Photo By David Poe | Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss commanding general,...... read more read more
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As more of his division deploys to Europe and as contingents from the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command continue to deploy worldwide, mixed in with being a hub for the southern border mission currently underway, Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor said getting together for the National Prayer Breakfast at Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 6, was "the right time to do this."
"We're in a time of great transition here at Fort Bliss — and great uncertainty," the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss commanding general said. "There are three major world events going on right now. Our nation and our military are committed to achieving 100 percent operational control of the southern border in the coming months. That's a significant milestone for our nation. We also have an incredible opportunity in Gaza now that peace and a cease-fire have been agreed to between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and we are starting to see the beginnings of democracy — very, very slight — begin to appear in Syria."
Taylor was the keynote speaker for the nondenominational event hosted annually by the Fort Bliss Religious Support Office and supported by military unit ministry teams and civilian worship groups across Fort Bliss and beyond. Maj. Gen. Richard Harrison, the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command commanding general, and the Hon. Renard Johnson, the newly elected El Paso mayor, were two of several distinguished guests in attendance.
Performers from the Fort Bliss Gospel Choir performed a short program of praise tunes and the national anthem. Soldiers from the 1st AD Band woodwind quartet also attended and performed a variety of songs for those at breakfast, who were treated to a menu of everything from staple breakfast foods to a waffle bar.
Performers from The Gospel Service at Fort Bliss performed a short program of praise tunes and the national anthem. Soldiers from the 1st AD Band woodwind quartet also performed.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Center for Biotechnology Information, spiritual health typically results in reduced depression and anxiety symptoms, higher physical well-being, and more.
"So, I'm about to turn 53, and my wife, Jennifer, who is a nurse, frequently counsels me on eating right, getting enough sleep, and everything else," Taylor said. "As we're getting ready to lead this expedition into Europe, she was once again counseling me on the importance of sustaining a healthy lifestyle. I pleaded that Moses was 80 when he led the Israelites to the Promised Land, and that at least I'm not 80. She immediately came back with, 'Well, you're also not Moses.'"
Historically, today’s National Prayer Breakfast started informally in the halls of Congress in the 1930’s. Informal prayer meetings became more formalized when the first official "Presidential Prayer Breakfast" was held in 1953, during the Eisenhower administration.
It was renamed the National Prayer Breakfast in 1970, and in 2023, members of Congress stopped hosting the breakfast, choosing instead to attend the breakfast hosted by the newly-formed, non-political National Prayer Breakfast Foundation.
In closing, Taylor spoke directly to those in attendance who would soon be deploying with the 1st AD and the 32nd AAMDC, and to anyone steeling themselves in preparation for upcoming missions.
"Deploying can be difficult," he said. "It tests many of us, and in that testing is the opportunity to build strength and resilience. So, I ask you to do two things before you deploy. First, invest in the opportunity to grow spiritually. It's great to go to the gym. It's great to work on some college, but invest in your spiritual growth, whatever that means. Increase your faith, invest in your faith.
"Second, invest in your battle buddies and your families," he said. "The closest friends I have in my life are the folks I've served with. We're friends for life because we were there. We fought together, we remember what it was like, we knew we would give our lives for one another. We had those incredible bonds; invest in those relationships and also invest in your families. Finally, be a part of the community. We will build incredible communities while we're deployed, whether it's a guard tower in Syria or forward-deployed in Poland, what a great opportunity to build community."
He also spoke to the entire audience when he channeled Civil War history and President Abraham Lincoln's resilient resolve when he talked about today's challenges.
"[The Confederates] were on the march, they were 60 miles from Washington, D.C., and they met up with Union forces at a place called Antietam, and what happened there on that day was the bloodiest day in American history," he said. "Twenty-three thousand soldiers died on that day on U.S. soil.
“After that, President Lincoln did two things,” he said. “First, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which was the beginning of the end of the scourge of slavery.
“The second thing he did was issue a call to prayer, the National Day of Prayer, and I want to read to you what he said in it,” Taylor said. “This is the president of the United States talking four days after the Battle of Antietam and the death of 23,000 soldiers on U.S. soil.
"'We need to humble ourselves before God and pray for his mercy, to pray that we may be spared further punishment, though it was justly deserved,'" Taylor said that Lincoln wrote. “I want you to think about that for a second. He didn’t launch an investigation, appoint a special investigator or do a press conference. He called on the nation to get on [its] knees, to confess the sins of slavery, to ask for God’s mercy, to ask for God’s forgiveness, and to ask for God’s guidance. What a great testimony for us as we serve in uncertain times as well.”
To learn more about the right to worship in the military, check out DOD Instruction 1300.17, titled “Religious Liberty in the Military Services,” visit https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/130017p.pdf.
Also, to learn about the Religious Support Office at Bliss, visit https://home.army.mil/bliss/my-fort/all-services/religious-support-office.
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.20.2025 12:09 |
| Story ID: | 491136 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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