FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers operating from combat outposts and joint security stations in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad are always busy with missions or details.

Finding the time to worship in between missions and details can be hard, but chaplains assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, bring church services to the Soldiers outside the amenities of the forward operating base by travelling all over the battlefield.

“The role of a chaplain on the battlefield is to provide spiritual, moral and ethical well-being to the Soldiers,” said Maj. Trenton Lewis, the chaplain for the 1st “Raider” BCT. “Also, to ensure that Soldiers’ rights in combat are not violated. That is their mission.”

The chaplains have always focused on Soldiers and Families, said Lewis, a native of Tampa, Fla.

While deployed, Soldiers especially benefit from all the attention from the chaplains, he explained.

Lewis stressed that the mission always comes first, a belief engrained in the mind of any U.S. Soldier, but units are encouraged to allow time for their Soldiers to worship.

“So far, my chaplains have performed admirably,” explained Lewis, a veteran with 16 years of service. “They are handling their mission out on the battlefield.”

Outside of Forward Operating Base Falcon, located in southern Baghdad, chaplains conduct field services, baptisms and tend to injured Soldiers, said Lewis. Chaplains also lead mandatory training classes, such as suicide awareness, combat stress prevention and marital counseling.

“I’m proud of the brigade’s chaplains for being so in touch with the Soldiers out at the JSSs and COPs,” Lewis stated.

Capt. Ronny Fisher, the chaplain for the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., spends more than four days each week travelling to the COPs and JSSs in the Doura community, the 2nd “Warriors,” Battalion’s area of operations.

“Services at the COPs and JSSs allow Soldiers the time and opportunity to worship in between missions,” said Fisher, who hails from Corpus Christi, Texas. “I like being able to spend time with the Soldiers and share in the risks they take daily. I am able to share life with them.”
Fisher said he works to inspire Soldiers and challenge them to become stronger at following Christ.

“The services provide me an opportunity to address some of the issues that all Soldiers have experienced during the course of this deployment,” Fisher explained. “The Soldiers seriously inspire me.”

He carries his acoustic guitar with him wherever he goes and begins each service with music and invites everyone in attendance to sing along.

“The music provides the Soldiers the chance to participate in the service,” Fisher stated.

The Soldiers he visits said they appreciate the services he provides.

“Chaplain Fisher has a way of raising my morale, and something about him boosts the other guy’s morale too,” said Pfc. Andrew Borst, an infantryman from Albany, Ore., assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Bn., 4th Inf. Regt., attached to the 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B. “He gives Soldiers a chance to forget about everything going on to worship God.”

Fisher attributes the services’ success to battalion and company-level command teams for enabling him the opportunity to spread the word of Christ.

“I have been really fortunate to work with the commanders and first sergeants,” Fisher stated. “They accommodate my chaplain assistant and me around the battlefield to all the right places. I am grateful to be here with the 2nd Bn., 4th Inf. Regt. I love serving with these guys. We have thousands of people praying for us back home.”

Fisher’s assistant, Spc. Roy Fraiser, HHC, 2nd Bn., 4th Inf. Regt., brings an enlisted perspective to the team and works hard to complete the mission.

“The chaplain’s assistant is a key factor in mission accomplishment,” Lewis said. “Chaplains could do nothing on the battlefield without a good, solid chaplain’s assistant. They keep us alive.”