{"id":1569,"date":"2013-02-25T15:52:07","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T15:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=1569"},"modified":"2017-07-19T16:00:51","modified_gmt":"2017-07-19T16:00:51","slug":"chaplains-unite-present-order-of-chaplain-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2013\/02\/25\/chaplains-unite-present-order-of-chaplain-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaplains unite, present Order of Chaplain Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”1576″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeIn”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500479563967{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]By Sgt. Crystal Hudson, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500480024895{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Chaplains and assistants from the Maryland Army National Guard, Maryland Air National Guard and Maryland Defense Force met for a 3-day conference and annual training at the Weinberg Center on Camp Fretterd Military Reservation, Md., Feb. 25-27.<\/p>\n

The 12th annual meeting brought together the Maryland Military Department\u2019s Chaplain Corps to share ideas, discuss strategies and learn about resources available to service members and their Families. An emphasis was placed on how to best support Soldiers and Airmen during times of transition and change.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we are faced with reduced resources, and we are moving into a period that some of us have never experienced\u2026 that is a garrison force. What that means is a peacetime force,\u201d said Maryland Army National Guard Chaplain (Col.) William S. Lee. \u201cNo matter how the circumstances may change, we are going to need to continue to provide support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee took the role as the leader of the conference and provided the attendees with \u201cthe most effective and useful\u201d resources available to them to best meet the needs of service members.<\/p>\n

Lee stated that this annual meeting is a great opportunity for the chaplains, old and new, to get to know each other, as well as maintain existing relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sustain ourselves together,\u201d said Lee. \u201cWe are in this together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The guest speakers included senior military leaders and civilian subject matter experts that specialized in veterans assistance programs and service member resources. Command Sgt. Maj. Brian S. Sann, Maryland National Guard senior enlisted leader, stressed the importance of chaplains in the military during his remarks at the beginning of the conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing heroic is always part of the Chaplain corps,\u201d said Sann. \u201cYou all do far more than any mission statement. The Chaplain Corps covers down on [almost] every program.\u201d<\/p>\n

The more than 3,000 chaplains currently serving are an invaluable part of the U.S. military said Sann. \u201cAll of us, at some point in time, need someone that we can go to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The looming federal budget cuts were a concern among speakers and guests of the conference like many people in the Department of Defense. Chaplain (Brig. Gen.) Charles R. Bailey, deputy chief of chaplains, said everyone is getting ready to slow down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war, if nothing else, has brought us together as one team,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had to pull together in foreign lands. We are the greatest military force in the world. We have never been better than we are now.\u201d<\/p>\n

With uncertainty comes stress, and Bailey wanted to advise his audience that now is the time for them to remain strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has never been a more-needed time for [chaplains] than right now,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cWe have produced. We have done unbelievable stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailey encouraged his fellow chaplains and assistants to continue to provide excellent support to service members.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have gone wherever [troops] are,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cGreat things are expected now. When you have a reputation of being that good, they are going to ask you to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Maryland National Guard officer was presented with the Order of Chaplain (Capt.) Eugene P. O\u2019Grady Award during a ceremony at the Chaplain Eugene P. O\u2019Grady Chapel at the end of the conference.<\/p>\n

Lt. Col. Weedon Gallagher was selected to be the 2013 recipient of the award due to his dedication to his Soldiers\u2019 spiritual fitness during his time as commander of the 1297th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. The 1297th CSSB was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my Soldiers to do well; I want them focused,\u201d said Gallagher. \u201cWhen we are in the fight, I want them focused on fighting. Resiliency helps me get the most out of them when we are in the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting encouragement in your chest is more important than cleaning weapons or fuel for your trucks,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need to fuel your Soldiers.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chaplains and assistants from the Maryland Army National Guard, Maryland Air National Guard and Maryland Defense Force met for a 3-day conference and annual training at the Weinberg Center on Camp Fretterd Military Reservation, Md., Feb. 25-27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":1576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[90,382,383,101,384,385],"class_list":["post-1569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maryland-line","category-news","tag-camp-fretterd-military-reservation","tag-chaplains","tag-conference","tag-maryland-defense-force","tag-order-of-chaplain-award","tag-the-chaplain-corps"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1569"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1578,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1569\/revisions\/1578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}