GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – During the course of his career, Lt. Cmdr. Daniel McKay, a Navy chaplain, has seen three perspectives of the United States' role in the Middle East and the war on terror.
From 1999 to 2000, while aboard the U.S.S. Lake Erie in the Persian Gulf, he saw the sanctions perspective against Iraq. From 2005 to 2006, while deployed with the 2nd Marines in ar Ramadi, Iraq, McKay saw the mission side in action.
And since July of 2007, he has seen the detainee operations aspect as the Navy Expeditionary Guard Battalion chaplain, and also the command chaplain for the Joint Task Force.
"It's definitely a larger perspective on what we're doing and how we're doing it," he acknowledged. "It's a mission that has to be done, unfortunately."
McKay is uniquely suited to serve as a chaplain in the JTF. He began his military career in the Air Force and, after entering the ministry, became an Army chaplain. He later switched to the Navy, with whom he has served two tours, as well as two with the Marines, and will head to Washington, D.C. to begin his second tour with the Coast Guard following the end of this deployment.
His responsibilities here are to provide oversight of all religious programs and ministries for JTF, while his religious program specialist, or RP, is solely responsible for filling religious item requests from detainees.
McKay leads Sunday Protestant services at Troopers Chapel. Troopers Chapel also offers a weekly Spanish Protestant service, two Catholic Mass celebrations, a Chapel Next service on Wednesday night, and until recently offered a Thursday night praise service. But making chapel schedules work for Troopers has been frustrating, he admitted. Declining attendance due to unyielding work schedules for JTF Troopers resulted in cancelling the Thursday service.
"The vast majority that work long hours, they just want to eat, go home and get some sleep," McKay said. "You don't go for numbers – you provide the best for those who show up.
"This is really what we call 'deck-plate' ministry," he continued. "Get out and walk among those on the job during work hours."
McKay emphasized that one of the most important services he offers to Troopers is complete confidentiality.
"What they say stays between us and God's ears," he said. "That's our bread and butter – they can share what's on their heart and mind."
He observed that Troopers face similar stressors deployed here as well as in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"It's hard to be forward deployed when you have issues at home," he said, noting that he has personally found deployment to Guantanamo Bay more difficult than Iraq.
"Instead of being half a world away, I'm in the same time zone," he explained.
McKay said that he is immensely proud of the overwhelming professionalism shown by Troopers on a daily basis.
"It's God's work," he said. "They may not realize it, but it is God's work. God gave us the gift of freedom, and they are defending that gift. They provide safe and humane care.
"(The Apostle) Paul tells about feeding your enemy, clothing your enemy," McKay continued. "That's what we do every day here. Those words have a deeper meaning to me now than if I had not seen what they do."
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