Faith and Fear on the Truman
How one Navy chaplain helps men and women face combat.
Adam Piore | posted 4/01/2003 12:00AM
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In peril on the sea
War will do that to youreveal your fears and focus your desires. Today as tens of thousands of troops steam toward the Middle East for an expected showdown with Iraq's Saddam Hussein, the military's chaplains know they may soon be called upon to guide young men and women through life-changing trauma from combat experiences.
On ships, in airfields, back at bases, 864 chaplains are on active duty with the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine. The Chaplain Corps includes major religious groups, from Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox to Jewish and Muslim. Many of them, like "Blues" Baker, known for his trademark harmonica and as a fan of slide guitarist Blind Willie Johnson, are already on the job.
In recent weeks, five aircraft carrier battle groups, each with 12 ships, moved into position for combat against Iraq. On a recent winter day aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN75), a carrier en route to the eastern Mediterranean, Baker donned a cheerful red shirt printed with the words Command Chaplain. Just before lunch, he made his way through the Truman's labyrinthine hallways to the enlisted crew's mess hall. Stopping to chat with several young women, the trim preacher smiled broadly and said, "Those are beautiful earrings! Did you buy them in Crete?"
Sitting down at a table, Baker asked a seaman, "What's for lunch today? Hey, did you get a chance to watch the game?"
It's all part of what he calls a morale checka part of his routine that looks an awful lot like a politician's campaigning. Baker is campaigningfor community on this nuclear-powered floating city with a crew of 5,000. The missiles aren't flying yet, but there are plenty of challenges for the men and women during the first few months on board: separation anxiety, fear of failure, combat readiness, crew conflicts, and frustrations in ports of call.
Two days ago, the Truman's commanders canceled shore leave in Turkey because of security concerns. When the Truman docked in Marseilles, France, in late December, 1,000 people turned out to protest. In Crete, after another U.S. warship's visit there the same month, a small mob of local teenagers hurled rocks and bricks at officers on shore leave, injuring six.
"We have a potential morale issue," Baker says, referring to the cancellation. He didn't think anyone was too upset in this instance, but he went about to check anyway.
Staying close to these men and women is all about preparation. Baker knows that when combat operations begin, far more pressing questions surface. Baker's ready smile will vanish, to be replaced with solemn head-nodding, an open Bible, and a seasoned preacher's empathy. Though few recruits may face the raw primal fear of the panicked soldier in the gas mask, many will seek guidance on how to manage their fears, loneliness, anger, or grief. Some may even discover God for the first time.
Charter in fear
After his own conversion (see "Saved by an Argument," p. 58), Baker went to seminary and was ordained in the Reformed Church in America. By the mid-1980s he was back at sea, but times of testing didn't stopall of which have helped him identify with the men and women to whom he ministers.
In 1987 Baker was the chaplain on a guided missile cruiser headed to the Middle East. The mission was to re-flag Kuwaiti oil tankers and escort them through the waters of the Persian Gulf.
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