Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Pyoung Yi | 200126-N-VY375-1118 PACIFIC OCEAN (Jan. 26, 2019) Lt. Cmdr. Ken Espinosa, a chaplain...... read more read more
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Amongst the Troops
He can be seen walking through the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), stopping and chatting with a fresh-from-recruit-training-command undesignated seaman or with a sea-weary aviation structural mechanic. He is interested in what these Sailors are telling him. He nods his head and asks questions. He probes deeper. He asks himself: What does this crew member need right now?
Lt. Cmdr. Ken Espinosa, a chaplain aboard TR, can be seen giving sermons in the ship’s fo’c’sle on Sundays underway, or in the chapel facilitating a men’s bible study. A middle-aged, first-generation Peruvian-American with sprinkles of gray hair, he has the look of a man who has seen heartbreak, who has heard stories of broken lives and absolute demoralization, with eyes that peer into a person’s soul.
“All of us know that mission readiness is difficult to attain when things at home are broken,” said Espinosa. “Helping our Sailors maneuver through spiritual growth, counseling, and encouragement is a large part of what chaplains do.”
According to Espinosa, the role of a Navy chaplain requires flexibility but the mission is always the same: to genuinely watch and care for the wellbeing of Sailors.
"It can be more of an art than a science and it's sometimes difficult to quantify," said Espinosa. "But in my view, the most important piece is to maintain and strengthen the morale and spiritual welfare of the crew."
Plugging In
Life at sea for a first-time Sailor can be a culture shock. Long work days, non-rate responsibilities, passing a warfare board, and finding one’s place amidst colleagues who may have starkly contrasting backgrounds and world views compared to one’s own are a few of the challenges facing crew members.
In the midst of living and working on a floating steel structure, one thing is clear: Sailors must find their tribe, without which they may experience emotional and psychological pain.
“Despite being surrounded by literally thousands of people, many still feel alone and isolated,” said Espinosa. “This is one of the great ironies of being on a ship this size.”
According to Espinosa, crew members, and people as a whole, are not designed to face the journey on their own.
“You need people around you to encourage and push you along the way,” said Espinosa. “Growing spiritually requires a community that we feel safe to express our feelings, cares, and ideas.”
Finding His Calling
Originally from Anaheim, California, Espinosa struggled as a college student. He was dismissed twice from community college for academic reasons until finding his way at Life Pacific University in San Dimas, California, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies in 2004.
“I had a youth pastor who saw something in me that I didn’t,” said Espinosa. “He was a central figure in my life, like an older brother. He encouraged me to go into ministry.”
Three and a half years later, he earned a master’s degree in divinity from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in La Mirada, California. While attending Biola, Espinosa had an opportunity to work with service members in a ministry role.
“During seminary, I was a Navy chaplain candidate program officer, akin to ROTC but for seminary students,” said Espinosa. “I had the opportunity to do on-the-job training with Marines at Camp Pendleton. I immediately knew this is what I wanted to do for as long as the Lord allows.”
After a year as a hospice chaplain, and with several years as a college ministry pastor under his belt, Espinosa made the dive into Navy chaplain life.
“I loved the idea of being able to serve in a way that was outside the norm of traditional ministry,” said Espinosa. “I just wanted to serve, especially in a time of war where I thought chaplains can do the most good. Living among the people of God. It is the purist form of ministry.”
Espinosa also liked the fact Navy chaplains are given the opportunity to work with Marines, Sailors, and Coast Guardsmen.
Thus far, Espinosa’s 11-year Navy career has taken him to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma (Okinawa, Japan), Camp Leatherneck (Afghanistan), USS Whidbey Island (Virginia Beach, Virginia), and U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston and Corpus Christi (Texas).
Building Bonds
Espinosa makes it a priority to promote others above himself, according to Cmdr. Jaisen Fuson, TR’s command chaplain. It is one of the personality traits which other crew members notice about him.
“He’s quiet and subtle about who he is,” said Fuson. “And loud and enthusiastic and a cheerleader about other people, which resonates care and genuineness.”
According to Espinosa, it takes a certain type of person to be a chaplain: Someone who has a heart for God and people.
“A chaplain serves Sailors in their lowest moments and points them to hope, which is the real blessing of being a chaplain,” said Espinosa.
Of all the duties required of a chaplain, Espinosa most enjoys the deckplate-level interactions he has with the airwing and staff.
“Whether it's talking about sports, music, or what they're going through, there is a refreshing diversity and candor our Sailors have,” said Espinosa. “Those conversations often lead to a space where they might share things with us they've never shared before.”
According to Espinosa, the opportunity to intersect life's pain with grace in that conversational space is what he enjoys the most.
"There have been several moments as a chaplain when I have had the opportunity, through these conversations, to remind our Sailors, who made a poor life choice, for instance, that making a mistake is not the same thing as being one,” said Espinosa. “That truth was life altering for me and my hope is that in some ways it is for others."
To Serve Others
Espinosa said he loses his way when his priority is his own comfort, but finds meaning when considering others’ needs above his own.
“I find life much sweeter and gratifying when the focus is outside of me,” said Espinosa. “My relationship with the Lord helps me stay focused on that. It helps me to frame it this way, God works greatest in me when God and others are greater than myself.”
Espinosa said faith has shifted his focus to something much bigger than himself.
“It frees us from worries that, in the big scheme of things, might not matter much,” said Espinosa. “It places the things that do matter squarely on the shoulders of God who is able to sustain us and provide for us.”
According Espinosa, TR’s chaplains are the gatekeepers. They provide spiritual support resources, counseling, heartfelt conversation — opening a door for people to speak about where they are at, which may end up pointing them in the right direction.
As he traverses the ship, visiting reactor spaces, the bridge, the hangar bays, Espinosa has tried to live out this “gatekeeper” ethos and, in the process, has become a man of the people.
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2020 14:42 |
| Story ID: | 386155 |
| Location: | ANAHEIM, PACIFIC OCEAN |
| Hometown: | ANAHEIM, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 335 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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