Chaplain comes to Headquarters and Services Battalion on Okinawa

Courtesy Photo | Lt. j.g. Richard B. Bristol, Headquarters and Services Battalion, Marine Corps Base Chaplain, Okinawa, Japan, is shown in both armed forces uniforms he has served in. Bristol served four years of active duty in the Marine Corps, before he retired in 1997 and became a Navy Chaplain.  

07.10.2009

Courtesy Story

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

His constant smile, sparkling blue eyes and easy small talk seem to relax his visitors. He usually has a proverb or verse to share with his guests but, when he gets down to business, he shows his genuine concern for those who come to him for counsel.

He is the Headquarters and Services Battalion, Marine Corps Base Chaplain, Lt. j.g., Richard B. Bristol. Bristol has made quite the journey in his life from an enlisted atheist in the Marine Corps to now, a Navy chaplain.

Bristol was born in Soest, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 1973, during his father's four year enlistment in the U.S. Air Force.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1993, at the age of 20. At the time, Bristol felt that the Marine Corps was the hardest branch of service and he wanted to take the challenge. He said his parents were supportive of his decision.

"It's almost an unspoken rule in our family that the males pick a branch of service and pay back the country with at least four years of service," Bristol said.

And so he did. Bristol headed to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, as a staunch atheist.

"That didn't last long even for a 'Hollywood Marine,'" said Bristol as he leaned back in his chair with a laugh. "While I was still in receiving, I knew that I needed more strength than I had."

From that time forward, Bristol said he began to believe in God. He attended Protestant chapel services when his drill instructors told the recruits to go to church.

"That's how I started going to chapel in boot camp," said Bristol.

While in boot camp, he began to grow spiritually under the chaplains of MCRD, San Diego.

However, when he completed recruit training he stopped being so religious. After serving in the Corps for a few years, Bristol said a chaplain from 8th Communications Battalion, Camp Lejeune, N.C., gave him his first Bible.

"I carried the Bible in my pack as a good luck charm, but I didn't read it until after I got out of the Corps in 1997.

Bristol said that Bible was the one he got his calling from. "I devoured it," he said. "It was the first time I understood (the gospel) like that. Church was where I wanted to be."

He attended every service at New Hope Community Church, in California, and soon people began asking him to teach their Sunday school classes. It wasn't long before people began to recognize his gift for spiritual teaching.

Bristol served as an associate pastor in his church. He attended a church conference where the speaker asked, "are you willing to do whatever it takes to serve God's will?" This challenge was what began pulling Bristol toward serving military members and their families.

Bristol decided to take steps toward going into full-time service while he asked God where he was to serve. He attended classes at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, in California. After about a year at seminary he was almost sure God wanted him to be a missionary or a church planter.

However, "Every time I heard about Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen deploying to Iraq repeatedly, my heart broke," he said.

This heartache made Bristol almost sure that he needed to re-join the military to minister to service members and their families. Although he knew that God wanted him in the service, he was still worried that he was just feeling nostalgic toward the Marine Corps.

In 2007, Bristol finally acted on his calling and decided to give God two tests to confirm his call to the service. The first test was breaking the idea to his wife in the most negative light he could and still get her approval.

"Honey, I think I might be called to be a chaplain in the military," Bristol said. "This means I will probably be gone from home between six and fifteen months to a combat zone where people will be shooting at me and I may be hurt or killed."

"I believe you are called to the ministry," was Katie Bristol's simple response.

Bristol started researching the requirements to be a military chaplain. He needed to complete a Masters of Divinity degree. Since Golden Gate only offered a masters degree, Bristol placed a call to California Baptist University and told the staff he wanted to earn his Bachelor of Arts. The staff told him they would pull his transcripts and set him up with a scholarship; if he could come in that night they would have him a seat.

The speed of acceptance into the classes left Bristol with no doubt that he was meant to be in the military and so he worked hard to complete his schooling.

Bristol knew he wanted to be back with the Marines so he talked to a Navy chaplain career advisor, or detailer, to find out what duty stations were available so he could discuss them with his wife. Katie called the detailer's wife to get her opinion and they talked for two hours. In the end she called Bristol at work and said, "Call the detailer, we're going to Okinawa."

This is Bristol's second time in Okinawa. The first time he was here as a field radio operator, with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines, Camp Schwab.

The time he spent as an enlisted service member helps him relate to deployed Marines going through life's challenges, and separation from family and friends.

"I was single, in a two person room, with little pay and no car," Bristol said. He went snorkeling and got his scuba license to keep busy. He advises Marines to not be barracks rats. "Choose to focus on the good things here and you won't have time to mope about [missing] the good things back home," Bristol said.

"I'm extremely passionate about [my job], it's the best job in the world," Bristol said. "I'm working with men and women who believe in something bigger than themselves; they're the best of the generation."

Bristol said he is inspired by the Marines, sailors and their families and the sacrifices they make for their country. He encourages anybody going through challenging times to come talk to him. "I'm here for you and I've been in your boots," he said. "My door is always open and my phone is always on."

• Date Taken: 07.10.2009
• Date Posted: 07.12.2009 19:11
• Story ID: 36274