Chaplain (1Lt) Justin Cowan served the troops in his unit as they supported efforts in their Colorado communities responding to recent fires:

“Many of these Guard members were manning checkpoints on the Black Forest fire and have returned to duty here, leaving behind jobs and loved ones, and they’re under stresses of their own,” he said. “We try to exercise the right of religion and keep a sense of the sacred wherever we’re stationed.”

Image credit: First Lt. Justin Cowan, chaplain, prays with Guard members in the area of West Fork Complex fire Colorado National Guard operations June 30, 2013. (Photo by Army National Guard Spc. Wendy Waldrop/RELEASED)

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