Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq and Afghanistan

American soldiers, according to our protocol; he was clearly upset and wanted more antibiotics for the Afghan casualties.

I quickly scanned for someone who could help me but I was alone. With my weapon slung on my back I was not in a position to discuss anything and I needed to act.

Grabbing some old needles, syringes and a small bag of IV fluid, I drew as much left over antibiotics as I could, injected it into the IV fluid, and gave all the Afghan casualties a shot in the arm of this antibiotic solution.

I can’t even see anyone else from my unit, I thought as I was administering the antibiotics under gunpoint. But every once in a while I could hear a fifty caliber machine gun going off and I realized that our soldiers were still out there doing what they had to do to protect the position from being overrun by the Taliban. “I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from?” I recited Psalm 121 in my mind. “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip, he who watches over you will not slumber… . The LORD watches over you, the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.”

Finally, the Afghan fighter and his friends who had threatened my life just moments ago seemed satisfied.

Prayer:

Father, I know you promise I will never be alone. You will always watch over me and care for me. You will keep me from harm and watch over my life. Thank you Father.

“The LORD will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7–8)

November 19 OVERWHELMED Sergeant Major “Ted” is a special operations medic

I was tired. My hands had begun to swell. They had been injured in the blast and working with my hands had not helped. I was thirsty. Someone had stolen my water and I was becoming dehydrated.

It was at that point when one of my guys came down and asked me if I was okay.

“No I’m not,” I told him. “My hands are jacked up, I’m dehydrated and I have no security.” He stood there, protecting me, so I could wash my hands and drink something for the first time that day.

Sitting in the shade of my friend, I was able to recuperate enough strength to continue. I wasn’t even halfway done at that point. He gave me water, he gave me comfort, he gave me shade, and that may not seem like much but at the time it was a lot. I was working on people over and over and over again and used my hands constantly. And now I was having problems using my hands at all. He gave me water to wash all the blood off of them. I worked through having other people’s blood coagulate and stick to your hands. To be able to wash all the dried blood off my hands, if only for a few minutes, made a big difference. For five minutes I did nothing but rest and drink. He gave me Gatorade and a power bar. He moved a vehicle into position to overwatch my area.

Just knowing that someone is watching you allows you to get down on your knees and turn your back and do what you have to do. To deal with the chaos and do what is needed for so many wounded takes all your attention. It took hours to figure out what everyone needed. At about five and half hours into the ordeal we were told that helicopters would be coming in, but it would only be for Americans. That presented problems. We had to have security and we had to move the American wounded to a different location. Thankfully they sent more helicopters and we were able to evacuate the Afghan wounded too.

Prayer:

Almighty God, remind us that you watch over us and that you hear our petitions. When we know the righteous are never alone, we are strengthened in our faith and emboldened to stand firm against the fiery darts of the evil one. Thank you, Lord, for this reassurance. Amen

“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)

November 20 ALWAYS MOVE FORWARD Sergeant Major “Ted” is a special operations medic

It was the largest aeromedical evacuation of casualties during the war. As I looked at some of the injury reports it’s pretty amazing who lived and who died. Everyone has a time they will leave this earth. You have a choice to make the most of this life while you are here.

Initially in combat, everybody’s afraid. You probably only see about 25 percent of what is happening because the entire experience is sensory overload. Many times people don’t even hear bullets because they are so overwhelmed by the self-preservation instinct.

You shouldn’t be here, run away, your brain tells you. But you have to move forward. The more experience you have with combat and the more you’re exposed to the disparity between who lives and who dies, the easier it becomes to simply move forward.

You begin to understand that you cannot control whether you live or die. You’ll act tactically sound and make good decisions and not take undue risk, but you have to let go of the fear of death. You have to be concerned and focused on the mission and on others around you.

A great soldier once told me that the Army was about soldiers taking care of soldiers and this is very true in my experience. If you’re a leader on your team or the lowest ranking guy, your purpose is to take care of others and focus on the success of the mission. Being a part of that is something very special.

Surround yourself with the best people, the best tactics, the best equipment and techniques and no matter what, commit to making the mission successful. When you do this and let go of worrying, then there is nothing left but to move forward. As Robert Frost said, “the only way round is through.” Christ said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to [your] life?” and the reality is you just can’t. Focus your attention on helping others and on accomplishing the mission and let go of trying to control the outcome through worrying. Tap into your faith for the peace that comes only from God he has a plan for you.

Prayer:

Lord, help us focus our attention on others and the mission you have for us. Amen.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25)

November 21 RELYING ON THE LORD Sergeant Major “Ted” is a special operations medic

Peace amidst turmoil comes from faith. If you don’t rely on God or have faith in his sovereignty, then it’s all up to you, and that is absolutely fatiguing. You have to figure it all out and lean on your own understanding. Your