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Chaplain Shines As Beacon of Faith
(February 1, 2011) |
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| | PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2011 – His daily
ritual consists of stopping by and checking in. “Hello, how
is everybody?” “Hope all is well!” “God bless you,” he says,
his words reflecting kindness, appreciation and his southern
accent. |
His energy and ear-to-ear smile can brighten
even the darkest situations, the soldiers here
say, describing him as sincere and caring,
loving to all and judgmental to none.
Army Chaplain (Maj.) Randal H. Robison has
committed his life to answering his calling and
is happy being a source of optimism and
positivity for soldiers during deployment.
“I look at the position I hold as the
brigade chaplain as a calling,” said Robison,
brigade chaplain for the 101st Airborne
Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team in Task Force
Currahee. “I believe I am here, appointed by the
Lord, to be present to provide pastoral care
ministry and to be present for the services of
our soldiers and for our chaplains.”
His
responsibilities include oversight of six
religious support teams that cover all of
Paktika province and beyond, working with his
Afghan counterpart and fulfilling his staff
officer duties. But it is going above and beyond
those roles |
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Army Chaplain (Maj.) Randal
H. Robison lights the Advent candles during a
Catholic Mass at the Frontline Chapel at Forward
Operating Base Sharana, Afghanistan, December
24, 2010. |
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with a sense of humility that separates him from
others. |
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“I enjoy what I do. I treasure the role of the chaplaincy
very much,” the Grand Prairie, Texas, native said. “I
wholeheartedly embrace it. Bringing God to soldiers and
soldiers to God is very much at the basic core of my
identity. I want to do to everything I can to encourage
soldiers, to let them know that even in their difficult
moments with the challenges they face, God is with them.”
His Christian beliefs are at the core of who he is, yet
for many soldiers, his ability to care and make time for
others is what sets him apart.
“My favorite thing
about Chaplain Robison is even when he is extremely busy, if
you need to talk, he will stop what he is doing and listen
to you,” said Army Pfc. Genevieve A. Harms, paralegal
specialist with the brigade's Headquarters and Headquarters
Company. “He remembers your problems, and the next time he
sees you, he makes sure everything has worked out. He
actually cares about soldiers and their families.”
Caring about soldiers is just something he does not because
he has to, but because he wants to, the chaplain said.
“I want all soldiers to know that I do care and I, at
the end of the day, am a soldier just like the most-junior
private we have,” he added. “If I see them, I want to engage
them and encourage them, knowing they have a story.
“I want to know how they are doing and how their families
are doing,” he continued, “because I truly feel, deeply,
that our soldiers are America's finest. They are willing to
serve and to be away from their families and face the
hardships and challenges. Therefore, they deserve our best.
Every soldier deserves the best from the soldier next to
them, so that we can be able to get our mission
accomplished. I want soldiers to know that they are cared
for, to nourish them for who they are.”
Chaplains at
the battalion level have an opportunity to interact more
with troops, he said, noting that the role is different at
the brigade level. “But it is still embracing the spirit and
kissing the soul of the soldiers and letting them know that
you do care and that God cares for them, too,” he added.
Robison has a knack for making soldiers feel as if they
are talking to an old friend.
“When I talk to him, he
makes me feel like I am talking to someone I have known my
whole life,” said Harms, a Tacoma, Wash., native. “He knows
where I am coming from, and he does not judge me based on
the decisions I have made.
“When I see him walking
toward me,” she added, “I get the feeling that everything is
going to be OK. Even if I only come across him for just one
second, it makes my day better.”
Ultimately, Robison
said, it's about duty, country and honoring God through his
service.
“I want to know I made a difference, that my
service was not just signing up and going through the
motions, but that I made a difference in the lives of those
who I have been able to meet because they have made a
difference in mine,” he said. “With every soldier, I think
if I can know them, that maybe somehow I could make a
difference in their life.”
Robison said he tries to
start every day on his knees in prayer.
“Part of my
prayer is to place my life and the lives of my soldiers in
Christ's hands and for his guidance, wisdom and
understanding, and I try to rest in that -- to know that
God's keeping hand is upon us for all Currahees,” he said.
The chaplain said his personal faith drives what he
does. “It defines who I am as a Christian pastor,” he said,
“and in my role as a Christian chaplain, it just compels me
to it. I try to do it with a sense of joy.” | |
Article and photo By
Army Sgt. Luther L. Boothe Jr.
Task Force Currahee
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2011
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