Chaplains protect the religious liberties of US military servicemembers, but as noted here often, they also support the strategic objectives of the US military mission.

A Chaplain at the transit center in Manas, Kyrgyzstan, did that very thing:

One of the four mission pillars of the Transit Center is to build relationships, and…Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Steven Thompson decided to reach out to his Kyrgyz Republic brethren.

He asked a few of the translators at the Transit Center if there was a Baptist church in town…So one Sunday, Thompson, Master Sgt. James Iaun, the superintendent of chapel operations, and a translator showed up for a service.

The pastor of the church in Bishkek, Anton Berdnikov, asked the chaplain to return and give a sermon; Chaplain Thompson reciprocated with an invitation of his own.

After both visits, which included a tour of the American facility and a KC-135, a relationship has been built with the local community, consistent with the “mission pillars” of the military location.

It seems the relationship will continue:  The center’s gospel choir is slated to sing at the Bishkek church.

This is not the first time US military chaplains have interacted this way with the local community.  In fact, US military members also worship with local communities around the world.

At least one person questioned the wisdom of a chaplain “preaching outside the wire,” to which the immediate response is: What wire?  Kyrgyzstan is not a hostile country.  Islam is the predominant religion in Kyrgyzstan, but it is not the only one, as demonstrated by the local Baptist church.  In that regard, the “religious exchange” is little different than that which might occur at military bases in Germany, the United Kingdom, or even the US.