OCR Text |
Show HILLTOP TIMES TIMES 7 August 13, 2009 Chaplain Cops role in all of this. "Our first If there's a death, if there's wounded, if priority within the Chaplain Corps is 'War- there's a Dear John letter, the rest of the base population might not know about it rior Care.' From page 1 but the chaplain does. We're there to bear "When we talk about 'Warrior Care' we mean working with families, strength- other people's burdens. awesome volunteers, the amazing high ening marriages, helping singles build a "(In that same way), I make special quality people we're getting." foundation they can stand on when they effort to have time with my chaplains, Richardson talked about some of the deploy to a dangerous and difficult envi- with chaplain assistants, when they return changes since he first joined the service, ronment in a distant part of the world. from deployment. It can be hard on the "When I came into the Air Force, two"I think that this kind of retreat fits per-chaplain, too. thirds of the Air Force was single. Now fectly into the Chaplain Corps' priorities. "I think the Air Force takes good care two-thirds of the Air Force is married," he On an Air Force-wide scale, I'm offering of its chaplains. My chaplains know that said. '"These couples are really committed grants from my office to bases like this to we love them. to serving our country." do marriage retreats and family retreats, "I've never seen America love its miliHe talked about his experience at the and we're offering grants to get our tary more, and I've never seen the miliretreat. "Going around from couple to singles away and help them get to know tary love its chaplains more and apprecicouple and table to table meeting them, our chaplains." ate them more. hearing their stories, finding out how they Richardson went on to praise the ef"Deployment has really shown our got into the military, finding out how they forts of the Air Force in helping its fami- commanders the value of our chaplains. are doing, asking them about life and how lies. "The Air Force has always focused . In that setting the commanders see what they are going to deal with the deployon quality of life programs. We've been a difference the chaplains are making and ment, I told some of them, 'Thank you.' very, very good at that — commanders, how when you have a problem a chaplain 'I didn't catch it' first sergeants, and chaplains especially, is often the solution or at least a major but Air Force members throughout the part of the solution. 'The first time I ever went on a remote service have gone out of their way to "I've been deployed many, many times. assignment — it was a one-year — my son Talking strengthens families check on the families of our deployers and I've been in the Air Force a long time. My developed some problems with his fingerto make sure that the spouses are doing wife and my children have gone through Richardson went on to explain what nails and I took him to the doctor. The doc well when their husband or their wife is times when Daddy wasn't there a lot of turned to me and said, "You have anything he considered one of the most important big coming up in your life?' I said, Tm go- things that can be done to help Air Force deployed. The Air Force should continue times, and yet, we made the decision that that sort of effort. We really do need to be we would stay together as a family. We ing away for a year.' And he turned to my families. "Dialogue — there's nothing there for one another. Although America would take special time, every chance that little son, my 7-year-old son, and he said, more helpful than dialogue. might at times forget that we are at war we could, to go fishing or some other type 'How dQ you feel about your daddy leav"Preachers used to say that eyen if a the Air Force knows it well. of activity as a family. ing for a year?' My son broke into tears. couple is yelling at each other, at least It turned out that he had been pushing his they're talking to each other. It's when you "When my sons were little, I always "We've been deploying for many, many fingernails back out of worry over his dad- quit talking that your relationship is in scheduled, at least once a year, a night years. I suspect that deployments will dy leaving because he didn't understand," danger. continue for quite awhile yet. And since out with Daddy so that I would take out "Sometimes you don't purposely quit they're a part of our lives we need to pace one of my three sons to get him a new set Richardson demonstrated the motion his of clothes and do something special with son used as he put his two hands pushing talking. Sometimes you're just not around ourselves, we need to watch out for one another, we need to cheer for one another, him that evening, because being part of each other in a time where you can't do together fingernail to fingernail. encourage one another and help each the military I was gone so much. I wanted Richardson said, "Here I am a profes- anything except chatter. If we build an other. each of my sons to grow up with some sional counselor, a chaplain, and I didn't opportunity for people to be able to pull away from their routine and sit down special memories of his dad. My wife has "We need to turn to the other people catch it. Maybe we don't understand the and really dialogue with one another — done the same thing with our sons and I and say that person is a member of my impact that deployments have on our would recommend, not that parents do team and I want to be there for him or spouses and on our children. Just like we parents with kids, kids with one another, husbands with wives, wives with their her when they're going through a difficult the same thing that we do, but parents do prepare ourselves with physical fitness time. And deployment is always a difficult something so that their kids will grow up and with getting the right equipment and husbands — if we build that opportunity getting the right training, so also shouldn't for dialogue that's the greatest strengthen- time even if everything goes perfectly — with some special memories of spending ing effect I can think of on a family or a quality time with Mom and Dad. In these it's still difficult. we prepare the people who love us and the people we love? Of course we need to marriage. "That's really why you have chaplains. days of continuing deployments, it's even more important." prepare for those things." If anything bad happens, we're there. He went on to discuss the Air Force RICHARDSON "A predeployment retreat is exactly what our Air Force needs (in) every place we can do it," Richardson said. "Every base has some place they can retreat to," he said. "It won't be like this, but it will be some place. But I think just pulling people aside for awhile so that they don't have all the noise of everyday life, letting them spend some quality time as a family, building big spaces of open time into the program but at the same time structuring time to discuss some of the most important things that couples and families ought to discuss. I think every base could do that. There'll be limits with funding, they'll be limits with how you get the community involved without being inappropriate and asking for something that would violate our rules. But it's not impossible at all. In fact, the standard is set so high here that we have something that we can look at and say, Wow, that works and works very well. We can do something similar to that.'" Best Source For Local News, * Haven • Washing 3rriott-£lafen/ill. AUTOMOTIVE inset • Eden -^ •et Point • Syra .tee • Layton • z^- Bountiful • Wort itt Late • Fruit ti\\ MAKM* •arland • Pen W'illard • Month Tires •-^Transmissions Brakes ^—Engines Alignments --^Cooling Systems Air Conditioning & Emissions :ty • Harrieville • Ogde arrintt-Cbt^n/ill^ • Uiihtcuill^. No Matter Where You Live... • 13 \Afe6te of Daily Home Delivery for $13.00 • 13 Weelcs of Fri-Sun. Home Delivery for $10.00 651-21 Toll-rree INTRODUCING WE FEATURE Valvoline. Send no money IIOW. We Will bill yOU. I understand that my subscription will continue a! normal rates, until canceled by me. once the promotional lime period has ended. Offer good to new subscribers only. 801-394-8844 • 28TH AND WASHINGTON WWW.HINCKLEYAUTOMOTIVEOGDEN.COM USE MOKE THAN 1 COUPON Receive up to a $550 Rebate* With the purchase of a qualifying Lennox Home Comfort System And EN GREATER SAY Qualified to offer all utility rebates and incentives available in your area & Up to an additional $1,500 in Federal Tax Credits** May be available with the installation Of qualifying high-efficiency products. 1 Large Pizza (1-2 Toppings or our Super Combo) 801-544-4480 www.SmedleyServlce.com ' '£•« Outer Iw <to>M\ K4 MJI IO09 leiwj MuOr-M tx. Sea ) Dave Lennox PREMIER DEALER 4 Soft Drinks 50 Game Tokens 5 24." B9H HURRY! VALID UNTIL 9/27/09 Z WU MOi Difn ortj ttptldEjUngwof—. No CM*I vifca. Z Buy 60 Tokens and get 40 Tokens Free A Total of 100 Tokens HURRYl VALTD UNTIL 9/27/09 VHd «(h eoufon only M MrtdpaUng itWM. No caah walu*. |