The ministry team of Chaplain (Capt) Steve Fisher and his assistant SSgt Dewey Landers made a special point in Iraq to minister to the Air Force Security Forces on base.  They are one of the few units that is called upon to perform missions “outside the wire.”

The response of the members of the unit to the Chaplain’s visit was an important indicator of the significance of Chaplains in the military.  From their Chief, Michael Fluck: 

As security forces members, we need the obvious physical and mental preparedness for our missions, but also one of the aspects of the job is having the spiritual preparedness.  Going outside-the-wire, you never know what’s going to happen…I think that being spiritually prepared to meet your maker is something the chaplain has brought to us that gives us that peace of mind before heading out on mission.

And from a Senior Airman Jason Santiago:

The chaplain’s visit means a lot to me.  It reinforces the fact that my best interest is at heart–that they care, that they are willing to travel through hostile locations to reach us and provide support for us and our faith. This visit made us realize that we are not alone when we go outside-the-wire.

The Chaplain prayed with the two teams headed out on a mission, and he had an interesting purpose for his prayers:

With the prayers that were offered, I hoped to be an audible reminder of the prayers many people are lifting each and every day for our Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. In prayer we can know we go not alone and we can lift our burdens and focus more on the mission at hand.