This journal records the experiences of a Christian Chaplain during two deployments to Afghanistan, as well as functioning as a tribute to our fallen comrades.
The reflections recorded in this book are derived from the journal that I kept after spending approximately 300 days in theatre, working with both the Army and Air Force. As a chaplain I spent several months in the hospital on the main base on KAF, and also worked with medics on the front line. I have been deployed outside the wire to all sorts of bases: medium size FOBs consisting of anywhere between two to three hundred troops, to tiny little Strong Points in which approximately a dozen abide. As a Christian chaplain, I cannot but help to filter the world through the eyes of my faith, nor would I want to see it in any other way. Accordingly, these writings do not only offer insights into our Armed Forces' experience in Afghanistan, they also manifest the devotional reflections of a Lutheran pastor. I have discovered spiritual treasures tucked away in the lives and experiences of the common soldier. They are a priesthood, practising a vocation as holy and necessary as any other. Although some regard them as killers, I believe that they bring to us insights into a divine language that some lack the courage to hear.