Desert Journal: Day 1

By Carol Pipes

KUWAIT CITY, (Kuwait)--Instant camaraderie develops between strangers when traveling to the Middle East. As I sat at the gate waiting for my flight to Kuwait City, I noticed the nods and smiles exchanged between fellow passengers. "Where you headed?" could be heard throughout the waiting area. "Baghdad." "Fallujah." "Kabul." came the replies.

I was among a handful of civilians on the flight to Kuwait. The majority of passengers were soldiers, marines and airmen headed back to the front lines to rejoin their units and platoons after much-needed R and R.

The two young soldiers sitting near me at the gate had only been home for a few days of emergency leave. Even the Army knows it's important to mourn the loss of a loved one. 

 I offered my condolences for each of their losses. Dave's* mother had lost her battle with cancer. Jim had lost a child and fiancee in a car accident. A death in the family is especially hard when one is thousands of miles from home.

They both quickly changed the subject, preferring to focus on the mission at hand—getting back to their respective units. We chatted about our destinations.

They were quite interested when I told them I was headed to Camp Victory in Baghdad to embed with the 18th Airborne. "I'm reporting on the work of military chaplains deployed overseas," I told them. 

"Our chaplain's great," Dave said. "Every Friday he bakes bread for us and always has hot coffee. He's a good guy."

It's the small comforts that make a big difference when you're 7,000 miles from home.

They were kind enough to brief me on life in the Army and what I could expect living at an FOB (Forward Operating Base) for two and a half weeks. 

My conversation with these two soldiers only solidified my reasoning for the importance of my assignment. Life in the military is hard. Many soldiers suffer from combat stress. Add to that the stress of trying to hold a family together with only the occasional phone call or email. Divorce rates among soldiers and marines are significantly high. Military chaplains have the privilege and burden to minister to these highly-trained and hard-working warriors. But how does one minister in a combat zone? That's the question I hope to have answered during my time in Iraq.

As I boarded my flight, I offered up a quick prayer for my new friends. "God, protect them and comfort them."

Carol Pipes is editor of On Mission and on assignment in the Middle East.

Names have been changed for security reasons.