Army
Chaplain
(Maj.)
David
Bottoms
is not
only a
dedicated
soldier,
but also
a man of
God. He
has been
in the
line of
fire on
several
occasions
in
support
of
Operation
Iraqi
Freedom
during
two
deployments.Bottoms
and his
unit,
1st
Battalion,
7th
Field
Artillery
Regiment,
saw
their
share of
the good
and the
bad in
2004. At
that
time,
Task
Force
1-7th
unit was
part of
the 2nd
Brigade
Combat
Team,
1st
Infantry
Division.
“Almost
seven
months
into our
deployment
in Bayji,
Iraq,
our Task
Force
1-7th
made
some
real
headway
into
rebuilding
the
community
into a
safer
and more
secure
environment,”
wrote
Bottoms.
“We
completed
key
projects
such as
school
buildings
and a
water
plant
that
greatly
enhanced
the
quality
of life
in Bayji
and Ash
Sharqat.”
His unit
also
ensured
that the
villagers
had
shelter
while
construction
was
underway
and
provided
much
needed
medical
supplies
to the
clinics.
Additionally,
Bottoms
noted
that the
Army
non-commissioned
officers
trained
a
company
of
competent
Iraqi
National
Guard
soldiers.
Conversely,
there
were
times
when he
– though
a
chaplain
-- faced
danger.
“Life
there
was a
mixture
of joy
and
sorrow,”
said
Bottoms.
“On June
2, 2004,
we
suffered
a car
bomb at
the
front
gate
which
killed
11
Iraqis
and
wounded
30
others
along
with two
U.S.
soldiers.
All that
some of
us could
do was
pray and
keep the
last
moments
of some
men's
lives as
painless
as
possible,”
Bottoms
continued.
In another incident,
Bottoms was participating in one of
several relationship building meetings
with a local Islamic leader at the Bayji
mayor's office when they were
interrupted by rocket fire. Windows were
blown out, resulting in several minor
injuries to some in the meeting.
Bottoms reflects on
other times while in Iraq.
“The weekend after Thanksgiving in 2004,
things in town were crazy,” he said. “I
heard an explosion and went to the roof
of the Operations Center (at the Forward
Operations Base) ...I saw fireballs rising
from the city. Our tank platoon was
involved in a firefight downtown in the
middle of the day.”
Thankfully, no U.S. troops were injured.
Nevertheless, Bottoms met with the unit
to be a sounding board for the troops to
talk about the incident.
Understanding his first mission is to
minister to soldiers, Bottoms often
joined fellow soldiers on the
battlefield where he provided individual
counseling to more than 100 weary
servicemembers for marital issues,
personal and family matters, grief,
crisis intervention, combat stress,
morale and spiritual matters.
As a chaplain, he dedicated himself to
many hours of prayer to wounded and
dying soldiers. He also performed the
last rites for many of the fallen.
When soldiers of the Task Force 1-7th
left the combat theater, Bottoms
personally planned and held a Single
Soldier Spiritual Fitness retreat in
Garmisch, Germany for 40 soldiers of
Charlie Battery who had been in direct
combat. “The idea was to help them
transition from a wartime mindset and
prepare for their reintegration into
their respective communities,” said
Bottoms. This retreat was designed to be
spiritually and emotionally uplifting.
While deployed to Iraq, his mission was
to support those soldiers who were in
battle with the enemy as well as provide
spiritual guidance for the lost. For his
service, Bottoms was awarded the Bronze
Star. Now out of the line of fire,
Bottoms serves as a chaplain for the
Clinical Pastorate Educational residency
program at Walter Reed Medical Center in
D.C. |
