Sunday, Soldiers, and Prayer

A few LDS soldiers in Kirkuk

Wherever I go it seems, the Lord sends some of the religious “home team” to be with me. That is, most bases have about 6 LDS soldiers at their meetings on Sunday. The interrogation unit here in Stryker is furbished by soldiers from Utah, so my church group is about 30 strong instead.

Today the soldiers testified of their faith. I get to hear them say they know God lives, that there is a purpose for everything, and hear them declare compassion for “the enemy.” I literally thank God for such men and women.

One soldier told us that “We all know that God is protecting us.” He says every time they go out the gate his group has a prayer. “It probably isn’t legal,” he says, "but we do it anyway." I know many of YOU are praying for both the soldiers and the people of Iraq as well.

And I think it works. Prayer, that is! Take these interesting statistics from an article in the New York Sun by Alicia Colon. According to a Department of Defense report, the number of military deaths of 4 consecutive years during the Clinton administration:
1,245 in 1993;
1,109 in 1994;
1,055 in 1995;
1,008 in 1996.
That's 4,417 "peacetime" deaths in 4 years.
4 years in Iraq? 3,260 since March 2003 (AP figure)

SINCE WHEN IS WAR SAFER FOR OUR SOLDIERS THAN PEACETIME?

I’d say some prayers were being heard.

I have pondered the miracles of lives saved. Working in armor, I have heard the stories often. I have heard them again: If you can accept the R-rated environment, you can hear one such story at this site:
Young Americans Documentary
in a clip called “Everybody Gets Blown Up.”

You may find the other video snippets similarly coarse but look past that to hear thoughts of American soldiers revealed, as well as the environment and purpose of their work here. If you are like me, you will be very proud of who we are and who we send to face the terrors of war, and how they handle it. Enjoy.