At Forward Operating Base Salerno, weekly briefings of the support battalion are down-to-earth, nuts-and-bolts affairs. Inside air-conditioned metal shipping containers, surrounded by aerial photographs marked “SECRET,” soldiers report on risk assessments, mission accomplishments, and the operational needs of the 500 soldiers here who keep the war machine running.
Capt. Shareen Fischer ”“ clad in tan and green fatigues, hair pulled tight in a no-nonsense bun ”“ clutches her Power Point remote as she admonishes the leaders of the men and women of Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie companies to be prepared.
For Mother’s Day.
The troops, Captain Fischer says, “can start thinking right now what they are going to say either to their mom or to the mother of their children.” Because she will be coming around with her camera to tape the next video she sends back home to families.
Her tone may be mil-speak, but her message is Hallmark. And nobody so much as blinks. The woman, after all, is their chaplain. Her soldiers work out the logistics of supporting small bases scattered across southern Afghanistan, getting fuel, food, and equipment to them ”“ and Chaplain Fischer supports the support troops.
For Fischer this means hours of listening, counseling, and using her camera to bridge lives that are worlds apart ”“ a healing, nurturing presence in the midst of a war in which the casualties can be relationships with partners and families back home.
While her work might seem soft in a world of weapons and tactics, there is hard evidence that it contributes to the overall strength of the military.
Great story.