The Shepherd of Jalalabad

Chaplain (Maj) D. W. Hughes USA RET.

Description

The heart wrenching account of a U.S. Army Chaplain's deployment to Afghanistan while simultaneously discovering the overwhelming faithfulness of God in this saga of modern warfare.

United States Army Chaplains are oftentimes one of the greatest unsung heroes in military combat operations overseas. “The Shepherd of Jalalabad” gives the reader a behind the scenes look at the bravery, religious passion, dedication and heroism of one Army Chaplain’s combat experiences during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. This unique perspective is the story of Chaplain Hughes’ preparation, deployment and return from war. It also describes in detail his own personal struggles that followed; dealing with post-traumatic stress and the post-combat reintegration with his family.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Professional Growth
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Chaplain

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 10 mars 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• EAN13: 9781664290884
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE SHEPHERD OF JALALABAD
 
 
 
 
 
CHAPLAIN (MAJ) D.W. HUGHES, USA, RET.
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2023 Chaplain (MAJ) D.W. Hughes, USA, RET.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scriptures are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9089-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9087-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9088-4 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023901685
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 03/08/2023
CONTENTS
Prologue
Introduction
Part 1: Preparing for War in Afghanistan
Chapter 1From Fort Lewis to Fort Carson, and the 704 th BSB
Chapter 2Individual Training, BN and BDE FTXs, JRTC, and Lessons Learned
Chapter 3Pre-Deployment Briefing, SRP and Logistics, or “What to Pack?”
Chapter 4Preparing My Heart for War and Struggling with the Unknown.
Part 2: Arrival and RIP
Chapter 5Landing in Jalalabad, FOB Fenty
Chapter 6My Room, the Chaplain’s Gator, Setting a Battle Rhythm, and Battlefield Circulation
Part 3: Ministry of Presence
Chapter 7Warrior Chapel.
Chapter 8Ministering on FOB Fenty, and Preventing Another Loss of Combat Power
Chapter 9FOB Findley-Shields, and Sunday Evening Services
Chapter 10The Afghan Presence and the Local Mullah
Chapter 11Boxes from Home
Part 4: The Cost of War in “Blood and Treasure”
Chapter 12Fenty’s CSH and MASCALS
Chapter 13Mortuary Affairs, Ramp Ceremonies and Early Morning Calls
Chapter 14The Enemy has a Say
Chapter 15EPWs (Enemy Prisoners of War)
Part 5: Partnerships and Assisting My Brother Chaplains
Chapter 16Black & Tans and Kettle Cooked Chips
Chapter 17Asadabad, the Old West, and a Time to Recharge
Chapter 18Memorial Ceremonies
Part 6: The Best of Times and the Worst of Times
Chapter 19My Worst Days x 2
Chapter 20My Best Day: The End is in Sight and “Rock the Chapel” Revival Service
Chapter 21End of Deployment Awards, and Prepping to Return Home
Part 7: Transitioning Home, and PTSD
Chapter 22The Final Leg Home, and Our Arrival at Fort Carson
Chapter 23Home
Chapter 24Time to Grieve
Chapter 25The Faithfulness of God, and Seeing His Fingerprints on Everything
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
PROLOGUE THE ARMY CHAPLAIN IN COMBAT
I am proud to have served as a U.S. Army Chaplain. I was not always a chaplain. I am what we call in the military, “prior service.” This gives me “Street Cred” or “Street Credibility” because as many soldiers have told me time and time again, “Chaplain, you get it.” They say this because I understand even at the lowest levels of the military ranks about how the army operates. The other soldiers in the units I have served in know that “I get it.” Instead of being a “newbie” chaplain that came straight from the pastorate into the army, I began as a Private First Class, then ended my first enlistment and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant E-5. I re-enlisted, then worked hard and rose to the rank of WO1 (called “Mister Hughes”) and finally as a CW2 or Chief Warrant Officer 2, “Chief Hughes.”
You will need some background of my previous military experience for this book to make sense in certain instances. I first entered the army on July 1 st , 1986, as Private First Class or (PFC) Hughes. I had just graduated from college and like most young people who enlist in the military, I was looking for a fresh start. I was running from some stuff in my old life and thought the army would be a good place to get rid of the old and bring in the new. Little did I realize just how new this would be – especially after I signed some government papers and raised my right hand to take the Oath of Enlistment. I can remember my parents taking me to the Tampa Florida “Military Entrance Processing Station” or MEPS, and my dad looking at me with pride written all over his face. Was it because I was leaving to serve my country, or was it because I was finally out of the house? There, too, was my mom, just standing there with tears in her eyes as she reluctantly delivered her son, their first born, to join the US military. For the next 6 1/2 years, the United States Army shaped me into who I would become as a young man. I started by travelling to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where I spent eight eye opening and intense weeks completing Army Basic Combat Training. Basic Combat Training is where a new enlistee learns to be a soldier. At BCT, your individualism is stripped away, along with your civilian street clothes and your hair, and in return you are given a brand-new identity. You are given everything you need to be a soldier. This included Uncle Sam’s necessities like food, a bed, an olive drab wool blanket, new underwear, boots, camouflaged clothing, and a weapon. What else could a soldier possibly need? Like the saying goes; “If you needed it, then Uncle Sam would have issued it.” Many times, throughout Basic Training, my Drill Instructor reminded me by always yelling at us – “How great is the army for giving us ‘three hots and a cot’ beside a paycheck twice a month?” Food, a bed, and a paycheck. What more could one ask for?
It was here with a hundred or so other guys in my first military unit called a “company” that I learned how to use my M-16 automatic rifle, dig, and construct a foxhole, and determine fields of fire for my weapon so I could engage the enemy. I learned radios, enemy equipment identification and the ranks for Officers and Enlisted alike. I also learned drill and ceremony, military history, proper preparation, and display of my military uniforms, how to make my bed with its proper folds and corners, and keep my things organized. Like the sign in the barracks stated, “You are a Soldier first, then you are whatever your occupational specialty will be.” Every soldier should be able to “shoot, move, and communicate” when they graduate from Basic Combat Training.
After completing BCT and spending two years on the enlisted side of the “army house”, I then took a bus ride down to Fort Rucker, Alabama. Fort Rucker was known affectionately by many as “Mother Rucker”, or so said the sign that hung above the third-floor barracks hallway where I would reside. It was here that I entered Alpha company of Warrant Officer Candidate School. At Fort Rucker, the army taught me how to be a military officer: how to do staff work, how to delegate, how to organize a plan, and then execute and see the mission through to completion. I also learned how to lead men and women into combat. For the next year of my life, I methodically progressed through three different phases, or stages of warrant officer and helicopter flight training. Briefly, Alpha company taught me how to be a Warrant Officer in the United States Army. Bravo company, which was initial flight training in the TH -55 two-seater training helicopter, was followed by the aviation school’s initial rotary wing flight training in the UH-1H Iroquois. Next was the most difficult portion of flight school. It was called “instrument training.” Instrument training meant flying without looking outside the aircraft, totally trusting, and relying on the instruments inside the aircraft, while relying on directions from Air Traffic Control to separate me from other aircraft. It was a scary proposition to fly a multimillion-dollar helicopter virtually “blind” in the sky. Looking back over that phase of training, it was this phase alone that “washed out” or eliminated most of the aviator candidates in the U.S. Army’s flight school.
After completing “B CO”, our class, “Gold Flight” would now move on to tactical helicopter training. This was the “fun” of flight school. Charlie company, or “C CO” was where we would soon become Warrant Officers (and many started acting like it) and serve as fledgling army aviators. During this time, we became skilled at gunnery, how to plan and then accomplish moving supplies by sling load, and finally before graduation – how to use night vision goggles (NVGs) while fighting at night.
My year as a Warrant Officer Candidate was formative in many ways. Not only did it train me as a soldier and an aviator, but it also equipped me to become an officer in the United States military. I loved what I was doing and could not believe that someone paid me to fly. As a Warrant Officer One and then a Chief Warrant Officer Two in the United States Army, I had the profound and distinct privilege to experience, “cut my teeth” in, and serve in amazing units like the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment (3 rd ACR) and the 1-228 th located at Fort Kobe, Panama. It was there in Panama that I flew as Pilot-in-Command with Pegasus and Joker fligh