Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola

Not much time right now; it's very, very early, and I've already been up for almost two hours.

Suffice it to say that there's some serendipity to the fact that today is the Feast of the Founder of the Society of Jesus, and I'm on my way.

Please keep the prayer support coming, as I'm really needing it now more than ever. I'll post again when I next get the chance. In the meantime, I'll be praying for y'all (as they say here at Summer Camp - South).


Blessings to one and all!


Fr. Tim, SJ

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Wow! Celery!!

Here's an indication of what's been going on regarding food here at Summer Camp - South for almost the last month: three nights ago, as I was passing the "salad bar" [note the quotation marks], I exclaimed aloud, "Wow! Celery!" That was, of course, because that was the first time since I'd arrived at Summer Camp - South that they'd had celery (somewhat wilted, with browned ends, but celery to be sure) at the "salad bar."

The wider context needs to be noted: Since arriving at Summer Camp - South, the only cooked vegetables have been canned peas, canned beans, or several variations of canned corn (with one offering of a frozen -- read: rubbery -- vegetable medley, and two offerings of previously frozen -- read: baby-food-mushy -- corn on the cob. Sigh.

Suffice it to say that there's an odd symmetry between the quality of the vegetables at supper time and the quality of the training I've had to endure (with three notable exceptions: land navigation, HEAT (up-armored Humvee rollover training), and the theatre-specific Rules of Engagement briefing).

I'm hoping that my change in situation soon will mean an increased ability to connect to the internet, but there's no guarantee. So, again, my apologies for the spotty postings to this blog! I'm hoping to become a much better correspondent in the near future. Time will tell.

In the meantime, thanks for your prayerful support! I'll try to write again very soon.

Blessings and peace to one and all,


Fr. Tim, SJ

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Blog Blocking By Big Brother....

I've got just a moment, and don't have the ability at the moment to post what's written elsewhere. Someday I'll be able to do it!

First off, thanks for your continuing prayers. They're helping!

It turns out that the those who run this "summer camp" block access to blogs, so I'm not able to read my own blog, or the comments that folks are leaving. Who knew?

A sober friend Steve C (whom I've known since he was 10 years old -- probably the only time since we've known each other when he was smaller than me) has told me he knows someone at work who might be able to help me get set up with my own domain name as a solution to this problem. I'll let you know!

In the meantime, suffice it to say that it's hot and sticky -- constantly -- and the new flame-resistant ACUs (camouflage uniform) they've issued are even less breathable than the ones I brought with me. How do you spell 'sauna time'?

In the "department of efficiency department" (or is that the department of redundancy department?) get a load of this: The day before I arrived at Summer Camp - South a huge sheaf of documents detailing my participation in training conducted back home under the watchful eye of Big Brother was hand-carried and personally delivered to the people here at Summer Camp - South whose job is to make sure everyone has been trained.

I discovered this past Wednesday (Wednesday being the 14th day I'd been here) that those who took receipt of those documents on 02JUL08 managed to lose track of them almost immediately -- before they'd been processed. So in addition to my not having received any training at all in specifically Chaplain-related tasks up to this point, I've had to repeat (breathtakingly stultifying) training that I'd already been certified as having completed.

I found those documents myself and hand-carried them back to the folks who lost them in the first place. A real confidence-builder, eh??

This past Monday was the first day I was shown an actual *printed* schedule of training, and that was just for the upcoming week. The first time I saw a "horseblanket" (Army-speak for a spreadsheet listing all the training needed, and when it's to be (or has been) done) was Wednesday -- and it didn't show me as having completed ANY prior training at all. Efficiency and competence! Hooray!!!

On an entirely different note: The good people in the Heller lab at Stanford developed an amazing technology for rapidly removing heat from the core of the human body -- completely non-invasively -- and I brought one of those devices along with me. I've used it a number of times out at various ranges, or back in our room, and all but one person have reported remarkable improvements in how they felt as a result of using the CoreControl device.

Now, if I can just convince Dr. Heller and his crew to use *me* as one of their test subjects for their newest iteration of the device, which is worn as a CamelBak and utilizes a much more glove-like heat exchanger.... C'mon guys! (I usually wind up not using the CoreControl myself, because so many others want to try it, and back at the room I let SFC M use it instead -- he really loves it!)

SFC McG and I were told this week that we should be through with training by 01AUG08, but I'll believe it when I see it. So much here at summer camp seems to be "make-it-up-as-we-go-along" -- which was at first surprising, given how many Soldiers they've processed through here.

In any event, 01AUG08 feels as though it's a runaway train careening towards us in the middle of a long tunnel from which there is no escape.... I'll keep you posted.

Blessings and peace to one and all,


Fr. Tim, SJ

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Very little internet access!

I apologize for not having posted in such a long time. I've written posts, but I've not been able to upload them. For reasons beyond my powers of comprehension, Summer Camp - South won't let us have access to the internet. Sigh.

It's very humid here (thunderstorms almost every day, with driving rain). My Chaplain asssistant, SFC McG, and I finally have been issued gear, so we'll actually start training tomorrow, it seems. We'll be away from communications for the following five days, most likely. Hard to believe I've been here a week now, and still have not started real training. Go figure.

My time on this connection is drawing to a close, so I've got to go. Please be patient! As soon as I can figure out a way to get connected, I'll be able to catch you up on all the wonders of Summer Camp - South here in the wilds of southern Mississippi.

Many thanks for your prayers. Let's all pray for peace.

Blessings!


Fr. Tim, SJ

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On my way....

What a week it's been! I apologize for not having posted before now. So much has gone on....

Right now I'm at the San Jose Airport, awaiting my flight to Atlanta and then to the mobilization station. My good friends from Santa Clara University ROTC showed up en masse to bid me adieu here at the airport -- at the buttcrack of dawn! What a delight!!

I was especially pleased to see so many of the newly-commissioned Second Lieutenants who showed up. Many thanks to CPT M for picking me up and schlepping my gear from my house to the airport. MAJ R was readying the Cadre and now-former Cadets for the arrival of LTC C when I got there.

I feel a great debt of gratitude to the Cadre, Staff, and Cadets of the Bronco Battalion who have taught me much about Soldiering, and about being an Officer. It was especially great to see Linda and Romeo here at the airport this morning.

The last couple of days have been filled with too much to do, and not enough time in which to get it done. Friends of mine who go to AA and/or Al-Anon keep suggesting that I say their Serenity Prayer.

When all else fails, follow directions, right? The Serenity Prayer really did help, a lot! Go figure. God, grant us serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.

At 0130 when I finally lay down for a 90-minute nap, I'm not sure I made it all the way through that prayer before I fell asleep. 0300 came much too early! Time for that prayer again, I guess!

I just caught myself dozing with my finger on the "z" key, so I guess I'm pretty tired! I wasn't too tired to notice that Tom, the superior of my Jesuit community, was downstairs in the dark waiting for me to show up at 0400. Thanks, Tom!

I keep dozing off, so I'd better bring this to a close for now, and hope I'll be able to write something more later. I was so tired when I arrived at the airport, I'd forgotten where I'd put my camera (it was in plain sight in my shoulder bag!) Oh well. Linda took a bunch of photos, so I'll hope to post them as I get them.

They're about to board my plane, so please pray with me for knowledge of God's will and the power to carry that out. I have no idea what awaits me (which might be a blessing in disguise).

I have a reasonable belief it's going to be very, very difficult.

I'm relying on your support!

Blessings and peace to one and all,


Fr. Tim, SJ

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