ITB Chaplains Meet Needs of Future Combatants

GA, UNITED STATES

08.05.2005

Courtesy Story

Fort Moore Public Affairs Office

When an 18-year-old basic trainee must be told about the death of his grandfather, the man who raised him, it takes a kind word, a sympathetic ear and an experienced shoulder.

When a 17-year-old split-option trainee wants to call it quits before his senior year, it's not the drill sergeant's place to offer gentle encouragement.

And when a new recruit goes looking for spiritual truths amidst the rigors of Infantry training, Sand Hill cadre are not equipped or allowed to proselytize.

With an Army at war, now, perhaps more than ever, the chaplainry team at the Infantry Training Brigade fills a genuine need. And they must be genuine to succeed.

"You've got to be real. If you're not, they'll spot it a mile away," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) James Foxworth, the ITB's senior chaplain. "And they certainly won't come to a worship service if they don't connect with the chaplains or chaplains" assistants."

They are connecting. That much can be assumed by the numbers " typically more than 700 " that attend the two Sunday morning services, which had to be relocated to the Sand Hill Recreation Center when they outgrew Soldiers" Chapel.

They connect for three reasons, Foxworth said: today's young Soldiers respond to the contemporary style of worship; they know what the future holds for them. They're going to war; and the chaplains and assistants serve with them, running, marching and training alongside them.

"That's the fun part," said Spc. Valerie McNair, 23.

"A chaplain assistant's job is to protect the chaplain," McNair said, "but here, no one's trying to kill the chaplain. So we get to do fun stuff, like get down in the dirt and mud and train with the Soldiers."
Her willingness to sweat has helped her ministry.

"As an assistant, I'm the chaplain's eyes and ears," she said. "When I got here, they thought I was either a Bible thumper or the worst Soldier ever, nothing in between. I had to develop a rapport with them and show them I'm no different than they are. Now they feel comfortable with me, and a lot of times they'll talk to me before they'll talk to a chaplain."

If it's cadre, the conversation usually involves stress, family discord or theology. Basic trainees typically seek help when they have second thoughts about serving in the Army, said McNair, an Army brat who became a devout Christian two years ago, about the time she joined the Army.

"For these guys, it's hard-core from the minute they get up till they go back to bed," she said. "They just want to go home. Sometimes, all they need is a little motivation, someone to say, "Don't give up.
Hang in there." The methods we use (to encourage) are very different than what the drill sergeants do. Sometimes I quote a Bible verse, and it's the very thing they need to hear. It's no big thing, but it's the very thing they need at that moment."

Foxworth said that's the genius of the 230-year-old Army chaplains program.

"We're one of them. We wear that uniform. It gives us a measure of instant credibility," he said, noting that the word chaplain comes from the French word for cloak. "We go where the Soldiers go. We cloak them in God's love and forgiveness."

Most of his congregation is very young, said Foxworth, 55, who helped set up a chapel in one of Saddam's "fishing pads" after the fall of Baghdad in 2003. Now, as the "senior pastor" of more than 5,000 basic trainees and 700 cadres, Foxworth said his team's mission is no less important or challenging than that of their cohorts in combat.

"I look out over (the congregation) and some of them look like they're 12 years old. I have socks older then most of them," he said. "These are very young men preparing to go to war. We pray a lot. We pray Psalm 91 over them. Psalm 91 is very real."

The young Soldiers" dedication to their faith is also very real, Foxworth said.

"You've heard there are no atheists in the foxhole, and that's true. We see great numbers right now because there is a great need right now," he said.

"In some cases, they come to learn and get to know God. In other cases, what they already believe " their faith " has become more real and more important to them."

A South Georgia native with roots in the Southern, Primitive and evangelical Baptist churches, Foxworth was the pastor of a church in Eufaula, Ala., when a friend recruited him as a National Guard chaplain 23 years ago. He balanced both positions for three years before heeding the call to the chaplainry full time.

As a pastor, Foxworth said, he was surrounded by like-minded believers. As a chaplain, his "parish" is very diverse.

Though Protestant, Catholic and Jewish services are the norm, by law, the chaplainry program must provide a time, place and clergy for all faiths. When a chaplain of the faith is not available, the service is "contracted out" to local clergy who meet Army-mandated qualifications.

Presently, services for Latter-day Saints and Muslims are contracted out. Though rare, Buddhists and Wicca occasionally request accommodation.

"I tell people you can't be a chaplain if you can't tolerate other people's beliefs," Foxworth said.

"If you know what you really believe and you're secure in your faith, you can handle this job. Even when my faith tells me it is contrary to everything I believe in, I have to make an opportunity for these people to worship the way they choose. I have to make an intellectual decision to separate myself from that. I've struggled with that through the years, but I have to do it or I can't be a chaplain, and I know I'm doing what I'm called to do."

The flip side, he said, is the freedom he's given to minister and share his faith. For that he credits the Reagan-era Army administration.

"We turned a corner in about 1986. Before that, I might've said the chaplainry program was watered down. That's not the case. We are free and empowered to share our faith. I have never been told not to say this or that or tone it down. Like I said, if we did that, these (Soldiers) would recognize it in a minute."

So would their mothers. Though families rarely attend Sunday services, Foxworth recalled a visit from a recruit's mother who drove from Atlanta to attend church with her son. Her words speak volumes about the success of the chaplainry program, he believes.

"She said, "I came to the chapel because my son is here, and I just wanted to know that God is here. He is, and I can leave in peace."

• Date Taken: 08.05.2005
• Date Posted: 08.05.2005 03:00
• Story ID: 2648
• Location: GA, US