Photo By Tammy Reed | FORT LEE, Va. - During a Religious Leaders Forum Nov. 13 at Liberty Chapel,...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, Va. - Religious leaders here met with 10 civilian peers from neighboring community churches Nov. 13 to discuss how they can work together to support military and their families in off-post congregations.
Early that morning at Liberty Chapel, the Fort Lee representatives welcomed chaplains, pastors and other church leaders to the Religious Leaders Forum that would continue through lunch. The first order of business was a taste of Soldier training by way of the Reconfigurable Virtual Tactical Trainer.
The RVTT, located in a warehouse building along Shop Road, is an immersive experience in which participants climb aboard tactical vehicles with weaponry and engage in a mounted patrol as depicted on a 360-degree screen surrounding each room. During regular training, Soldiers ride in different positions and react to a variety of tactical scenarios with surprise elements ranging from roadside bombs to attacking enemy forces.
Chaplain (Col.) Terry Romine, senior installation chaplain, explained to the civilian group why they were there.
“We want you to experience the type of training our Soldiers go through,” he said. “When we get back to the chapel, we are going to process this with the thought of how we minister to people who experience this kind of life.”
Donald Richardson, RVTT operator instructor, took the group into one station to show how the simulator worked. As they entered, community religious leaders saw a life-sized Humvee that could be virtually driven and realistically felt as it simulated road bumps, dips and obstacles. There was a machine gun on top, M4s inside and a radio for communicating throughout the mission.
Following the introduction and walk-through, the group was split into teams that boarded a pair of vehicles in adjoining rooms.
Pastor Kurt Knobel of Calvary United Methodist Church, Henrico, drove for his team, while Executive Pastor Tony Morris – In His Presence Apostolic Ministry, Petersburg – rode shotgun. Maxine Wilson, senior pastor for In His Presence, went with the big gun up top, while Anona Hogwood, vestry member from St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Colonial Heights, scanned for enemy activity in the right back seat.
They erratically crossed fields and drifted side-to-side along roads until Knobel got the feel for driving under fire. Wilson and Hogwood blasted away at nothing and everything for a bit until they, too, got the feel for their weapons’ recoil, how to reload and how to aim. Morris gave orders and listened to the radio, asking questions to understand Army terminology.
“This is pretty good,” Knobel said afterward, “but that car sickness is real. I could feel the motion and every bump.”
“I’m glad the Soldiers go through this first (before actual deployments),” Wilson said, “as it’s safer for them to learn.”
Once they returned to Liberty Chapel, the entourage divided into two groups and each worked through questions Fort Lee chaplains had for them. The visitors were encouraged to remember their experience in the simulator and associate it with what service members train for and ultimately face downrange. How would the sacrifice and separation affect their home lives and families?
Chaplain (Maj.) Stephen W. Glenn, 23rd Quartermaster Brigade, and Chaplain (Capt.) Don Fulton, 262nd QM Battalion, led one group deep into the discussion. Glenn asked how their RVTT experience confirmed or changed what they thought about military families.
“We learned that we need to know military nomenclature to understand them better and to better minister to them,” responded Pastor Wynne Lankford from Southside Church, Chesterfield. “We would be all over the place without communication.”
Pastor Alex Boyd from Living Faith Christian Fellowship asked, “How does one teach thou shalt not kill, when they are faced with that possibility and mission in their lives?”
Chaplain Glenn pondered his answer before hypothesizing that troops must focus on the difference between murder and protecting themselves and their country.
The last two questions took the better part of an hour to discuss between the military and civilian chaplains. What challenges are faced by Soldiers and families, and what kind of support can the civilian churches provide the military in their congregations?
They listed the challenges they thought of and had seen such as the emotional baggage the military can carry, the hardship of time away from families, moving so often, having no extended family nearby, no support system, drug abuse and domestic violence. The chaplains talked through these issues, working out ways to minister to the people most likely to encounter such struggles throughout a military career.
“How do we get the recently deployed Soldier to love themselves again?” Knobel asked, fetching knowing looks from his compatriots who had faced that scenario as well.
Fulton brought up a resource he’s used to help counsel Soldiers. “‘Soul Repair’ is a great book for you to read to help moral injury in Soldiers,” he said.
Chaplain (Maj.) Lyde Andrews, Army Logistics University ethics instructor, also provided a resource. “Have them talk to veterans in your congregation. They have been there and can be a sympathetic ear.”
Frequent relocation is another concern for the military and the civilian congregations who welcome them.
Knobel asked a thought-provoking question to elicit feedback.
“How do people make a covenant with God if they are constantly moving? How do we help members move on to the next community?” he posed.
An animated discussion followed, providing what the forum participants perceived as a golden solution.
“Call a fellow church at the next duty station, and ask them if they can sponsor the family or help them with dinner,” Glenn suggested. “Prepare a welcome for them at their next stop, and help them find a congregation who will support the family.”
Advice like this and more, as well as resources like Military One Source and Adopt-a-Family programs were discussed and exchanged during the rest of the hour. The forum concluded with Chaplain Romine reuniting the two groups and showcasing what each had learned, which was remarkably similar.
Romine said the religious services team is looking forward to hosting another forum soon to help their civilian counterparts better minister to the military and families in their flocks.
| Date Taken: | 11.13.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.22.2019 11:37 |
| Story ID: | 353030 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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