Photo By Master Sgt. David Loeffler | Capt. Brad Hornback, left, chaplain for the California Army National Guard’s 40th...... read more read more
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HOHENFELS, Germany – Allied Spirit is a series of combat exercises centered on battlefield realism and international cooperation. But the authentic nature of the U.S. Army Europe training isn’t confined to combat arms personnel.
“It’s been amazing for me. I’ve just been soaking it all up,” said Capt. Brad Hornback, a chaplain with the California Army National Guard’s 40th Infantry Division, which is serving as the Higher Control (HICON) for Allied Spirit V in Hohenfels, Germany, through mid-October 2016. “Within the exercise, the work between myself and the battalion chaplains, it’s all been a great learning experience.”
Too often, the role of chaplains within military exercises is limited to providing religious support and encouragement to the participants. Within Allied Spirit, however, chaplains are challenged to replicate the demands of a battlefield environment.
“The big thing that the OCs (observer-controllers) wanted out of us was the communication aspect of it,” said Hornback. “That is something that is being pressed upon the battalion chaplains, and it stretches them because they have limited communication capabilities in the field.”
Like all field soldiers, a battlefield chaplain’s mission rests on the ability to communicate to both superiors and peers. And Allied Spirit, with its expansive task organization and international interaction, provides an ideal laboratory in which to test that capacity across Bavaria’s vast and rugged terrain.
“There’s creative thinking and there’s critical thinking,” said Maj. Charles Lahmon, chaplain for the 7th Army Training Command, during a pre-exercise chaplain’s training session. “I would encourage you to communicate to your left and right limit. So often, we think with our blinders on.”
Lahmon said situational awareness regarding the location of one’s peers and communicating across those channels maximizes field chaplains’ ability to address the spiritual readiness of their soldiers. From his standpoint as the HICON chaplain, Hornback has observed the importance of regular communication between peers.
“Sometimes for those guys, not just connecting vertically to HICON, but connecting laterally to each other is critical,” he said. “If they’re in the same grid, they can potentially help each other if extra soldier care is needed.”
Hornback’s communication with one of his protestant battalion chaplains empowered him to ensure Catholic service members in the field received adequate spiritual care in the absence of a priest. In addition, situational awareness empowered Hornback to provide a prayer book to a Jewish officer amid Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year that occurred in early October.
Hornback is also quick to point to the critical role of the chaplain’s assistant in Allied Spirit and a chaplain’s combat mission. In addition to providing protection to the non-combatant chaplains, he said they serve as communication facilitators due to their familiarity and access to the boots-on-the-ground soldiers.
“The UMT, the Unit Ministry Team, it literally is a team,” said Hornback. “Out in the field, we (chaplains) want to hang out with the enlisted, and we do, but a lot of times that’s easier for a chaplain’s assistant. They can get a better feel for the morale, so as a team, we can figure out what things are needed to build up the morale.”
“We are more than PMCS, dispatching the truck, and all that,” said Staff Sgt. Crystal Jones, a chaplain’s assistant and trainer with the 7th Army Training Command. “When you allow cross training you become stronger as a team.”
The basis of communication and the chaplain’s mission, Hornback emphasized, is relationship.
“In my daily talks with the staff, I always I speak about relationships, because to me and in my faith background, relationships are huge,” said Hornback. “The funny stories, even the complaints, it’s an awesome bonding time. I’m glad I got to come because I met a lot of awesome people.”
| Date Taken: | 10.12.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 10.12.2016 11:36 |
| Story ID: | 211802 |
| Location: | DE |
| Web Views: | 457 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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