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MUSA QAL'EH DISTRICT, Helmand province, Afghanistan
(11/24/2011) – For many, faith provides a foundation of core
values and an inner strength required to accomplish any
mission and weather any hardship. It is a difficult word to
define, however, as it means many things to different
people.
Detroit native Navy Lt. Valentin Solano, the company medical officer for Company G, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, reads a passage during a Catholic service. Solano, a 2002 Michigan State graduate, and some of his fellow sailors and Marines attended the service provided by the 2nd Marine Division (Forward) command chaplain, Monaca, Pa., native Cmdr. Christopher Fronk. Photo by USMC Cpl. Jeff Drew, Nov. 24, 2011
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For service members deployed to a combat zone, faith takes on a
whole new meaning. For many Marines and sailors, the tragedies of
war are apparent on a daily basis and often require a reserve of
mental, moral, and physical strength that can only be found in a
person's faith.
“Faith – I've never really thought about
putting it into words,” said Ventura, Calif., native 1st Lt. Robert
Mahua, a Weapons Platoon commander with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine
Regiment. “Faith is something we believe, something abstract,
something you can't hold with your hands or see with your eyes.”
“Faith is the ability to believe, know, and trust that there is
a higher power greater than me, which is helping me stick to the
principles that I believe in,” said East Chicago, Ind., native Lt.
Cmdr. James Gennari, the senior nurse for the Shock Trauma Platoon
with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.
“Faith, for me, in
its basic format, is the belief in a god and something greater than
ourselves,” said
Monaca, Pa., native Cmdr. Christopher Fronk, the command chaplain
for 2nd Marine Division (Forward). “Faith is my whole purpose for
being here. As long as we're going to ask people to go to distant
places to fight, it's crucial for them to have |
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chaplains to help remind them of their faith, to help them grow in
their faith, and to help them prepare for meeting their maker,
should that happen.” |
Fronk has been a Catholic priest for 16 years, but gladly
welcomes service members of all faiths, listening and
offering advice to all. He has a great responsibility as the
division's chaplain, ensuring each of the 12 other chaplains
of various faiths within the division have the support they
need to travel within the division's battle space and making
sure they have what they need to conduct their services once
they arrive. He is also the only Catholic priest in the
division, so Fronk travels to the many forward operating and
patrol bases to conduct Catholic services for those looking
to practice their faith.
Fronk accomplishes this
mission with the help of his religious program specialist
and Worcester, Mass., native Petty Officer 1st Class Michael
Hawthorne. Hawthorne's primary responsibilities include
protecting the chaplain during trips throughout Helmand and
Nimroz provinces, acting as a one-man personal security
detachment, scheduling the chaplain's travel, various
administrative functions, and setting up for services.
Hawthorne explained that an “RP's” personal religion doesn't
factor into how he is paired with a chaplain, but that he
and Fronk happen to have a lot in common.
“I am
Catholic also, so working with a priest is easy for me, but
I've (also) worked with protestant chaplains and rabbis,”
said Hawthorne, referring to the 25 chaplains he has worked
with in his nearly 18 years of service. “Understanding the
tenants of their faith and understanding the way their
services are run is the biggest challenge – knowing what
their expectations are and being able to exceed those
expectations.”
The two travel together, making trips
once a week to the many Marines and sailors spread
throughout the division's area of operations. They have the
opportunity to speak and listen to service members, some of
whom are on their first deployment, experiencing things that
most people will never go through.
“I talk to
service members who are 18, 19, 20 years old, who for the
first time in their lives have lost someone close to them
because of (a firefight), and help them process that
experience,” said Fronk. “I love to get out and be with the
Marines in their areas of operation and get to know them.
But it's tough for me when later I see (one of) them on the
operating table at the hospital or when I'm saying the
prayers of the dead over (one of) them. The only way I can
make sense of that is because of my faith; I believe
something better awaits us.”
For many service
members, being deployed to a combat zone, away from family
and friends, seeing what war can do to people, presents a
test of faith.
“Every day my faith is challenged,”
said Gennari, who sees the consequences of war on the
operating table. “I'm a nurse, a warrior against pain,
disease and suffering. My faith reminds me of fundamental
things. I didn't cause the damage to that person, but I have
a talent that I've been given where I can help take the pain
away. I like to help people – that's my talent. My faith
tells me not to become saddened that human beings do this to
one another, it reminds me that we are still lesser, and it
helps keep me from being prideful. My faith keeps me guided;
it's my foundation.”
“Faith helps me get through a
lot of the little things that tend to pile up and tend to
get the best of me after a while and wear me down,” said
Mahua, who recently attended one of Fronk's services. “My
faith helps me put those things in perspective and reminds
me why I'm here.”
Faith sustains and strengthens many
service members through stressful and difficult times on
deployment. With the help of the Chaplain Corps, these
service members are able to practice their faith in the
remote patrol bases throughout the battle space.
“People out here are in far more dangerous circumstances and
situations that challenge them to look at questions of
faith, and because those questions come to the surface, they
are more ready to talk about them out here than they are at
home, which makes it even more important for the chaplains
to be with them,” Fronk said. “It is a privilege and an
honor to serve the men and women of the military, especially
those in dangerous situations. I firmly believe that they
have the greatest need and deserve to have their priests and
chaplains with them.”
More photos available in frame below
By USMC Cpl. Jeff Drew
2nd Marine Division
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2011
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