Fallen Soldiers March

While serving in the US Air Force intelligence unit, we received a directive in October 2011 to review all of our training programs. The point was to ensure that nothing could be construed as derogatory toward any religion. My unit trained new military intelligence trainees on many aspects of the job, including motivations that drove terrorist activities. The review was concerning to me and many of my colleagues. Training an intelligence asset to be proficient in their job would be difficult if we were required to gloss over the motivations behind murderous terrorists’ actions. Read on below: https://lnkd.in/gxu3Nptn

Freud to Skinner to Jesus: Exodus! Movement of Army Behavioral Science Specialist to ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor I came out of that training fully convinced that behavioral modification was the key to helping people. What followed was three and half years working in the Outpatient Psychology Clinic at the 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. My training was in psychological testing to identify personality disorders. Sometimes, the testing was used to aid in forensic investigations, but most often, we used the diagnostics to assist soldiers with learning management techniques for situational stressors. I had no idea how off-base that thinking was. We were only treating the symptoms. We never touched the source problem: one’s heart. Easy was telling a soldier (and spouse), "Your anxiety, depression, and anger problems can all be helped by attending a stress management group. You’ll be taught various techniques to help you regulate your emotions when stressed, such as taking deep breaths, focusing on things that could distract your thoughts, utilizing our (newly acquired) biofeedback machine, and sometimes even hypnosis." Read on below: https://lnkd.in/gvyM6HGR

The deployment wasn’t my first into foreign lands, but the first with the elite unit I’d recently achieved entry. The thirty-hour travel ended as typical—the large military aircraft touched down in a hot, dusty climate far afield from home and liberty. Several weeks later, I sat in our JOC (Joint Operations Control), the command’s central nervous system for operations on our FOB (forward operating base). Computer and TV screens flecked the spartan tables and plywood walls, each device connected with classified ethernet cables. Maps of the area, target imagery, asset reports, and other intelligence splayed out in stacks on desktops. The air was warm and tense. Scheduled for that night was an operation, but the manifest didn’t hold my name. I’d be sitting this one out. In the room with me was one other person, our EOD technician. We were reviewing the scheme of maneuver for the night. Midway through reading the intelligence reports, a hot anger rose in my chest. A small village nearby had been defended for several years by an outpost of American soldiers. Only days after the troops left for good, Muslim extremists descended on the village and slaughtered their way through the resistance. Evil. Injustice. Read on below: https://lnkd.in/eGjpeFcB

Please join us in celebrating the addition of Pat Devine to the Fallen Soldiers March Senior Advisory Board! Pat & Tana Devine have contributed sacrificially in many ways; one of which involved Tana alongside Aurelia M. Smith developing and conducting FSM's interview process for the intake of individuals seeking counseling on Excel Spreadsheets before the adoption of Biblicare. Pat Devine (Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (Retired)), served on active duty for 21 years and sees FSM as an important connection for continuing service to soldiers and their families long after they leave the military. He is thankful to be serving as an FSM advisory board member because he feels that FSM’s mission and service says "thank you for your service" in a real, meaningful, and life-changing way through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The military life is a major part of Pat’s experience. His immediate family (parents, siblings, and brother-in-law) have over 75 years of combined active military service. Previously a field artillery officer, Pat completed seminary in 2004 (Missio Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formerly Biblical Theological Seminary) and served the local church in the Philadelphia region (Fly Eagles, Fly!). Read on below: https://lnkd.in/eJyWp_di #Army #Navy #Airforce #Marines #Coastguard #Nationalguard #SpecialForces #Chaplains

Remember Your Own Need for Grace We must confront an uncomfortable truth before responding to others’ failures: we’re sinners, too. When I suffer from what I call “sin amnesia,” the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 3:10-12 echo in my soul: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” It’s tempting to think, “I would never make that mistake!” Yet our pride needs no help creating its own sinful carnage daily. We need grace so constantly that our self-righteousness becomes an insult to our Savior’s sacrifice. This recognition of our own brokenness isn’t about minimizing others’ wrongs—it’s about cultivating the empathy necessary for a redemptive response. When disappointment, failure, or betrayal hits our hearts, wisdom demands we examine our own imperfections before speaking about others’ failures. Read on below: https://lnkd.in/g2_DF6mv

Not one person is exempt from suffering. Disease, war, acts of terrorism, and natural disasters are only a few of the major events that ravage mankind the world over. Large-scale trauma incidents induce direct and widespread suffering to mass populations and vicarious trauma to first responders who mobilize and provide aid. Our everyday crises, accidents, illnesses, and injuries are personal examples of our significant mortal suffering and are just as important as the grander incidents. Likewise, when called to help, first responders are quick to sacrificially bear the burdens of their neighbors—an honorable calling of sacrifice and duty. But, as many people have noted, the weight of sin, suffering, and death can be devastating and destructive to individuals, families, and communities that are without appropriate aftercare and intervention. Victims fail to recover, and first responders suffer alone. For the Christian, no matter how minuscule or grand, all suffering must fit within a broader theology that encapsulates both a sovereign and loving God. To understand how to respond, and to shape our understanding of suffering, and guide our efforts in human intervention, we must first look to Christ as He is and revealed throughout Scripture. Read on below: https://lnkd.in/eAe7jNN2 #Firstresponders #Naturaldisasters #Trauma #Suffering

One of the youngest members of Captain Robert F. Scott’s scientific?Terra Nova?Expedition into Antarctica (1910-1912) was twenty-four-year-old Asbury Cherry-Gerrard. In his memoir,?The Worst Journey in the World?(1922), he shares the hellacious trials of endurance suffered by expedition members that resulted in the death of five men, including Scott: long days of utter darkness, temperature of -70°F, lack of food, countless hours pulling sleds for miles across lunar landscapes where an ice sheet collapse could send one hurtling deep to a black end, and blizzards with 100-mph winds. Those are only a few of the hardships the crew endured regularly. Asbury speaks at length of frostbite, snow blindness, exhaustion, disorientation in the barren wilderness, clothes freezing solid within fifteen seconds of exiting his sleeping bag, and hunger. Recalling one particularly brutal journey across the ice, Asbury states: I for one had come to that point of suffering at which I did not really care if only I could die without much pain. They talk of the heroism of the dying – they little know – it would be so easy to die, a dose of morphia, a friendly crevasse, and blissful sleep. The trouble is to go on.[1] Our trying life storms can make death appear as the easy way out or the assured means of stopping the pain. Furthermore, the many often-expressed Christian encouragements to someone experiencing such miseries are little more than shallow platitudes, such as these: "You can overcome all things through Christ who strengthens." "God gives grace sufficient to overcome the trial." "The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you." Read on below: https://lnkd.in/gWDNJRE6 #Veterans #SpecialForces #Army #Navy #Airforce #Marines #CoastGuard #FirstResponders #NationalGuard

Pat Devine, Chaplain, US Army (Retired) In March, I attended the 2024 World Congress on Moral Injury, Trauma, Spirituality, and Healing hosted virtually by The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science. I wanted to understand better the current research and beliefs about behaviors associated with the syndrome labeled "moral injury." Before I share a few observations, it’s important to note that the conference was full of compassionate, caring professionals who wanted what they believed was best for those in their care. I appreciate the efforts and resources invested in seeking to help those who are hurting, especially our veterans and first responders. Below are a few observations from the event: https://lnkd.in/eQMgWe6A #Veterans #Chaplains #Army #Navy #Airforce #Marines #Coastguard #NavySeals #NationalGuard #BiblicalCounselors #Christians

Fallen Soldiers March has been approached by Navy Seal Team members to write for FSM's Quarterly Newsletter when inspired, time allows and anonymity is protected. They will use the pseudonym "The Chief". Special Operations is different—and it isn’t. A certain type of man is drawn to the idea of being a soldier in the black ops. This phenomenon—a longing for a tragic amalgam of idealism, vigor, wanderlust, and duty—is as old as time. Across history, tyrants have used and manipulated this inner synthesis for horrifying evil. That yearning to become, to strive, to overcome, even to know true defeat rests in the hearts of young men who were created to serve a king and kingdom. But more often than not, they end up serving themselves and worse: corrupt governments. This pull in my youthful heart led me to test my resolve in the fires of special warfare selection. I thought I was tough, and I wanted to prove it. I wanted adventure; I wanted to do things that mattered; I wanted to be able to rely on the men next to me in life-and-death situations, and I wanted them to be able to rely on me. I didn’t want riches; I didn’t want fame; I didn’t want girls or parties or comfort. I wanted conflict. I wanted to be up to my neck in danger. I wanted to serve my country and rid the world of evil men. I wanted to fight, and, if need be, die for a worthy cause. Men join special warfare communities for a plethora of reasons, but those were mine. I know I wasn’t alone in those desires. Read on below: https://lnkd.in/enPpfdSh #SpecialForces #Veterans #Army #Navy #AirForce #Marines #BiblicalSoulCare #BiblicalCounseling #JesusChrist

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." ―Thomas Jefferson June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which "we will accept nothing less than full victory." More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day's end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. On the anniversary of D-Day itself, June 6, there will be a ceremony held at the Normandy American Cemetery. The Cemetery is the site where nearly 9400 American servicemen have been laid to rest. The oldest veteran onboard the chartered flight is 107-year-old former U.S. Merchant Marine Reynolds Tomter. Read on: https://lnkd.in/e6hJ2VBt “Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” ―John 15:13 Soli Seo Gloria!!! #Veterans #Marines #Navy #Airforce #Army #CoastGuard