Invocations

At the Change of Command ceremony, 129th Rescue Wing

Have you ever called upon God to be present?

Over the many years I have served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard, and the Army Guard, deployments, etc. I have done literally dozens, if not hundreds of invocations.

And what is an invocation you may ask?

An invocation is a short prayer invoking, or calling upon God (or a deity, or the spirits) to be present.  It is done for blessings, protection, and other "good things".  And every religion in the world has invocations of one sort or the other.

At just about every military ceremony, a chaplain gives the invocation at the beginning of the ceremony, usually done right after the posting of the "colors" (flags), and the National Anthem.  

Giving an invocation at the 944th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB

Now it might seem strange.  Why do we do such a thing?  These are secular ceremonies.  Why does it include an invocation?

Changes of Command, Retirements, Airman or NCO of the Year, Luncheons, Staff meetings, promotions, awards, Dining In's, and more...all ceremonies & events that nine times out of ten have an invocation.

Well, the military may be "secular", but it has many aspects of religion & spirituality.  Think about it.  If you were taking command of a large unit, and might be called to deploy and go to war, would you not want God's blessing, wisdom and protection?

A few invocations I've done over the years especially stand out in my memory...

One invocation, or prayer that I did was with the air crew of a large refueling aircraft, a KC-10, that was about to go on a mission flying over Afghanistan.  The pilots and crew and I stood in a small circle and prayed.  They were going into the danger zone.   They could be shot down.  (Thankfully, all came back safe and sound.)

Rehearsing a ceremony with General Petraus

Another, I did the invocation for a change of command ceremony at the base in Arabia where I was deployed.  We were in a Muslim country.  Many of the the military air force people of our host nation were present, and very high ranks.  And there I was, up front, a female American chaplain blessing the occasion!

And another, at 1 am, when General Petraeus flew in to promote our newest
captains.  Again, at my deployed location at an airbase in Arabia.

When I was assigned to Luke AFB many years ago, it seems that I was called to be part of many retirement ceremonies.   So many in fact, it really got me thinking.  My "retirement" was still many years off, but I began contemplating,  what will it be like when I leave the military and retire?  How, and in what ways do I want to remember my years of service?  Will I have made a positive impact?  And so on.

Well, I am still serving, 24 years now.  I don't do very many invocations anymore.  Usually I have my chaplain team give them.  But last weekend we had a change of command of the Wing Commander, which calls for the Wing Chaplain to do the invocation.  And so I did, (see photo above, in blue uniform).

[By the way, for you non military types, a "wing" in the Air Force is an echelon of command, about 1400 people or so.  A wing can be as large as 5000 people, depending on the mission of the wing.  The Wing Chaplain, is the chaplain in charge, like a Rector or Senior Minister, and is usually the rank of Lt Col.]

One last story, this one I will never forget. It's quite humorous.  This was way back when I was in the Arizona Army Guard, and a brand new chaplain.  One of the first sergeants asked me to do an invocation at his NCO meeting, it was his first meeting as the First Sergeant.   Of course I was happy to do so.  Afterward, he asked me to pray for him, and asked for my business card.  I was so new, I did not have cards printed as yet.  So I wrote my name and number down on a piece of paper.  He put it in his wallet.

Chaplains and first sergeants work closely on many issues.   Usually it is the First Sergeant that calls the chaplain when there is an emergency with one of their people. So it is important that they have each other's numbers.

A couple of weeks  later, I was home.  The phone rang.  I answered the phone, and a female voice asked me, "Are you Laura Adelia?"  I said yes and asked who this was.  She responded with another question,  "Are you really a chaplain?"  I

As an Army Chaplain (the early years)!

said yes, and again asked who I was speaking with.

She told me she had found my name and number on a piece of paper in her husband's wallet, and was checking up on him! 

Wow, I thought, I bet no male chaplain has ever dealt with that one!

A few months later, at the unit's Christmas party, in walks the First Sergeant with his wife.  I said hello, and she was so embarrassed she would not look at me!


Let us pray...