For Soldiers in combat zones it can be difficult dealing with the loss of a teammate, but one chaplain here at Victory Base in Baghdad is helping his troops through a ministry of presence.

A Catholic Mass was celebrated in the Chaldean Rite by the acting bishop of Basra Aug. 8 in honor of the Soldiers serving here.

Recently President Obama hosted a gathering of homosexual leaders in the East Room where previous presidents celebrated the National Day of Prayer. "Welcome to our White House," was his greeting to enthusiastic applause.

The rattle of small arms fire from a nearby range didn't detract from the parishioner's joy in singing hymns. That the congregation was comprised of only four Soldiers didn't diminish the value of the chaplain's weekly message at the small fire base on the outskirts of the post.

Pastors and priests in uniform, National Guard chaplains are the ones helping Soldiers and Airmen maintain their spiritual health, whether it’s during State Active Duty for flooding, on drill weekends or when deployed overseas.

A divine appointment in an airport gave Bobby Welch an opportunity to encourage 400 members of an elite U.S. Army unit and personally share the Gospel with soldiers who fight in some of the harshest conditions imaginable.

Single Soldiers face many issues in today’s military that are often overlooked, such as dating, single parenting and recovering from pain associated with past relationships.

Members of Mount Airy Baptist Church, Easley, S.C., visited Guantanamo Bay as part of a mission to reach out to military members and civilians in an effort to help strengthen personal relationships, whether with a spouse, significant other or family member.

Soldiers carry an abundance of Army-issued gear. Master Sgt. Richard A. Koch, however, carries something even greater – a legacy of selfless service that dates back three generations.

Soldiers on Forward Operating Base Kalsu joined together Jan. 16 to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In almost 10 years of service as a military member, Capt. William Spencer, chaplain, had the good fortune of spending every holiday season carving turkeys on Thanksgiving and opening gifts with his wife and children on Christmas Day. Every season, that is, except this one.

Capt. Robert Crandall is more than a night-shift physician assistant for Company C, 204th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

The second Sunday of Advent, will be remembered by the 8th Military Police Brigade as the day when an all-purpose room became the “Watchdog” Chapel, site for the brigade’s non-denominational worship service.

A commander’s job may be to guide their Soldiers into battle, but Chaplain (Capt.) Lisa Northway sees her job as providing the spiritual guideposts for Soldiers to follow home.

The Air Force Theater Hospital looks and sounds like any other hospital in a major U.S. city. Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel move along beds treating various patients, while an overhead announcement calls for a doctor. Wounds start to mend. Some are easy to see while others hide below the surface, and a unique team that specializes in healing the wounds so deep they can damage their very spirit.

Sounds of music and merriment could be heard by the Soldiers stationed, as they stepped into Memorial Hall for the 2008 Gospel Explosion Oct. 31, 2008.

Their lives center on missions, operations and training; strict time schedules; days and, often, months spent away from family; and a pressure to perform that can mean life or death. They live in a world that can be cold, devoid of light and empty of love -- figuratively and sometimes literally.

Few people understand the hardships that U.S. Soldiers endure in a combat zone, away from everything familiar in a foreign land, far away from the support systems of family, home and friends.

When Staff Sgt. Lani Yearicks was little, she learned how to crochet. Four years ago, after neglecting her skills for years, her brother invited her to take part in the prayer shawl ministry at their church.

A female Soldier with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, hosted a lock-in for 20 women in the forwarding operating base chapel, Sept. 20, 2008.

Though he’s never regretted joining the Army, a soldier here said, his decision never felt more right than when he faced the greatest challenge of his life: battling cancer.

Sgt. Amelia Bradley remembers. She remembers being a 20-year-old supply specialist working in a warehouse at Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah, Ga. She remembers hearing the news crackling over a small radio about planes hitting buildings, towers falling and people dying. And she remembers gathering in her platoon sergeant’s office to pray.

Many Soldiers join the United States Army as a way of saying thanks, while others feel it is their patriotic duty to serve the country that has offered them a life full of endless opportunities. Regardless of the reason, thousands of Soldiers are taking or re-taking the oath to defend and protect the United States of America during this time of war.

As night falls on Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah, silence and darkness covers the FOB. This assists the FOB to remain tactically quiet and unseen throughout the night.

Every Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m., without fail, you can hear a gospel song emanating down the hall of the 1st Sustainment Brigade headquarters building.  For those faithful Sunday school members making their way down the hall into the conference room, it's not the music that draws them, but the spiritual lesson they are about to receive.

To commemorate over two centuries of service to the Army family, chaplains, chaplain assistants, and their families from numerous units from around Fort Hood gathered for a day of fellowship and reflection.

Chapel attendance by members of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, has steadily increased since April. Members of the congregation attribute the increase to the efforts of a loving and dedicated staff of chaplains and assistants.

Looking through a rifle sight into the eyes of an enemy -- no matter how evil that enemy is or how many innocent people he has killed -- and then pulling the trigger to end that enemy’s existence affects a soldier.

Photo by Kathleen Murray

While soldiers, sailors and airmen are lauded each July 4 for defending freedom on a daily basis, military chaplains fulfill the high duty of offering spiritual freedom to those who serve in the armed forces domestically and abroad.

\The thought of her son's Bible fluttering in the wind beside his still body in Iraq brought a certain comfort to Marcus Mathes' mother after he was killed in a mortar attack April 28.

"It was just comfort because I knew he was on a mission and the Word was there at his fingertips," Sue Sawyer told the Florida Baptist Witness.

FORT HOOD, Texas – At a range, the Soldier began his day by running and firing at targets, carrying heavy loads and evaluating mock casualties.

After completing a test that visually showed his physical and mental capabilities on the battlefield, he would visually show his faith.

Home churches send care packages to soldiers.