Saving souls one location at a time

Photo By Staff Sgt. Tabitha Kuykendall | Maj. Daniel Waterman, 506th Air Expeditionary Group chaplain, preaches to an audience...... read more read more

Photo By Staff Sgt. Tabitha Kuykendall | Maj. Daniel Waterman, 506th Air Expeditionary Group chaplain, preaches to an audience Jan. 28. He is deployed from the 75th Air Base Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.  see less | View Image Page

KIKUK, IRAQ

01.30.2010

Story by Senior Airman Mindy Bloem 

506th Air Expeditionary Group

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Like any identifiable superhero, he wanted to save the world. So he became the closest thing to it — a chaplain.

"In my younger days, I definitely wanted to save everybody — like a superhero," said Chaplain (Maj.) Daniel Waterman, 506th Air Expeditionary Group chaplain.

"I wanted to be Captain America with the tights and shield," he added with a laugh.

Waterman may not be a superhero per se; however, in a matter of speaking, he is an agent of God — a direction he decided to take while serving as an Army officer during Operation Desert Storm.

It was there as a transportation platoon leader in the 781st Transportation
Company, Alabama National Guard, that Chaplain Waterman considered the chaplaincy for the first time after noticing a Lutheran chaplain with an air of authenticity about him.

"He just seemed real, and I liked what he did and how he was with people," he recalled. "I thought it might be something I wanted to do."

Although Waterman would eventually become a chaplain, that decision was not always so clear.

"I was a dreamer," he confessed. "I was never irresponsible. I just had so many ideas about what I might like to do that I had trouble settling on one."

Since the chaplain is the son of a retired Navy member, one might think the military was a given. However, that was not the case, and at one time he even strongly considered joining the CIA.

While attending the University of Alabama, Waterman underwent a series of initial interviews for the well-known government agency. But when it came time to take a certain test in order to be considered for the job, Chaplain Waterman attended a football game (Alabama versus Penn State) instead of taking the test, and as he describes it, "that was that."

He looked at the situation as providential, though he admits he still considers that route on occasion.

During his last three years of college, Waterman paid his tuition on an ROTC scholarship. Upon completing school, he joined the National Guard and worked a handful of jobs before being called to serve in the Gulf War with his Reserve unit.

The call to serve came on the forefront of his upcoming nuptials. Some last minute changes, and he and his wife were married on Nov. 13, 1990, just days before he left for his training.

Waterman said there are sacrifices military spouses must make, but his wife understands that and has always been supportive of his career.

"I definitely married up," he said about his wife of 19 years. "God had us for each other. Of course, we had no idea what that meant in terms of vocation but eventually, he led us to the military. By and large, I think she likes the military lifestyle, and she gets a lot of support from people back home."

That support is important, considering they have four children, ranging in age from 14 to 7, and she has to play single parent for months at a time — a factor that went into his decision to leave the Army.

"I loved being an Army chaplain," the chaplain said. "It was great vocationally, but the fact that I was gone constantly began to wear on my family."

In the summer of 2001 (shortly before 9/11), Waterman was accepted into the Air Force as an active duty chaplain.

He said he feared stop loss since 9/11 had happened, and his paperwork wasn't official yet. But in 2002, Waterman officially "crossed into the blue."

Transition from the Army to the Air Force was tougher for Chaplain Waterman than he expected. There were times when he wondered if he had made the right decision and occasionally considered a return to civilian ministry. Finally, in 2007, he went through what he calls "a Jonah moment."

"I was a Clinical Pastoral Education resident at Wilford Hall Medical Center in Texas," he said. "I remember sitting in my little cubicle area and just feeling like somehow I was in the wrong place. I was very discouraged. I must have stared at the floor for 30 minutes in sort of a daze. Then I heard an unmistakable voice in my head that said, 'Daniel, this is what I called you to do.' I felt instant relief. I knew at that moment that I was called to be an Air Force chaplain."

Waterman recently deployed here as the installation chaplain but doesn't know how long he will be here. He works closely with the Army chaplain, Maj. Mark Diddle, to make sure when the time comes for the base to transition over to the Army, it's done smoothly.

"We meet together once a week," said Waterman of his counterpart. "We discuss how we're going to do ministry here, and we get along very well. Joint operations and joint ministry can work. You just have to have people who respect each other and who realize we're all on the same team."

In the meantime, Waterman plans to continue what he's been doing — the ministry.

"I counsel whoever comes to my door," he said. "It doesn't matter what service — I counsel a lot of Army and Air Force, as well as DoD members and even civilians."

This service to help others is also evident to those who work with him.

"He makes sure he's out there visiting the troops," Tech. Sgt. Russell Dietz, 506th AEG chaplain assistant said. "He doesn't have a problem telling someone, 'that's probably not a good idea,' which is great. I admire him for that. And he does it in a tactful way. And he's versatile — as far as his willingness to work with the Catholics and making sure their needs are met, not that others don't. He's just more attentive to their needs a little more than some might be."

One might wonder if Waterman has really given up on the notion of trying to save the world. He might not wear tights, but check out one of his Sunday services, and you'll likely spot him sporting a robe. Superhero? You decide.