In Iraq, if I'm there with a military occupational specialty and I don't know the Iraqis, and let's say I work in artillery but I'm pulling military police duty, there's a certain level of confusion about what's going on. Add to that anxiety, because there's such a proliferation of munitions for improvised explosive devices -- there's all of this confusion. The first thing a chaplain would do is try to bring some peace to this moment: "Let's sort this out -- why you are here, who you represent, and what you are about." The people we're finding in Iraq today are well trained, very young, and scared. That's not so different from the people represented [in the cathedral's World War II exhibition.] They are still that way. There's a certain unfairness to that. The sensitive chaplain will stand with the individual and say, if he or she is a Christian, "This moment of ambiguity and anxiety that you have is where Christ stood. You stand there, too. And as long as we are standing and sorting this out together as a brother and sister in the spirit, let's make an assessment of what our country has stood for, what our values have been for. Sometimes we've been wrong; sometimes we've been right. You are going through a lot of anxiety -- depression is probably a better word -- and conscience-stirring about what's happened in the prison in Baghdad: 'What is this about?' 'What are we for?'" This is a time for chaplains to say, "Let's pause and take stock. If this is a democracy and a republic that's stood for value all of these years, it must be transparent and discerning, and you as a member of the armed forces are no less a member of that discernment. You bring to bear morals and good behavior and doing the right thing just like anybody else does." I'm always a little worried about a chaplain who comes in and starts to critique the national character as somebody is starting to duck bullets. On the other hand, our military's never been ranks of automatons. They are called to be reflective, moral people.

It wasn't the capacity for industry or weaponry or armament that won World War II. It was the capacity of that greatest generation to know and be in touch with the values of this country and to stand by them with patience and steadfastness. That's what chaplains try to do.

Chaplains are the pastor to the men and women who serve, but they are also the counselor to the commander. We always encourage chaplains to find other chaplains to pray with and share with. If that's not possible, then find other believers. Episcopal priests are urged to celebrate the Eucharist on a regular basis, because that is how they revivify their priestly vows. Other pastors of other denominations, rabbis, imams, will say the same thing. Even when there are just two or three around, it's important to immerse yourself in a religious, spiritual moment to find those deep roots again. Otherwise, this can be a little like a social service effort: "Are you doing okay? Can I write home?" We do all of those things only as byproducts of the faith we feel. If chaplains start to get too far away from that, they can really get burned out. If you have this kind of intensity, you're going to get burned out anyway.

So many people entered the military, particularly World War II, with a sense of outrage. That was really the motivation. They were outraged, and many people enlisted after Pearl Harbor. But that wasn't the only thing that added to their conviction. They had a sense of, "We'll do this right, and we'll do it well." As time went on, things got difficult. ... Our country became a world citizen through that war. We became a world citizen briefly after 9/11, but then we packed it all up again and got in control of things. Most people in World War II had never left the county of their birth. Their conviction matured into insight.

Fear always seems to be a part of this human dynamic that brings us to the edge of ourselves. Things get really clear real fast when you are afraid. This says something about the fragility of the human condition. The proximate cause of courage is fear. Fear has to be somewhere for it to be overcome and for people to live their lives out nobly. Courage in the World War II generation was not just exhibited by those who were overseas. It was indeed done by people at home doing ingenious things, playing with the fear so that it wouldn't be fearsome -- collecting cans and growing victory gardens.

Faith is really the means by which we understand what God wants of us. We don't move into days of faith unless we've lived into days of consequence in other ways in our lives.