A Bridge in Babylon: Stories of a Military Chaplain in Iraq

by Owen R. Chandler

Overview

Army chaplain Owen Chandler takes us to the battlefields of Iraq in this gripping spiritual memoir of war, love, family, church and God. As an Arizona Army National Reservist, Rev. Chandler was deployed to Iraq as chaplain of the 336th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, leaving behind his wife, three young children, and a congregation for more than a year. In this honest and eloquent memoir, Chandler shares his story of serving as an “embedded presence of hope” in Iraq through personal letters, journal entries, scriptures and photos exchanged with family back home. Expanding far beyond the military chaplain caricature of M*A*S*H’s Father Francis Mulcahy, Chandler reflects on the brutal realities of war, his fellow soldiers, and the families waiting for them all to come home. He shares the struggle to hold onto faith and hope in the midst of battlefields, opening readers’ hearts to the challenges of military chaplaincy and the plight of veterans shattered by their experiences. A Bridge to Babylon inspires readers and provide tools to create bridges to our veterans, especially Reserve soldiers with shockingly high rates of suicide and substance abuse.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780827203181
Publisher:	Chalice Press
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Owen R. Chandler is an active duty army chaplain. Previously, he served as a congregational minister for fourteen years within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination. He pastored his beloved Saguaro Christian Church, an open & affirming faith community in Tucson, Arizona, for eight years. Concurrently, he served as an army reserve chaplain for nine years, deploying to Iraq in 2016.While in Tucson, Owen also founded the nonprofit, Sol Food Initiatives, a community kitchen that alleviates hunger, fosters nonprofit collaborations, and cultivates community. He earned an Army Bronze Star (2016) and 40 Under 40 from Arizona Daily Star (2019). Whether in the pulpit or in his duty uniform, Owen’s ministerial emphasis centers on discovering the healing, transformative power of the intersections between our story and God’s love. Most important to Owen’s story, he is a husband and father of three. When there is free time, he plays ukulele, obsesses over the NBA, and enjoys the outdoors with lots and lots of sunscreen.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Preparatory Message to the Reader 13

Author's Note: Please Read This 23

Executive Summary 25

Chapter 1 The Phone Call: Here We Go! 27

Chapter 2 The Battle Cry: Victory or Valhalla 36

Chapter 3 The Chaplain's Day: Twenty-Four Seven 48

Chapter 4 The Encounter with Fear: A Moment in Porta-Potty 56

Chapter 5 The Coalition Forces: A Funny Story 65

Chapter 6 The Witness of War: I Saw Satan Fall like Lightning 74

Chapter 7 The Friendships We Forge: Our Band of Brothers 84

Chapter 8 The Stigma of the Army Reserve: You Are Just a Reservist 93

Chapter 9 The Struggle with Relationships: The Fight with Loneliness 105

Chapter 10 The Mistakes Made : Two Failures 116

Chapter 11 The End Is Near: RIP/TOA 128

Chapter 12 The Holidays at War: Merry Christmas, Maybe 137

Chapter 13 The Love of Saguaro Christian Church: My Beloved Saguaro 150

Chapter 14 The Last Days: I'm Coming Home 160

Chapter 15 The Family Interview: The Ones You Leave Behind 168

Chapter 16 The Historical Disappointment: A Quick Commentary 183

Chapter 17 The Aftereffects Part 1 185

Chapter 18 The Aftereffects Part 2 190

Chapter 19 The Healing 192

Epilogue: The New Road 193

Acknowledgments 197

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/10/2021

Military chaplain Chandler debuts with a frank, faith-filled account of military life during his 2016 deployment in Iraq. Chandler was pastor of a Disciples of Christ church in Tucson when his Army Reserve unit was mobilized; Chandler was tasked with providing counseling and religious support to troops and overseeing the development of a resiliency center, which provides soldiers a space to rest and recuperate. He never saw combat, but was acutely aware of its effects on his comrades as he counseled them wherever he met them, even in a latrine at 2 a.m. Chandler is candid about the loneliness of enforced celibacy, and eloquent about his initial fear of harm: “My mind tormented me with mini-movies playing scenes of all the ways in which I was going to be brutally killed.” He describes the “deceptively safe” Camp Taji and daily moments of moral questioning, particularly about the Iraqi soldiers and contractors killed by suicide bombers while securing the base. A particularly affecting chapter shares how counseling appointments quadrupled during December as soldiers connected with family and considered their lives post-deployment. Chandler’s affecting memoir testifies to the traumatic cost of perpetual war. (June)

Publishers Weekly