Chaplain Kay

There has been much take place in 2008 (way too much to go into here), but the biggest change was a unit change. A few weeks ago I was pulled from my current unit and placed into another unit without a chaplain. The reason for the change one might ask? ANSWER: Deployment.

That’s right ladies and gents. I will soon leave the comforts of home and family and spend a year away from my loved ones in a distant land. The transition has been hectic and quick to say the least, but we are now prepared and ready. Although I cringe at the thought of life away from my family, I am excited about the opportunity and adventure. My previous Commander put it well when he said, “As a Chaplain, this is where the rubber meets the road.” He summed up my thoughts perfectly. When we joined the Army we did so during a time of war and partly because we are at war. The great Soldiers of this great nation make sacrifices day by day and struggle through it all. As a chaplain, I can be there for them through that struggle, which means journeying to the other side of the world.

I wanted to give this update knowing that I might not be able to write once deployed. We covet your prayers and thank the many people who are already part of the support. May the Lord continue to bless your lives and shine down upon you and those you love.

I am now CH (CPT) Kay. My promotion was held a few weeks ago and the ceremony was a wonderful event. My Love, Little Man and Baby Doll were able to attend and participate. My Commander said some kind things during the ceremony and verbalized the good relationship I have felt we have. I am the first Chaplain this unit has had in over 4 years, and they have welcomed me with open arms. I love what I’m doing and feel blessed to serve the Lord in this ministry.

When the actual ceremony began, my Commander told me that when he pinned CPT he was holding his son and he encouraged me to do the same. I was able to hold Little Man throughout the ceremony, which made things extra special. I then held Baby Doll for the pinning. It was a GREAT DAY!!!

Recently I received 2 coins that are very special to me. The first came during an unfortunate situation. About a month ago, a soldier in our Brigade passed away. Since we don’t currently have a Brigade Chaplain, I am covering down in that position. I was able to travel down Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) with the HHD Commander to visit the soldier’s family. Those visits were sweet times with the family. The soldier leaves behind a wife and son, mom and dad, 3 sisters and 1 brother.

After he passed away I began planning for the Memorial Service since I would perform the service. The many funerals I did while in the pastorate enabled me to approach the service without too much anxiety. The only nerves came from wanting to do things well for the family while holding true to military tradition. I will write some other time about the memorial service and its importance in general.

Right before the ceremony, I was speaking with the Command Sergeant Major and he gave me the Brigade coin. It was particularly special because he took the time to have my name engraved on the coin. See for yourself.

The second coin I received came from the Chief of Chaplains, CH (MG) Douglas Carver. He recently made a visit to our Installation and addressed many of the Chaplains here. While he was giving his talk CH Carver asked if anyone knew what CBRNE meant. I raised my hand and spouted off the meaning – Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosives. I must say, I had an unfair advantage since I’ve had some interaction with Chemical Soldiers.

After answering the question, he handed me his coin – the only one of the day if I might add.

There is really no good excuse for not writing, so I won’t give you one. To say the past few weeks has been busy would be an understatement. Since my last entry, I have been to the field for a week, graduated, traveled 1200 miles from South Carolina to TEXAS, checked in with my unit, Inprocessed, rented a house, and signed out on permissive TDY for 10 days. I am tired.

Graduation week was great. My Love, the kids and my parents got to Ft. Jackson safe and sound. My Love and I had a wonderful time at the Graduation Banquet. She was simply gorgeous and took my breath away. Once I caught my breath, we had a wonderful evening.

I will say, My Love made me quite jealous. The guest speaker for the evening was CH (COL) Moore, FORSCOM Chaplain. While the evening was just getting underway, my wife read that CH Moore was from Mississippi. She let this cool fact be known to our endorser who was sitting with us and he went over and got CH Moore (we are both endorsed by the same agency). Come to find out, my wife and CH Moore are from some of the same places and even know some of the same people. To make a long story short, My Love received the FORSCOM Chaplain’s coin. Very cool and very jealous.

Graduation was a great event as well. CH (MG) Douglas Carver, Cheif of Chaplains, was on hand and gave a wonderful talk. I will say, it was quite weird sitting there at graduation. I could feel the reality of the situation and it was heavy. In the 13 weeks of CH-BOLC, I built friendship that will last a lifetime. Strangely though, it might not be until heaven that I see some of those blessed Chaplains again. May the King of kings watch over them and their families.

Our trip to Texas went off without any major hiccups. The 9 hour trip did take 15 hours and an over night stay, but what should one expect traveling with a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old.

I have already gotten into the busyness of the Chaplaincy. It is amazing how fast a day can go by when you are trying to run around and do this ministry of presence thing. I am the first Chaplain my unit has had in 4 years. I have actually had people tell me that they didn’t know Chaplains worked at the Battalion level. Truly amazing. I pray that my time here is fruitful. I still feel that I am drinking out of a fire hydrant, but I have a great Brigade Chaplain who will be a great mentor. If you think about it, please pray for me on the 19th. I have been tasked to pray at a ceremony for the standing up of a new Brigade. I have been tasked to pray at the ceremony because I am currently the only Chaplain in the Brigade. May the Lord receive all glory and honor and praise.

I hope to change the way I blog from here on out. My focus will be on the Chaplaincy within the confines of the Battalion. I won’t be specific about the unit I am with, but I hope you will get a taste of what Chaplains do. WE NEED MORE CHAPLAINS, and the longer I try and do this job, the more I am convinced that the Chaplaincy needs to be pushed more at our seminaries. May the God of all creation bless you.