Still Serving

My youngest, AJ, soon to be known as Father Aaron, spent a year at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base with his National Guard unit. He was never one to like guns or shooting, but he qualified on the 50 caliber machine gun and that was his "weapon." He spent a good part of the year riding around the island on a hum-vee, providing external security for the prison. AJ lived in a hut with 30 Spanish-speaking soldiers from New Jersey. We heard some very entertaining stories about that year! It was there, I believe, that AJ started thinking about becoming an Army Chaplain and he followed that route. AJ definitely has a spirituality about him that attracted the soldiers. They would talk to him about their personal problems and he enjoyed helping them. AJ completed two years of Army Chaplain training at Fort Jackson and is now a 1st Lieutenant. He's in his third year at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary in Yonkers, NY. Who knows what the Army will do with him this summer after he is ordained. I'm very proud of him.