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                         April 11, 2003

Notes from the Front

Our chaplain deployed with the "Screaming Eagles"

Commentary by Maj. Carlos C. Huerta
Jewish Chaplain

As I am writing this, we just flew over the Nile and entered Saudi airspace. We are about one and half hours to our destination -- the airport in Kuwait.

After we land, we get in-processed and trucked off for about two hours to Camp New York somewhere in the Kuwaiti Desert.

It seems funny flying to war. We are on a commercial airline with regular flight attendants and pilots (only soldiers), but as you walk up and down the aisles, you see M4s (shortened M16s), machine guns, grenade launchers and magazines for the weapons.

Even on this flight, soldiers do what soldiers have always done when they get a chance; eat and sleep because they don’t know when the next hot meal or downtime will be. When you look at us, we are soldiers prepared to do battle, but when you scratch the surface, we are just sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters…We bleed, we get tired, we miss home.

The flight attendants treat us special. They know we are not the usual passengers who can’t wait to land so we can get to our five-star, air-conditioned hotel. We are headed to a mess of tents in the desert; and, yes, they do have "air conditioning"--God’s type, all natural.

Before we took off, I said a prayer over the plane speaker to bless our trip and mission. It is funny how many soldiers, both young and old, came up to me afterwards and thanked me. They needed to feel God’s presence. The words I used were:

"Our Father, here we are, the soldiers of the 1st Bn, 320th FA. You know us as ‘Top Guns.’ We are a plane-load of American warriors going to take the battle to an enemy who has attacked us at home and wants to do harm to our family and loved ones.

"Make us victorious and return every one of us to the bosom of our families. May it be your will, Lord our God, to lead and guide us to our destination safe and sound. Save us from danger on the way and during our mission. Grant us good grace, favor and kindness in your eyes and in the eyes of all our brothers in arms we meet.

Hear this our prayer, for you are a God who listens to the heart’s request. Fulfill for us your promise. ‘Behold I am sending before you an angel to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.’ Blessed are you, our God, who answers prayers. May God bless our forces, our leaders and our nation.

"Hoooah!!!"