Doug Carver remembers the day he held a pair of bloody dog tags in his hand. That same hand recently rested on the Bible his wife Sunny gave him for college graduation as he was sworn in as the 23rd U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains.
Carver was promoted to major general during ceremonies at Fort Myer, Va., July 12. He is the first Southern Baptist to hold the position of chief of chaplains since Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Ivan L. Bennett held the post in 1954.
“The selection of Maj. Gen. Carver to be the chief of chaplains for the U.S. Army is an historic event for Southern Baptists,” said Geoff Hammond, president of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), which endorses Southern Baptist chaplains.
“We are grateful to the Lord that the Army has recognized his outstanding qualities as a leader and the spiritual support that he has provided to our troops and their families,” Hammond said.
Carver said God has called him to serve the needs of soldiers and their families.
“I love our soldiers,” he said. “… We need God’s strength for the days ahead. We must provide support to our soldiers and their families.”
Strengthening soldiers
It is a chaplain’s duty, Carver said, to sustain and strengthen soldiers for another day in the combat zone, pray for them as they are assigned to one more convoy or take one more air mission, and comfort them as they look for hope and courage while facing death.
He recalled the day he watched helplessly as doctors and medics worked frantically to save the life of a soldier. “What can I do? How can I serve this man who is dying?” Carver remembers asking himself.
“Here chaplain,” was all the medic said when he put the dog tags in Carver’s hand.
At that moment, Carver knew what he had to do: He had to help this soldier prepare, perhaps, to face eternity.
“Southern Baptist chaplains have always been the largest religious denomination in the military,” said Keith Travis, director of chaplaincy evangelism at NAMB and a retired Army chaplain. “It is only fitting that God would appoint a Southern Baptist to be the chief of chaplains for the Army.
“During the global war on terrorism when our soldiers are pushed to the limit, they look to the chaplain to provide spiritual care,” Travis continued.
“Our chaplains need a leader like Doug Carver who can provide strong leadership as they fulfill God’s call on their lives.” (BP)
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