CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - Soldiers gathered together with their loved ones here today for a prayer breakfast that focused on family relationships.
Although the families could not attend the breakfast in person, photos and other mementos served as reminders for their Soldiers, who are deployed as part of Kosovo Forces 12 Multi-National Battle Group - East.
The prayer breakfast was the second held so far at Camp Bondsteel, and was attended by Chaplain (Col.) Terry Larkin, National Guard Bureau chaplain, and Sgt. Maj. Diane Ellwein, senior enlisted advisor and chaplain's assistant to the chief of chaplains.
Chaplain (1st Lt.) Anthony Williams, Mt. Vernon, Ill., is one of four MNBG-E chaplains who helped organize the event.
"We knew that Colonel Larkin and Sergeant Major Ellwein were coming to visit so we wanted to schedule our second prayer breakfast while they were here," Williams said.
About 40 Soldiers from MNBG-E took part in the prayer breakfast.
During the breakfast, Larkin spoke about the more than 40 family combinations that are serving together in MNBG-E, from husbands and wives to brothers and sisters to mothers and sons to fathers and daughters.
"You don't find that in the active duty," he said. "Our families are just as much a part of our military as we who wear green uniforms," he said. "We fight together. We serve together."
He also commented that, although deployments can be challenging for families, the role the Soldiers serve is vital to the peace process.
"This is God's calling for your life," he said. "Blessed are the peacemakers. You folks are missionaries for God's calling to have you serve here.
"It's my hope and my prayer that when you finish this tour that you will return home with a renewed and even stronger sense of family," Larkin added.
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Multi-National Battle Group - East is a U.S- led task force commanded by Brig. Gen. Al Dohrmann. This Battle Group is comprised of nearly 2,200 Soldiers, including Task Force Hellas and Task Force Polish/Ukraine and Turkey. The charter mission of MNBG-E is maintaining a Safe and Secure Environment and providing Freedom of Movement for the people in Kosovo.
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