Last week, I marveled at the tenderness expressed by a battalion command sergeant major as he memorialized a young fallen solder from his unit.

This week, an aviation company first sergeant who identifies himself on Facebook as a “barrel-chested, steely eyed freedom fighter” showed another streak of tenderness.

1SGT James Halchishick posted a note on Facebook saying, “I struggle with duality. My hands have been trained to crush the life out of evil men.  These same hands, wet with the drops of tears, now tremble as they embrace my children.”

I know both of these men, CSM Tim Johnson and 1SG James Halchishick.  I know them as gentle, tender, soft-spoken men.  But, I also know they are trained for destruction and to lead men to do the same.

The character of our nation rests on the fact that those we train to fight are not fighters by nature.  They are tender, compassionate men.  And, those I know, such as Tim and Jamie, are men of God and warriors of the cross.  I know they go with these verses tucked away somewhere:

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

Psalm 91:9-13, The Soldier’s Prayer

Tim, Jeff, and Jamie who are now down range, Elijah, Brady, Pat and hundreds of others who soon will be headed down range, may God bless you and keep you.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 5:40 am and is filed under Christianity, Church, Family, Friendship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.