name I have strength to fight. Give me, Father, the strength to show your mercy and grace when called for and the intestinal fortitude to complete my mission.
“The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.” (Exodus 15:3)
October 13
THE DESIRES OF THE IRAQI PEOPLE
I spent a lifetime in law enforcement. I retired from the Fairfax County Police Department, just outside Washington D.C., with twenty-six years of service. During my tenure I was the commander of our police academy. Training was a large part of my background. The U. S. Department of Justice needed trained peace officers to train Iraqis in law enforcement after the military took control of the government in Iraq. Saddam had plenty of henchmen but few law enforcement officers. We needed to train a generation of law enforcement officers to protect the newly found freedom of the Iraqi people.
I was there in January when the first interim elections were held. What an amazing experience to see the Iraqis going to the polls! The candidates were running for positions using the same system that we use handing out flyers and putting up posters. For once, it wasn’t a fixed election. Excited voters would come back to the training academy and say, “Mr. Skip, Mr. Skip, I voted! I voted!” Their enthusiasm was truly inspiring.
We had a number of Iraqi policemen who had graduated from the program and had been asked to stay on to become trainers. They had to have completed the trainer program where we trained them to be instructors in western concepts of law enforcement. Sadly, one of my best Iraqi trainees was murdered right in his doorway. He was killed because he was working with Americans. This man was really loved by his fellow staff members and the students that he trained. Everyone pitched in to buy a huge black banner to honor him and placed it at the Academy. He was an amazing man who sacrificed everything for peace in his community.
The Iraqi people desire peace for the families just as we do. They long for democracy and liberty. They want to live life in a safe environment. What we are doing there is a worthy cause. It is something both my son and I believe in.
Our Father in heaven, comfort those who mourn. Our Savior who died, renew us by your resurrection life. Holy Spirit who indwells us, guide and lead us throughout our sometimes difficult journey here on earth.
“Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.” (Nahum 1:15)
October 14
SAFETY AND SECURITY FOR MY FAMILY
We would bring in a thousand Iraqi students every ten weeks. They received basic law enforcement training for eight weeks and then two weeks of officer survival training. We break them up into groups of thirty. I would be in a classroom with thirty to thirty-two police cadets, from ages eighteen to thirty-five. Saddam had terrorized Iraq for thirty-five years, so even the oldest ones in the course had known nothing but tyranny. No one remembered freedom.
I got to know them pretty well over the ten weeks. The last week right before they were to graduate you could sense how thrilled they were about their accomplishment. We did not graduate everybody. Many had trouble finishing their commitment. But for others, the sense of accomplishment was genuine.
Just before graduation I would go around the classroom and call them by name, and I would tell them that they may not be policemen their whole life. I would ask them what they wanted to get out of life. They would answer, “Mr. Skip all I want is safety and security for my family.” They weren’t looking to get rich. They weren’t looking for retirement. They just wanted to be able to live their lives with security. I would tell them that in a democracy anything was possible. They may start a business or go to school. They had truly accomplished something, and now they were going to give back to their community.
The people over there have the same interest that we do with democracy and liberty. They want to live their lives in a safe environment. What we are doing over there is a worthy cause. We’re helping them help themselves. The naysayers that say we need to leave have no idea of what we’re doing over there.
Dear Lord, never let us forget that with freedom comes great privilege and great responsibility. Where tyranny reigns, bring freedom. Where oppression thrives, bring liberation and justice and peace.
“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30)
October 15
IED ATTACK
The lead Humvee rocked violently. An IED ripped through the vehicle. Three of the four men inside were fatally wounded. Capt. Shane Mahaffee was riding in that vehicle when it was hit. The driver sustained a devastating vascular injury to his leg. Shrapnel had penetrated into Shane’s left lung. Shane jumped out of the wreckage and quickly took command of the situation. He directed the men in the remaining three vehicles to form a perimeter to prepare for any further attacks. Refusing medical care, he instructed his men to provide care to the others in his Humvee. After his soldiers had received the care they deserved, his men insisted that he too receive care.
A helicopter quickly arrived to take him to the Combat Support Hospital (CSH) in Baghdad. From there, he was taken to Landstuhl, Germany, where further surgery was required. His family was flown to be with him. Infection from the wounds ultimately took Shane’s life. To the very end, he firmly believed in what he was doing. Even when he was hospitalized he said the mission was not yet accomplished. He instructed a friend of his to go back and tell his men that they needed to complete the mission.
His family was with him when he died. It was the day after Mother’s Day, and his wife and mother were by his side. Three other soldiers died in the same IED attack. All four men are among the many heroes who have paid
