before we leave, working out the rough memorial service outline for deployment, counseling Marines until well after dark each day, cleaning the house and car, etc. However, a friend of mine got caught up in this whole hysteria and has paid a pretty steep price. He was a student pastor at a church in NC while attending seminary at Duke. He is in his last semester and was on track to get interviewed for provisional ordination in the Methodist church this month. Sometime during the lead up to the book's release, he wrote a piece for Emergent Village about what he lost and gained when he lost hell. His view of hell and mine are not the same, but that doesn't matter.

After he wrote that piece, he was released from his position as a student pastor. This isn't something that is done by the congregation alone. It takes the work of a senior clergy member, one who is supposed to mentor student pastors as well as provide assignments. I don't doubt that other factors came into play (my friend acknowledges as much). He was going to get a new congregation in less than three months anyways and will graduate from seminary in two months. I am a firm believer in firing pastors when they violate the trust and confidence we place in them as leaders, much the same as why military members suffer dearly when they break the rules. Maybe, it is the wide theological range of beliefs found in my own denomination that makes this so confusing to me. It does make me glad that my denomination allows some wiggle room in our "orthodoxy" to allow theological discussion and growth on a variety of issues. Where was the grace in this process? What about some serious discussions about beliefs before summarily dismissing someone who was leaving anyways? What lesson does that teach the congregation if their beliefs aren't "orthodox?" Now you have a congregation, and apparently a denomination that is afraid to discuss theological issues. I for one am crying out loud, enough already.

Commissioning (For a 4th Time)

Last Wednesday, September 1st, I was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Navy with a designator of 4100 which means that I am now officially a Chaplain.  All that I am awaiting are some official orders and then things can really start to roll and get me to my first duty station.  I have a verbal confirmation of my next duty station, but will wait until after I see something on paper before I start getting ready to leave and start the next chapter.  So until I report to the duty station, I guess that I am on unpaid leave or something like that.  I plan to do a bit of traveling late this month and early next month (LA, Seattle, three GT football games in the ATL and a conference here in Durham) so I have enough to keep me busy besides getting the house ready for an attempt at selling it. 

It is really weird to be a LT again, but I guess not as weird as it was being an ENS again.  It will be nice going back in as a LT as people expect chaplains at that level to have a bit of experience and thus get afforded a bit more respect, though there will be a smaller margin for the typical mistakes when settling into a new job.  The other odd thing is that I may have been commissioned more than any other person I know.  First was as a line officer in 1996, then as a 1125 O-4 in the IRR in 2007, then as a Chaplain Candidate ENS in 2007 and now as a Chaplain.  Hence the reason for the pictures below not being in whites because I didn't feel that the commissioning needed a big ceremony with it being the 4th time.  Plus, staying true to my roots all 4 times the commissioning officer has been a submarine officer, hence the name of the blog.

That Was Loud

So I got to watch the national championship game on Monday night in Cameron Indoor with about 5,000 other Duke students.  Needless to say it was pretty amazing and the loudest I have ever heard Cameron.  The ability to watch big time college athletics while in seminary was a reason to attend Duke in the first place and I really haven't been disappointed at all in that aspect, especially because I could drive down to Atlanta and watch Georgia Tech in football to get the full fix of sports as Duke hasn't quite gotten there for football yet.  The crowd just doesn't get into it yet, but that will come. 

It was nice to be on campus when the school I attended competed for and then won a national championship in a major division 1 sport.  It was a nice way to go out this year by having an experience that not many people get to witness and participate in.  I think maybe they need to kick the alumni out of Cameron a few times a year and fill it with students to completely overwhelm opponents with the crowd noise.  At times it was deafening and made me wonder why alumni don't feel the need to cheer and get into the games.  Oh well, I guess that happens as we get older. 

Congrats Duke and I hope you get there again next year. 

Catching Up

Wow, it has been a while since the last post. It was a busy semester that is now done and I am officially 2/3 of the way done with seminary. I am so ready to get back to doing work everyday. I have learned that I am better off doing things than talking about them. At least next semester I get to do Clinical Pastoral Education at a local hospital and that should be a good balance to the talking of the classes. A weird thing happened this semester however. It was my busiest and most difficult semester but I got the best grades so far. I guess that was the submarine training in me coming out as I played up to the competition.

In other things, I am now officially a candidate for ordination as my presbytery approved me last week. Now I just need to actually buckle down and study for the ordination exams coming up in August. If I pass those I am just some paperwork and interviews away from ordination. Oh yeah and I have to find a job, but the Navy paperwork shouldn't be too difficult. I get to head to Quantico at the end of the month for 6 weeks of training by working as a Chaplain U/I with a company of officer candidates at USMC OCS. I am extremely excited about that and actually know a few of the DI's heading there and my dad knows a few of the candidates heading up that way.

But before all that I get to spend time cheering on Georgia Tech at the ACC Baseball tourney that is here in Durham for the next five days. Plus, Duke made the tourney and is in the opposite group so I can cheer for them both. The fun all starts tomorrow at noon. I think we are heading to two games a day including each 8pm game for all 4 days. It is nice getting a 1/2 off discount because of being a student. It is nice to actually get a significant amount of relaxation time this summer that I didn't get last year.

More Evidence that I haven't really left the Navy

When I was in the Navy there were little books floating around full of quotes and other stupid and silly things done by various members of the crew. The wardroom had on as did the Nukes and the forward guys also kept one floating around. My first ship had one in the wardroom that was started upon commissioning and was still around. The second ship needed some coaxing to find and start one upon leaving the shipyard. These things were vital in crew morale as they provided a great outlet for us to immortalize the humorous and to attack the powers that be. As technology developed, so did the format of these logs. Some are now online with the names changed to protect the guilty. Unfortunately, these blogs get shut down from time to time for one reason or another.

As I have postulated before, there are times when I think that seminary is more like the Navy than the Navy, yet again something smacks of Dejavu. A blog has arisen from the life of Duke Divinity School that is absolutely hilarious. This blog is a satire of things that go on in the life of our community and is a necessary outlet for our frustrations. I think the administration is none too happy with the blog. I just hope they understand the power of satire and don't get too heavy handed and try to ferret out the authors. The student body, for the most part, recognizes the benefit of this and it has really got the ear of us all. I leave the link here for you to peruse at your convenience. Like much satire, you may not get it all, but the letter to Coach K should make you laugh regardless.

Alternative Spring Break

So I did my first ever mission trip over spring break last week. I had the opportunity to take a group of local college students from my internship to Houma, LA to do some work with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. I have to admit, the PDA people seem to have the whole operation down to a science. You pay about $20 day for food and lodging in what they call a pod. That is short for laminated corrugated cardboard tents. They did have hot water showers and a dining facility. It was extremely comfortable and was kind of like upscale camping. There were other students at the camp from California, New Jersey, Tennessee and New York. It was great getting to know people from all over the country and that provided a great experience for all of the students from our group.


The work was a bit different. Usually the groups go and do heavy demolition or construction for homeowners that have pretty much exhausted all FEMA options and didn't have any insurance. PDA provides labor and some materials and most importantly sitting with the owners and providing someone to talk with developing a relationship. We didn't do any of the construction work. We helped move elderly individuals back into their apartments at Bayou Towers in Houma.


This building is section 8 housing and the roof blew off during Ike and Gustav and had been closed for the last 7 months. We were busy cleaning with the residents and preparing other rooms for them to return back to. They hadn't seen their rooms until last week so we were there when they returned and that in itself was pretty powerful. Many stories and relationships with the residents came from the experience and I can truly say it was life forming for all involved on a multitude of levels. As for the management and the conditions that we saw in the buildings, I am still trying to wrap my mind around how poorly run the whole building was and the way in which the residents were treated was appalling, but don't quite yet know how to put those things into words.

Now back to studying. Hopefully it won't be a month between posts but it is a crazy semester.

I needed this....

A friend posted this on his facebook account yesterday and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time. On Wednesday I had to endure a dedicated pacifist hold court in a small group discussion of our ethics class. Now, in all honesty, I appreciate and want pacifists in the world. They provide a great check on some of the horrors of war and violence. What really torqued me about this guy was his close-mindedness and how he was spouting off about how if you aren't of his belief you aren't really Christian. Talk like that does wonders to further your argument. Luckily, we will have more opportunities to discuss items and hopefully he will start to let others talk. But, this photo really summed up my feelings and gave me quite a laugh yesterday. Maybe I will email it to him at the end of the course. He needs to know that he can mouth off and be close minded because of a number of people laying it all on the line for his rights.

A Decisive Victory, Finally!

Finally, in our 4th season over two years of outdoor and indoor soccer, my divinity school team achieved an overwhelming victory in soccer (11-3). The scores are much higher in indoor as the momentum can change instantly and a rash of goals can erase any kind of lead. For reference, we only scored 6 goals all season last year. I even scored 2 and haven't scored a goal in over 5 years because I normally play defense. We are still only 1-1 in this season and have had a few times around .500 in other seasons, so I am cautiously optimistic about our chances to finally earn a playoff spot. I find this amazing because we never load the team with ringers and people outside our program like many of our competitors seem to feel the need to do all to win a simple and cheap T-shirt.

One Reason Why Seminary at Duke is Great

Great Basketball and the ability to have some great seats in which to watch said sport. It is nice to see Duke at #2 right now. Hopefully that will continue this season (At least until Georgia Tech). I know Tech probably is a long shot at a win, but one can dream.

Year Two Week One

What a fast paced week. It looks as though this semester will be difficult in a completely different way than last year. Gone are the days of weekly one page busy work assignments. These are replaced by more intense and dense reading assignments and papers that make up a larger portion of our grades. As expected, it was an overwhelming week when I looked at all the assignments at first glance. But, as I get into the cycle of school and get the routine down again, it should be less daunting. I am excited about the subjects: Theology, Calvin, Greek and American Christianity. As long as I learn enough to pass my ordination exams next summer I will be satisfied with the semester.

I started my internship with the Campus Ministry here at Duke (the PCUSA variety). It is a great group of students and the supervisor is amazing as well. I am looking forward to seeing if campus ministry is a possibility in my life. Regardless of that outcome, it will be good practice for my future as a Navy Chaplain. Hopefully, I can teach the students as much as they will teach me this year. I really like the idea of learning how to work a ministry of presence, just being there for a group of people when they need me. It makes the job a bit more relaxing as well. I don't need to change the world, I just need to be ready when called.