The End of an Era

On Friday morning, I sent a text message to my dad that said, "I just got promoted to civilian."  My Army career is officially over.  No Reserves.  No National Guard.  Just me, Pastor Civilian, with my records, memories, and scars.  

There's a small part of me that would have liked to do a full twenty years, make rank, and retire with a decent pension.  If I were more of a long-term thinker, that would be the smart play.  The only hitch in the giddy-up is that I don't want to leave my wife for longer than a week ever. EVER.  As I look at things, it seems that the mobilizations are here to stay and I don't want to leave my wife again.

However, truth be told, I suck as an Army officer.  Believe it or not, my moral standards are too high for me to function well in that environment; I'm not an "ends justifies the means" kind of guy.  The means are just as important as the ends.  Likewise, I'm far too independent and don't take orders well.  This probably comes from a bit of arrogance or hubris, thinking that I know best.  I like to think of this as confidence...when it's held in proper perspective.

I could go on and write a ton about how the Army changed during my brief nine-year career or how senior leaders are going to break the Army or how the chaplaincy is setting itself up for failure but I won't.  The simple truth of the matter is that I'm still a bit too bitter to be even remotely objective.  Therefore, I'll reserve judgement on that until later.

As I see it, the bottom line is this:  My country needed me.  I stepped up, served with honor, and now, like the "Greatest Generation" I'd like to go back to my regular life and do what I was called to do.  I'll take my experiences, memories, and scars and use them to love the people of Ascension Lutheran Church in Madison, Tennessee and be the best pastor I can be for them.

God help me in this endeavor.