FORT BUCHANAN, Puerto Rico - On April 2, a military joint operation was successfully performed at Fort Buchanan. With contributions from the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, Operation Chapel Pews was a huge success.
The chapel pews at the Fort Buchanan chapel were in need of upgrading. They were donated from an Army chapel in Panama many years ago. At the same time, church pews became available at no cost from a chapel at Fort Hood, Texas.
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Ken Lawson, the Fort Buchanan installation chaplain, and Chaplain (Col.) Chet Egert, Fort Hood garrison chaplain, agreed that the pews from Fort Hood could be donated to Buchanan. Allowing the logistics people from both forts to do the detailed coordination, the pews arrived in Puerto Rico in a timely manner.
But what to do with the old Fort Buchanan chapel pews'
The Army and Coast Guard chaplains on Puerto Rico work together in many ways. The Coast Guard chapel near Aguadilla was in need of chapel seating, as their current arrangement needed improvement. Coordination between Chaplain Lawson and Coast Guard Chaplain (Lt.) Alan Cameron meant that the old Buchanan pews would be beneficial to the Coast Chapel near Aguadilla.
On April 2, the joint operation began at the Fort Buchanan Chapel. Coast Guardsmen worked side by side with Army and Navy volunteers to remove the old pews from the Buchanan chapel and load them on a truck to head west towards Aguadilla. Then the Marines, Army and Navy unloaded the donated pews from Fort Hood and installed them in the Fort Buchanan chapel.
Within a few hours the heavy lifting and unpacking was complete and the new pews were in place in the Fort Buchanan chapel. A few days later Fort Buchanan Commanding Officer Col. Edwin C. Domingo, Fort Buchanan Command Sgt. Maj. David Davis and others from the Fort Buchanan command group made the final adjustments on the pews. The Religious Support Office at Buchanan then had the pews professionally cleaned. Operation Chapel Pews was a complete success.
The Fort Buchanan chapel is a joint ministry that supports servicemen and women and their families from all branches of the military as well as other government agencies on Puerto Rico.
Chaplain Lawson stated, "In our chapel congregations we have Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guard men and women. We also have many who are employed by other government agencies. When we needed their help for this large project their support was overwhelming."
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