Author Archives: frdavid11

One of the things that we take aboard when we resupply at sea is our mail. After our replacement parts, food, and supplies land on deck we begin receiving first the official correspondence, and then the personal mail. You have never seen in your life the amount of Amazon logoed boxes as a deployed shipContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 31 July”

By this time in the deployment we were heading west, towards home, but still had to drive through some of the most dangerous seas on earth around the Arabian Peninsula. Trying to stay focused while both excited to be going home and fearful of what may lie ahead is tough, even for those who haveContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 20 July”

One of the morale events the ship conducted while deployed was a talent show. It was a joy to see young men and women sing, play guitar and piano, dance, and tell stories for the entertainment of their shipmates. It was even more wonderful to see how encouraging of the performers everyone was. Aside fromContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 19 July”

It has been a few weeks since I’ve been able to add some of these prayers, so I will be adding them out of sequence a bit, maybe adding the ones I’ve missed to the end. This one was date specific and reflects the period of our deployment. Several months away from home port, alreadyContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 18 July”

Ray Morgan took ball four and trotted to first. Babe Ruth had thrown the pitch and did not agree at all with home plate umpire Brick Owens’ assessment of its location relative to the strike zone. Ruth lodged his complaint quite vehemently and punctuated his objection by punching Owens in the head. The umpire promptlyContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 23 June”

All members of the Armed Forces are required to maintain standards of physical readiness—including chaplains. Every year we have to weigh in and pass our Body Composition Assessment (BCA) and Physical Readiness Test (PRT). Even when deployed aboard ship commands are expected to conduct these assessments. Even though COVID prevented us from conducting our PRT,Continue reading “Daily Prayer, 22 June”

An unfortunate side effect of our ever-shortening attention spans is that we don’t take an appropriate amount of time to understand something (or someone) before filing it into what we think is the closest appropriate category—or narrative, if you will—so we can then move on to the next thing, which is similarly treated. Thus, theContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 19 June”

On the 17th of June 1775, some 2200 British soldiers under the command of Major General William Howe crossed the Charles River from Boston and landed on the shore of the Charlestown peninsula. The Royal Army had been trapped in Boston, under siege by the Colonial Militia. Recently reinforced by sea, the Redcoats planned toContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 17 June”

Every Officer and Sailor who sets foot on a U.S. Navy warship as part of her crew is required to get qualified. First, to stand watches in support of the ship’s operation, and then additional qualification as a warfare specialist. Surface sailors, Submariners, and Navy Airmen each have their own specialist qualification, and they allContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 16 June”