Specialist David Shaffer, 101st Sustainment Brigade, joined the Army Reserves in Kansas City, Mo., in 2006. Originally he wanted to become a medic, but the closest unit was about 300 miles away. Of the options he was given, chaplain assistant seemed ...
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Specialist David Shaffer is on his first deployment since becoming active duty in 2011. He transferred to 101st Sustainment Brigade just so he would have the opportunity to go to Africa in support of Operation United Assistance.
"It's a good mission … especially as a chaplain assistant," he said. "As a Soldier I'm expected to put rounds downrange if I need to, but I don't expect to … I'm really excited this is a mission where I won't have to hurt anybody. I'll be there just to serve the people of West Africa and my Soldiers especially."
He said his main objective while in West Africa is to set up a "50-yard line."
"In 'Band of Brothers,' they'd pull Soldiers 50 yards back from the lines to kind of relax and breath before they sent them back out," he explained. "That's kind of what I want to build, something similar to that."
He said his chaplain at Joint Readiness Training Center had one and it meant a lot to the Soldiers, so he hopes to reproduce it for his Soldiers.
"We all need a breather sometimes," he said. "Especially on deployments -- or even at JRTC -- you're going 24/7. There is no 'it's my day off.' Every day is work, work, work, work."
He hopes by offering a space to simply relax, he can help keep the Soldiers he serves from getting too on edge during the deployment. He also wanted to set up a work out area, but he still wasn't sure what he'd have to work with.
"I'm looking forward to getting to think outside the box, which is what chaplain assistants do," he said. "We think outside the box all the time. We have to."
Shaffer joined the Army Reserves in Kansas City, Mo., in 2006.
"I knew if I didn't join the Army, I wouldn't really go anywhere in life," he said. "It was kind of a small town, there weren't many ways to get out of there and I knew I wanted to see the world. I figured the Army was the best way to do that."
Originally he wanted to become a medic, but the closes unit was about 300 miles away. Of the options he was given, chaplain assistant seemed like it would be the next best thing.
"I wanted to help people, make a difference in someone else's life," Shaffer said. "I saw chaplain assistant and I was like 'I feel like I can make a difference in that job,' so that's what I picked."
He said he didn't really know what to expect from the position when he signed up, just that it seemed like a good thing.
"Something told me -- call it a voice from above -- told me it was a good choice," he said.
Although he's not particularly religious, Shaffer says he's spiritual and monotheistic.
"When I'm looking for some spiritual guidance, I don't care what religion they are and it's easier if they don't care what religion I am, 'cause then we can have a frank discussion about spirituality," he said. "I live in constant contact with a God of my understanding. I don't have any 'rules.'"
He also likes to keep in contact with the "low-density" religions in the units he oversees.
"I pull our religious queue and it shows me who has what religion, then I look at that list and I find, like, a Muslim Soldier. I'll find that Soldier and I'll be like 'Hey, are you getting your time to pray? Are you getting your halal halal meals? Are you being treated fairly?'"
If the Soldier answers "no" to any of Shaffer's questions, he does whatever he can to rectify the situation. He said he sees it as his job to uphold freedom of religion within mission-essential parameters.
"I had one section NCOIC -- he worked in a different section, wasn't even in my chain of command -- I found out he was Muslim and I went and spoke to him, we had a good conversation," he said.
Shaffer found out that his favorite MRE within his dietary restrictions was also one of the most popular, so whenever they were in the field together, Shaffer made an effort to pull him one before they ran out.
"He was a real busy guy, so I'd always make sure to snag him one," he said. "I'd dig for it if I had to this is a Sergeant First Class, and I'm a specialist. For me, doing my job, rank doesn't really matter -- unless I'm addressing someone else."
So far, he said the best thing he's done since he received his training was talking a friend from AIT out of hurting himself.
"He wasn't even in my AIT class, he was in a different MOS altogether, we had met in reception … I ran into him at the shoppette one day out of the blue and he was talking to me about wanting to hurt himself," Shaffer said. "I talked him out of it and we went our separate ways."
He didn't hear about his friend for months, and continued to worry about him until three months later when he got a phone call at midnight. It was his friend calling to thank him and telling him he had his life back in order.
"That's happened a few times -- not the exact circumstances, but months later someone will thank me for being there and normally I just listen," he said.
Recently though, he experienced the opposite outcome when a Soldier he was helping decided to end his own life.
"He never talked about hurting himself. He was going through some issues, we were helping him work through it," Shaffer said. "I basically planned his memorial for his Family and Soldier friends. ... It was very difficult, but my job was to serve. I'm here to serve."
Shaffer said if he isn't able to help someone, he always makes sure he knows who to send them to that can help them.
"I have complete confidentiality," he said. "Anything that's said to me when the door's closed stays with me."
He said people tell him their deepest darkest secrets and then they feel better.
"I have to always be there for Soldiers and needs come all the time," Shaffer said. "My goal as the chaplain assistant wherever I'm at is to serve Soldiers, to make their lives happy, in whatever way I can."
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