First Assignment: Deployment to Iraq
In September 2007, I reported to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, directly from training at the Army Chaplains School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina …
Chaplain Claypoole (right) and a fellow soldier.
By Church of God Army Chaplain (CPT) Danny Claypoole, 244 Air Defense Artillery, Fort Campbell, KY.
…one year after graduating from the Church of God Theological Seminary and marrying my wife Leah. After all the years of theological training, chaplain candidate training, chaplaincy school and preparation through practical ministerial experience, I reported in to my first assignment. It was with the 2-44th Air Defense Artillery. So there I was … a new Army chaplain, new active duty officer, going into a combat-tested, high-speed, mission-oriented Army unit. It would definitely be a fast-track learning experience.
Although I had great ministry experience and Army chaplaincy training, I had zero experience as an active duty Army chaplain in an operational unit. I quickly learned our unit’s mission, and how to “ruck march”, repel from a tower, run countless miles, and low crawl for extended distances in full “battle rattle”. But that was all in a controlled, training environment. Training zeroed in on deployment to Iraq. There was a definite sense of urgency and intense focus on the mission.
The early morning physical training and daily chaplaincy responsibilities kept my calendar full. I preached at the post Gospel Service, served as on-call duty chaplain, lead spiritual fitness runs, conducted marriage and single-soldier retreats, held prayer breakfasts, led suicide prevention briefings, made death notifications, and in between these activities, held counseling sessions. The pace of deployment preparations accelerated until finally it was time to depart.
Our welcome was 130 degree heat … the landscape looked Martian. The green hills of Kentucky and Tennessee never seemed so distant. Soon the dust and sand became a part of the daily life and I learned to minster to my soldiers, as well as sailors and airmen. I traveled with my Commander and Chaplain Assistant to visit soldiers all over Iraq. We all have laughed together, eaten together, prayed together and cried together. The important thing is that we didn’t do it alone. My soldiers conducted Counter Rocket Artillery operations, intercepting mortars and rockets that were intended to kill. They carry out their warrior tasks and drills by always standing ready to protect others, thus reflecting Jesus’ words in John 15:13 which state, “Greater love has no man than this, to lady down his life for a friend.”
To call this ministry challenging is an understatement to say the least. It is real and relevant, hard and exhausting, but the personal rewards are tremendous. The soldiers’ intense commitment to the mission carries over to my ministry. They have no time to play church. In Iraq, every day is real life. The ministry could not be better.
Finally, I must acknowledge those who have gone before me – giants in the service of our Lord. Family members, seminary professors, pastors and military chaplains have all provided me with a firm foundation of faith, discipline, duty and honor. My wife, Leah, has made me a better husband, father, and chaplain. I love serving these soldiers who serve our nation and make our Army the finest and most resilient fighting force in the world.
Chaplain (CPT) Danny Claypoole is a graduate of Lee University and the Church of God Theological Seminary and has recently been assigned to1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he and his wife, Leah, and son Elihu will make their home.
To learn more about the Church of God Chaplains Commission chaplains programs, visit the Chaplains Commission website at: www.cogchaplains.com.
