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

Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp’s is the father of three sons and two daughters. All of his sons have served in the United States military.

“I’m so proud of them,” Van Antwerp said, noting that one is a major and one just made the major’s list. “For me, it is a family business. I want to get things right because of my boys, their friends, and all others who serve.”

For about a month in 2005, all three of his sons were in Iraq at the same time.

“We were on our knees a lot,” Van Antwerp said of how his family responded.

Van Antwerp’s youngest son and namesake, Robbie, was injured while driving a Humvee in Iraq in 2005. The explosion threw all five soldiers from the vehicle and two were killed. Robbie spent thirteen months recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Recovering physically is one thing, but overcoming post traumatic stress syndrome and living with the loss of his soldier friends is a different kind of recovery.

Physical recovery is difficult, but the war within is often the tougher and more challenging part.

“We’re just trying to be very faithful in helping and encouraging him,” he said.

Churches are becoming more aware of the challenges facing soldiers, veterans, and their families. Van Antwerp cited Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Bob Dees’s work with “Bridges to Healing Ministry,” part of Campus Crusade for Christ’s military ministry. Van Antwerp described their work as “a full court press to help counselors and churches minister in this hidden battle.” The ministry has published a basic guide for churches, the “corps of compassion,” to begin equipping them to understand and restore PTSD sufferers and their families.

“You can talk about the power of positive thinking, but that does not do it. You have to come back to the idea that God does have a plan for your life. The essence is that God loves you. These momentary trials will work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to his purpose,” Van Antwerp reflected, referencing Romans 8:38.

In the end many who have suffered in this way will be able to comfort others in the same manner that they’ve been comforted. This is “another godly principle” that works.

Prayer:

Father I pray for those wounded warriors, as they recover both physically and emotionally. Bring them complete healing that they may both comfort others and fulfill your plan for them.

“My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God.” (Job 16:20)

April 27 AURA Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp, United States Army

Why do soldiers fight? Why do they risk everything?

“In the most basic sense, they do it for their fellow soldiers,” Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp said, noting the high-level of patriotism he has seen in soldiers since Sept. 11, 2001.

“In Accessions Command, we brought new soldiers into the Army. The Army has to recruit about 175,000 soldiers every year to maintain the strength. What is remarkable is that our young people have responded to the call knowing they’re going to deploy,” Van Antwerp explained. Prior to commanding the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Van Antwerp led United States Army Accessions Command, which is responsible for recruiting and training soldiers.

“Our obligation to these volunteers is to provide them the best training and equipment possible.”

Getting it right means conducting drills in body armor and convoy live-fire training. It also means shifting away from a confrontational, adversarial drill sergeant mentality to a leader, mentor, and trainer role model. And that means: AURA, an easy-to-remember leadership principle for making the “Army Strong.”

“You would know one of our soldiers because there’s a special AURA about them. The letters mean something. The A means they know that they’re accepted into the unit,” Van Antwerp said.

“The U means they’re understood. They’re treated like people. We know their names. We know that they have a family. We know what they like to do for recreation. A good unit leader knows that about his people,” Van Antwerp continued.

Getting to know them helps soldiers understand that they are cared for and are not just a number. Van Antwerp noted that Jesus’ model of leadership was one that called people by name.

“The R, we recognize them for what they did well, very specifically,” he explained. A leader’s job was to identify things they did well and correct mistakes.

“If you’re doing recognition to correction about five to one, you’re getting it about the right way. The final letter is the A, appreciation. Our soldiers need to know that we appreciate them. I am grateful that they would volunteer to come into this army during a time of war.”

Through great training and AURA acceptance, understanding, recognition, and appreciation we can change volunteers into soldiers.

Prayer:

Strengthen my desire to truly get to know the people in my circle of influence: To accept, understand, recognize, and appreciate them.

“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3)

April 28 REMOTE RUNWAY HOMECOMING AND A NEW YORK REUNION IN TEXAS

While compiling stories for this book, I (Jane Cook) had the opportunity to travel from my home in the Washington D.C. area to Texas for speaking opportunities. Because I was sans family, I was not in my usual mom role on the plane. This freed me to do something I don’t often do: Talk with the stranger sitting next to me.

On my mind was this book. My flight was two-legged, with a stop in Memphis before final wheels down in San Antonio.

Even though the plane was the same, my seats were different for each leg. Both times brought special opportunities. I was able to sit next to someone who had a loved one who had served in Iraq.

On the first jaunt, I sat next to a woman who was returning home to Memphis. As we talked, I learned she was soon expecting an even better homecoming. Her stepson was expected to arrive home from Iraq within the next week or two. She told me how proud she was of him, how much he had grown up through his service in the Marines.

“He was just a kid when he went over there the first time,” she related.

Her stepson was not out of his teens when he went to Iraq as part of the invasion in 2003. She explained he had looked forward to returning in 2007, because he had grown up so much. Now in his early twenties, he wanted to share what he had learned with the guys who were young like he was when he first left.

Then she shared the frustration many military families experience. She and her husband knew he was coming home, but the window of his return was more than two weeks. Their son had contacted them, alerting them he was scheduled to return, but couldn’t tell them when or where. He wasn’t allowed to contact them any more until he was wheels down in the United States. They lived in an uncertain “hurry up and wait” mode.

When our plane landed in Memphis, she called her husband from the runway. He had wonderful news. Their son had just called him. He wasn’t yet in Memphis, but was in Maine.

This woman, who was traveling with a group of her colleagues, started telling them he was on United States