Veterans Day A Year After Deployment

Veterans Day this year is much different for me. A year has passed since my return from Afghanistan. The picture was taken near the time of my departure. My replacement and I posed on the steps of our office building for the picture. When I arrived there, I had a vision for my ministry. I accomplished that mission with the help of a gifted and highly experience Chaplain Assistant. Randy had been there before. He had a sense of what was safe in planning our travels that I admired. We worked with Chaplains from other branches of our nation's military and Chaplains from Coalition Forces allied with us as well in providing religious support to brave men and women who had traveled thousands of miles from home. That responsibility for training many of those Chaplains and counseling those men and women helped me grow as a leader. I returned to a different world. Going from monitoring a large number of diverse worship services, preaching two to four times a week, teaching and training, planning with a highly skilled group of fellow staff officers every day to trying to explain that leadership experience to potential employers whose concept of I did there is much simpler than what actually happened has been difficult. I have maintained the running regimen I followed in Afghanistan. Running has made the transition easier. Writing a book has also helped (It's almost ready.). Singing and Bible study in a congregational setting has kept me spiritually balanced also. My wife's support has been phenomenal. Veterans return from their war experiences transformed. Some are scarred; all have changed. We all need prayers, love, and occasionally help in reintegrating. So on Veterans Day, express your gratitude. It helps the veteran to hear someone say, "Thank you." But also search for a concrete way you can help a veteran succeed in the next chapter of their story.