Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer
This is one of several articles written by journalist Christopher Torchia whom CPT Michael Kovalsky and I became good friends with while in Helmand. Chris and Paolo stayed with us, patrolled with us and ate with us for the 38 days we were fighting along side the Marines. I have several other stories written by him that I will include in later posts.
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| Me, Christopher Torchia and CPT Michael Kovalsky Helmand, Afghanistan |
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| CPT Kovalsky and the Soldiers of A Company 1-17th. |
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At the bottom right of the picture you can see 3 boxes that was dinner. Even while you give thanks you still need security.
|
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| CPT Michael Kovalsky |
The U.S. Army brigade's Catholic priest spits, smokes,
cracks jokes and has come under fire like so many other American soldiers. He
keeps altar bread in an empty grenade canister. On Sunday, he donned purple and
white vestments over his uniform and celebrated Mass on a makeshift altar of
four stacked boxes of MREs.
Capt. Carl Subler stood in the dust at an earthen-walled
compound and prayed for the safety of those assembled, half a dozen soldiers
who are fighting the Taliban near the contested town of Marjah in southern
Afghanistan. He also prayed for peace in a country that has known war for
decades. The men kneeled in their faded uniforms and some took communion, a
reflective moment in a time of war.
"I find that my prayer life kind of suffers when I'm back
home. I can pop a top on a cold one and watch TV," said Subler of
Versailles, Ohio. "I find the more creature comforts are taken away from
us, in many ways, we look to God with even more hope."
A busy Subler gave Mass on Sunday in three patrol bases —
"Keep it rolling, baby," he said —in the Badula Qulp region of
Helmand province, where the Army is supporting a Marine offensive against an
insurgent stronghold. He is the only Catholic chaplain in the 5th Stryker
Brigade, which has lent 400 soldiers to a mission that has waged daily
firefights as forces push the Taliban out of villages.
"When you're separate from your families, sometimes you
feel powerless to do anything when they're in trouble," Subler said during
the service. "When you're over here, you kind of feel helpless."
On the roof above, a soldier in helmet and flak vest scanned
surrounding fields for any threats. A man moving in a treeline, or a distant
motorcycle rumbling down a track, or a tractor rolling too close to the base
could all mean trouble.
Explosions and gunfire are routine in the area, though just
one loud boom was heard during the Mass.
Subler noted that the passing of Ash Wednesday last week and
the beginning of Lent, and he drew a parallel between the suffering of Jesus
Christ and the emotional and physical pain of soldiers who miss home, fight and
witness the death and wounding of comrades.
"You are in good company when you suffer," the
priest said. The men recited the Lord's Prayer, voices murmuring in unison.
Subler, who carries a small chalice and a little bottle of
wine in his assault pack, said he visits units by hopping rides on military
helicopters or on Stryker infantry vehicles, a frequent target of insurgents
who plant roadside bombs.
Sometimes, war intrudes.
"There's been sporadic shooting while I was celebrating
Mass," said Subler, 34, who started his military career as a radar
operator in the Navy. There was a time, he said, when the Taliban hit a unit he
was traveling with, firing machine guns and grenades.
"We ran like hell," Subler said. "I never did
well in track in high school but I wish there had been someone out there with a
stop watch."
Subler has spent time with soldiers who were gravely injured
by explosives, an unnerving experience because he would then go back out on the
Strykers with troops in the field. After a while, he said, he accepted the
constant danger:
"You know, 'Lord, I'm in your hands.' Whatever happens,
happens."
Subler went to seminary in Columbus, Ohio, later went to
parachute school and was based at Fort Lewis, Washington. He worked as an army
chaplain in Iraq for four months and celebrated Mass at St. Peter's in Rome
last month. The hushed atmosphere there contrasted with the noise surrounding
many of his services in Afghanistan: men shouting, vehicle engines grinding.
The chaplain talks privately to troops about marriage and
other problems that are sometimes exacerbated by instant computer messaging and
other communication they enjoy on bases. Often, a soldier will argue with a
loved one back home, then take his dark mood out on a mission.
As a chaplain, Subler does not carry a weapon, even though
soldiers have offered him pistols when he is on the road with them.
"If it gets to the point where the chaplain has to
start shooting, then...," Subler said.
There followed an expletive.
© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
