It was about 82 degrees on a fairly breezy evening around 10:30pm. The weather had blessed us with the first relief in some time since I have been here. One hundred nineteen of us were scattered along the edge of the woods. We were awaiting our orders for a mock, night infiltration of a city. I have to say that I was not scared, but certainly anxious. I was worn to a nub. It had been a long week.
We were told to get into formation and insert our earplugs. We marched down into a trench with concrete walls on each side. We then awaited the order to go. This is where it really gets cool. At the signal, we scaled the trench wall and began a 100-meter high crawl to the end. A high crawl means that you are on your belly with your head looking forward. We climbed under live fire as well as random explosions. We also climbed under a couple of barbed wire obstacles. It was pretty sweet. This was the culmination of a long 3-day field training event.
We began our field training on Tuesday. We loaded up our duffle bags with our sleep systems, which included a winter and summer sleeping bag, two extra uniforms, etc… We also loaded up our ruck sacks. They held some equipment and another uniform. We put on our Individual Body Armor (IBA) and Kevlar Helmet. These aren’t light.
We spent 3 full days and two nights in the field. I sweated stuff I drank when I was two years old. I never sweated so much in my life. I wore the same ACU uniform for 3 and 1/2 days. I did change my underwear. This is important. Always have clean underwear.
Tuesday night, we marched out to the campsite. We didn’t get there until dark. Unpacking and setting up a cot in a tent at night is not the preferred way of operating. I was hunting stuff constantly. Plus, we got up the next day at dark, 4:30am. I had to shave from a canteen cup with a mirror that I brought. We were told that if we got up to go to the bathroom we had to be in uniform. I secured an empty Powerade bottle for the express purpose of avoiding getting dressed just to go pee.
Wednesday, we ran an obstacle course. It was pretty fun. But, it was hot. I got nasty the first day. This trend continued throughout the field training. That same day we also navigated using our newly acquired map reading skills. We used a protractor to plot points, get an azimuth, get distances, and use a compass to navigate. We did a day navigation and a night navigation.
Everything we did, we walked. There were times that we were hiking with an additional 70 lbs or so. It was not easy. It was like having an 8-year-old kid on your back. This is not the way to go. Remember it was also very hot. I smelled like a Krystal burger for about three days.
I kept having flashbacks throughout the training. I was remembering watching the news and seeing soldiers patrolling the streets of Iraq. You have probably seen it as well. These soldiers who are walking these streets are doing something amazing. First, they are constantly surveying danger. They are not strolling. They are in a tactical formation. They stagger themselves so that they diminish casualties. They are looking for someone who might kill them. It is a time of intense observation. Second, it looks as though they are lightly arrayed. They are not. They are carrying about 70 lbs of armor, weapons, ammunition, and more. Third, they are doing all of these things in extreme weather. It is hot in Iraq. Each time we marched in a tactical formation, I found myself thinking of how this will be in a real-time setting.
We returned to our campsite Wednesday evening. We crashed for a while and got up a few hours later to start Thursday. Once again, it was dark when I got up. It was off to the training again.
Wednesday we started by hooking up with some soldiers in training. They served as our Chaplain’s Assistants. We began with a day city infiltration. We followed a trainee who guarded each of us as we ran a course that was set up to mock moving through a city under fire. This was fun. There was a lot of running in short bursts from car to building, diving, and squatting. Following this, we did a low crawl in the middle of the day. It was hot. We did this in sand. I hate sand. But at some point, you do what you gotta do.
Let me enlighten you about a low crawl. They suck. This means that you are flat on your belly. Your head (Kevlar helmet) is in the sand. You can’t lift it. Then, you drag yourself for about 100 yards. I honestly thought I was going to have a heat stroke. It was unbelievably hot. Remember, I was doing all this with full gear on me.
We did a lot on Thursday. We did some medical training in the field. We did some training concerning our gas masks. We also did some strategic paint ball exercises. That was neat. The night ended with the live fire exercise. It was a great way to go out.
There is no way to get everything into a blog. We do a lot. The days are long. But, they are long in a good way.
I see young soldiers every day. These young men and women will most certainly heading straight from training to a war torn arena. They arrive here as kids. They grow up in a matter of weeks. They get a gun at the beginning that they don’t even know how to hold. By the end, they are shooting it at a man or woman they don’t even know. All of this happens in weeks.
Here I am. I am here to learn how to minister to these soldiers and their families. Some of these I will tell their families that they didn’t make it. Some of them I will tie on a tourniquet. Some of them I will listen to their pain and suffering at the loss of a limb. Some I will lead to Christ.
For such a time as this, I am called to be something that I have never been before. I am called to share something that they have never known. For such a time as this, I must leave the familiar and the comfortable. For such a time as this, I must stand as I have never stood before. For such a time as this, I have been graced by God to do just that.
There are people who read this blog that I love dearly. Some of you are my relatives. Some of you are my friends. I have never felt more compelled in my life to say to you what follows.
When I was 15, I was specifically called and chosen as a child of God. This has nothing to do with church stuff. It has everything to do with Jesus. At that moment, God enlightened me with salvation. He quickened me in my spirit. I knew that I was a sinner. I knew that I need salvation. He offered it to me. I knew that Jesus had died for my sins. I took stock of that. I believed it. I have to say that there is urgency in my life now to share this with you. Some of you may have wonderful and eloquent arguments. You may have good excuses as to why this has not been on your list of things to consider. You may even think that science preempts such discussion. I am telling you this: God loves you. He loves you in this way; that He gave up His Son for you. This Son lived a sinless life. He was crucified. God took Him out of that grave. He lives today as Your intercessor, as your means of salvation.
Some of you are tired of church. I am too. Some of you have used excuses of hurt and disappointment. Maybe you have become calloused and worn. I am not asking you to join some organization. I am asking you to respond to God’s call on your life. I am asking you to join me in something that is bigger than all of us combined. You who are reading these words have a calling with me as I do this ministry of the chaplaincy. It is to join me from your wherever you are in whatever way God leads you. You and I are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. You shine your light there. I will shine mine wherever He leads me.
I am praying that God, by His Spirit, will lead you in all truth. Know that I am thinking of you at this time. Know that I am praying for you at this time. Know that I love you. More than this, know that God loves you just now, just as you are, where you are, and especially if you think you are not worthy. That is right where you want to be.
Your servant, your friend,
Tim Brown
We were told to get into formation and insert our earplugs. We marched down into a trench with concrete walls on each side. We then awaited the order to go. This is where it really gets cool. At the signal, we scaled the trench wall and began a 100-meter high crawl to the end. A high crawl means that you are on your belly with your head looking forward. We climbed under live fire as well as random explosions. We also climbed under a couple of barbed wire obstacles. It was pretty sweet. This was the culmination of a long 3-day field training event.
We began our field training on Tuesday. We loaded up our duffle bags with our sleep systems, which included a winter and summer sleeping bag, two extra uniforms, etc… We also loaded up our ruck sacks. They held some equipment and another uniform. We put on our Individual Body Armor (IBA) and Kevlar Helmet. These aren’t light.
We spent 3 full days and two nights in the field. I sweated stuff I drank when I was two years old. I never sweated so much in my life. I wore the same ACU uniform for 3 and 1/2 days. I did change my underwear. This is important. Always have clean underwear.
Tuesday night, we marched out to the campsite. We didn’t get there until dark. Unpacking and setting up a cot in a tent at night is not the preferred way of operating. I was hunting stuff constantly. Plus, we got up the next day at dark, 4:30am. I had to shave from a canteen cup with a mirror that I brought. We were told that if we got up to go to the bathroom we had to be in uniform. I secured an empty Powerade bottle for the express purpose of avoiding getting dressed just to go pee.
Wednesday, we ran an obstacle course. It was pretty fun. But, it was hot. I got nasty the first day. This trend continued throughout the field training. That same day we also navigated using our newly acquired map reading skills. We used a protractor to plot points, get an azimuth, get distances, and use a compass to navigate. We did a day navigation and a night navigation.
Everything we did, we walked. There were times that we were hiking with an additional 70 lbs or so. It was not easy. It was like having an 8-year-old kid on your back. This is not the way to go. Remember it was also very hot. I smelled like a Krystal burger for about three days.
I kept having flashbacks throughout the training. I was remembering watching the news and seeing soldiers patrolling the streets of Iraq. You have probably seen it as well. These soldiers who are walking these streets are doing something amazing. First, they are constantly surveying danger. They are not strolling. They are in a tactical formation. They stagger themselves so that they diminish casualties. They are looking for someone who might kill them. It is a time of intense observation. Second, it looks as though they are lightly arrayed. They are not. They are carrying about 70 lbs of armor, weapons, ammunition, and more. Third, they are doing all of these things in extreme weather. It is hot in Iraq. Each time we marched in a tactical formation, I found myself thinking of how this will be in a real-time setting.
We returned to our campsite Wednesday evening. We crashed for a while and got up a few hours later to start Thursday. Once again, it was dark when I got up. It was off to the training again.
Wednesday we started by hooking up with some soldiers in training. They served as our Chaplain’s Assistants. We began with a day city infiltration. We followed a trainee who guarded each of us as we ran a course that was set up to mock moving through a city under fire. This was fun. There was a lot of running in short bursts from car to building, diving, and squatting. Following this, we did a low crawl in the middle of the day. It was hot. We did this in sand. I hate sand. But at some point, you do what you gotta do.
Let me enlighten you about a low crawl. They suck. This means that you are flat on your belly. Your head (Kevlar helmet) is in the sand. You can’t lift it. Then, you drag yourself for about 100 yards. I honestly thought I was going to have a heat stroke. It was unbelievably hot. Remember, I was doing all this with full gear on me.
We did a lot on Thursday. We did some medical training in the field. We did some training concerning our gas masks. We also did some strategic paint ball exercises. That was neat. The night ended with the live fire exercise. It was a great way to go out.
There is no way to get everything into a blog. We do a lot. The days are long. But, they are long in a good way.
I see young soldiers every day. These young men and women will most certainly heading straight from training to a war torn arena. They arrive here as kids. They grow up in a matter of weeks. They get a gun at the beginning that they don’t even know how to hold. By the end, they are shooting it at a man or woman they don’t even know. All of this happens in weeks.
Here I am. I am here to learn how to minister to these soldiers and their families. Some of these I will tell their families that they didn’t make it. Some of them I will tie on a tourniquet. Some of them I will listen to their pain and suffering at the loss of a limb. Some I will lead to Christ.
For such a time as this, I am called to be something that I have never been before. I am called to share something that they have never known. For such a time as this, I must leave the familiar and the comfortable. For such a time as this, I must stand as I have never stood before. For such a time as this, I have been graced by God to do just that.
There are people who read this blog that I love dearly. Some of you are my relatives. Some of you are my friends. I have never felt more compelled in my life to say to you what follows.
When I was 15, I was specifically called and chosen as a child of God. This has nothing to do with church stuff. It has everything to do with Jesus. At that moment, God enlightened me with salvation. He quickened me in my spirit. I knew that I was a sinner. I knew that I need salvation. He offered it to me. I knew that Jesus had died for my sins. I took stock of that. I believed it. I have to say that there is urgency in my life now to share this with you. Some of you may have wonderful and eloquent arguments. You may have good excuses as to why this has not been on your list of things to consider. You may even think that science preempts such discussion. I am telling you this: God loves you. He loves you in this way; that He gave up His Son for you. This Son lived a sinless life. He was crucified. God took Him out of that grave. He lives today as Your intercessor, as your means of salvation.
Some of you are tired of church. I am too. Some of you have used excuses of hurt and disappointment. Maybe you have become calloused and worn. I am not asking you to join some organization. I am asking you to respond to God’s call on your life. I am asking you to join me in something that is bigger than all of us combined. You who are reading these words have a calling with me as I do this ministry of the chaplaincy. It is to join me from your wherever you are in whatever way God leads you. You and I are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. You shine your light there. I will shine mine wherever He leads me.
I am praying that God, by His Spirit, will lead you in all truth. Know that I am thinking of you at this time. Know that I am praying for you at this time. Know that I love you. More than this, know that God loves you just now, just as you are, where you are, and especially if you think you are not worthy. That is right where you want to be.
Your servant, your friend,
Tim Brown
Comments
Thank you for your words--I needed them.
I love you.