Airman Magazine November/December 2009 –
A rabbi, a minister and a cleric board an airplane. Don't expect a punch line. This airplane might be on its way to Iraq or Afghanistan where these three military chaplains would work together to support the constitution through the exercise of religion.
Chaplains from different faiths support Airmen at one location. This is true both at deployed locations and home station. They provide counsel in the midst of conflict and bloodshed and counseling for new marriages and new milestones. The faith of the chaplain and the Airman or family member they serve is secondary to the support and trust chaplains offer.
When asked what the difference is between military chaplains and their civilian counterparts, most chaplains mention geography.
"A pastor is like a recruiter in a way," said Chaplain (Maj.) Norris Burkes, a Baptist Chaplain who recently returned from a deployment to Iraq. "Pastors say, 'come inside, I've found some truths I want to share with you.' Chaplains go out into the unit or group and ask what the needs are at the unit."
Chaplains, as members of the unit, learn what religious or non-religious needs each member has. If someone has a particular religious need, the chaplain is often able to meet it or find a chaplain from that faith to support it. "As a chaplain I've put crystals on wrists, garlic under beds, turned beds to face a particular direction, burned incense and burned bones, but on Sunday I'm a Baptist," said Chaplain Burkes.
The perception of the chaplain as an approachable member of the unit, one with spiritual insight, is important to the spiritual health of that unit. This is even more critical in a deployed environment where Airmen deal with stressors that tax them physically, mentally and spiritually.
"Chaplains are uniquely trained to minister on the battlefield," said Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Cecil Richardson, Chief of Air Force Chaplains. "This training ensures every chaplain is there to provide care, minister and counsel on a host of issues."
Chaplain Richardson said spiritual fitness can impact real-world issues. One of those is suicide.
"Spiritual fitness is vitally important. The military is going through a hard time with suicide. People commit suicide because of a lack of hope. Pastoral care at every level helps to address this."
The chief of chaplains noted a shift in the spirituality of Airmen, especially young Airmen, that suggests chaplains are needed more now than ever.
"Airmen are just as spiritually hungry as ever before though not necessarily as religiously grounded as previous generations," he said. "They are really yearning to ask questions about God, especially in a combat zone. Chaplains can't walk from one side of the base to the other without being asked spiritual questions."
In combat zones, as with home station, chaplains pay the same emotional, mental and spiritual toll as their unit. They are there with them. Chaplain (Capt.) Daniel Bucur a Baptist minister who was in the Army during the initial push into Iraq. He served alongside them during the successes and hardships.
"I remember after we pushed through to Baghdad, I gave an Easter morning service on the banks of the Tigris River. Looking back, it was probably the first Christian service to take place at that spot free from persecution," he said tearfully mentioning another service he gave mourning the loss of a Soldier he knew personally. "This wasn't just a service for a fallen Soldier, I knew this guy."
For Chaplain Bucur, who later joined the Air Force, his own personal journey to the chaplaincy demonstrates the need people under stress have for someone to provide spiritual guidance if not religion.
Born in Romania, Chaplain Bucur knew he was good at two things. "I was a good fencer and at soccer. I became good at fencing because I worked hard at it, but soccer seemed to come naturally."
The work Chaplain Bucur put into fencing earned him a shot at the Romanian Olympic fencing team until a hand injury sidelined him. With broken dreams and not knowing what the future held, Chaplain Bucur decided to escape Romania and, after swimming across the Danube River, he ended up in a Yugoslavian prison. In that cell he realized how trapped he really was.
"There I was in a Yugoslavian prison for fleeing what I thought was imprisonment in Romania," he said. "I realized how far I was from freedom. And what should I find but a Romanian Bible and a group of praying Christians."
After spending 40 days in prison just like the Biblical characters he read about, Chaplain Bucur was released. He eventually made his way to Germany where local church members pooled money to help pay for his university education. He immigrated to the United States, joined the Army Reserve and realized just how important chaplains are.
He said while he was in prison he wasn't looking for Christianity or any religion though he knew his spirit was hurting. "I knew I was searching for something, some guidance or purpose in my life," he said.
That experience, the searching for spiritual guidance, serves him well as a chaplain, where he says he meets Airmen and their families every day who don't necessarily want to hear about his Christian faith as much as they want help in discovering a way out of a prison of stressors and stress. To him and other chaplains, spiritual health is vital to the overall health of the Airman and the Air Force.
Chaplains Bucur and Burkes agree that a key to serving and supporting Airmen from so many faiths is to work together and learn from each other.
Chaplain Burkes said while he was working at the Air Force Theater Hospital at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, it didn't matter what religion a chaplain was when the emergency doors flew open and the wounded arrived. When patients needed a chaplain to put the situation in perspective, it didn't matter if it was a rabbi, minister or a cleric.