Individualism run amok...



An Army chaplain recruiter (he was both a chaplain and a recruiter) was on campus last week. I have considered going into military chaplaincy for a while, probably more in a Reserve/part time status than active, full time military chaplaincy. So, I talked to the guy over lunch. He was about the most introverted recruiter I've ever seen, but I guess a lot of clergy are like.

He gave me the usual recruitment trinkets: pens, whatnot. He also handed me one of those cloth, keychain things you put around your neck. I am not sure if they have a proper title other than "keychain neck things." It was in a package all neatly rolled up, so I stuck it in my pocket and forgot about it. I pulled it out before I went for my mile run, and it dawned on me what it said as I was running. I had just assumed it was the usual Army slogan of "Army of One."

I've personally always thought the Army of One slogan was just bizarre in that it tries to recruit individuals. I find that antithetical to miltary life, where you don't even go to latrine by yourself. I guess all things considered, it was better than the recruitment slogan that preceded it, "We do more before 9AM than most people do all day." (That just didn't fly well with the sluggard teenage/college crowd for some reason...)

Anyway, as I was running, I realized that the "keychain neck thing" was a chaplain's play on the "Army of One" slogan. Look closely and see what it says:

Yes, that's right. It says, "Spiritually leading...an Army of One."

There's a sermon in that, my friends. The mind boggles at what that could possibly mean. Every soldier has their own personal chaplain? The army only has one person?

I just find that mental image of spiritually leading an army of one quite amusing.

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