Local chaplain tells of his tour in Iraq

By LINDA M. LINONIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- As brigade chaplain to the 2/28 Brigade Combat Team in Iraq, the Rev. Peter Lawson's assignment is twofold: to advise the commander about Islam and minister to the spiritual needs of soldiers.
At home, the Boardman man is pastor of Brownlee Woods Presbyterian Church, 1970 Everett Ave. A recent two-week leave allowed him to reunite with his family and visit his congregation, which sends him "care packages."
The 45-year-old National Guard major left Jan. 25 to return to Iraq, where he is stationed at Camp Ramadi, about 60 miles west of Baghdad. A member of the 28th Division, 2nd Brigade of Pennsylvania, he supervises nine chaplains in the Brigade Area of Operations. The chaplains serve more than 5,000 soldiers from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, soldiers from 30 other states including Ohio, and some 1,500 Marines.
Adviser on religion
"My main role is to advise the commander about religious customs and how they might impact missions," the Rev. Mr. Lawson said. "We need to be sensitive to these things."
For example, adult Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan in October, a month of inner reflection and devotion to God. The Greater Eid, which marks the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, was Jan. 10.
"For the Eid, there were more people traveling, more buses," he said. "There has been violence in the past associated with Ramadan. It didn't happen, but we had to be geared up," Mr. Lawson said. During Ramadan, people may sleep during the day to get through fasting and are more active at night, he added.
Another priority is being a pastor to the soldiers.
"They have family-related problems, financial situations and personal struggles," he said. "Home issues that weren't resolved before probably have gotten worse. I deal with those. I also work with [the] Red Cross when an emergency at home comes up, and the soldier must go home."
Impressed with resolve
The resolve of "citizen soldiers" continues to impress Mr. Lawson. "These soldiers have sacrificed a tremendous amount," he said. "The soldiers want to do something redemptive. We give supplies to schools and have visited classrooms."
Mr. Lawson's own commitment and sacrifice are evident. Ordained in 1985, he has been the pastor at Brownlee Woods for six years and also served at two other churches. He graduated with a degree in religious studies from Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pa., and earned a master of divinity degree from Princeton Seminary, Princeton, N.J.
"For me, it was a process, not a single event, that evolved into this calling," Mr. Lawson said. "By my senior year, I knew I wanted to be in the ministry."
Mr. Lawson's National Guard service began 16 years ago. After talking to another pastor who was a chaplain, Mr. Lawson said he decided to do the same. "It was two days a month, two weeks in the summer," he said of the guard duty.
He admitted that many, including himself, had seen the duty as short term. "This activation of reservists isn't something they bargained for," he said.
That changed Sept. 11, 2001.
Mr. Lawson served four weeks in the aftermath of those terrorist attacks and was on active duty again in 2004 when he worked in casualty assistance at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, D.C.
In January 2005, he started a six-month training course at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin in California and Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Miss., to prepare for deployment to Iraq. "They put us through various scenarios like a simulated war zone. They played it to the hilt ... with villages and Iraqi-speaking people," he said. "It was getting in touch with the culture."
After completing that, Mr. Lawson shipped out to Iraq in June 2005.
A typical day in Iraq
He said his day starts at 8 a.m. with a battle update briefing, which relays what happened the day before. There are staff sessions, meetings with other leaders and chaplains. Then Mr. Lawson goes to his home base -- the chapel."I operate out of there," he said.
Worship on Sunday, which features six or more services, draws some 500 participants. "We have a battalion from Utah so we have two Mormon services, two Protestant and two Catholic," he said. "We have a gospel service in the afternoon." There also are times set aside for Muslim and Jewish prayers.
"There's a constant influx and outgoing of people," he said, referring to soldiers arriving for duty and others finishing their tours. "But new people step up and do things. There is a lot of energy, excitement and talent at the services," Mr. Lawson said.
Most of his duties keep him in what's called "inside the wire," or on base. But part of his duty involves keeping in touch with three chaplains stationed "outside the wire." For those trips, he dons his body armor and rides in an armored Humvee with a bodyguard.
He acknowledged those precautions don't prevent an IED (improvised explosive device) in the road or a rocket. "There's nothing you can do about that," he said. "I just have the utmost respect for the soldiers who go out every day and face this. They are the heroes. They are good at what they do and deserve a tremendous amount of credit.
Casualties from brigade
"We have lost 50 from our brigade," Mr. Lawson said. "It's sobering to come to terms with this." Among the soldiers who have died was Lt. Col. Michael McLaughlin (whose funeral was Jan. 18 in Mercer, Pa.) "I served with him," Mr. Lawson said.
He said the soldiers don't dwell on the danger. "I think they like having a chaplain around. And I like being there with them," he added. He noted the soldiers are focused on their mission, not the political posturing on the war here at home.
Though attacks and deaths make the news, Mr. Lawson said many accomplishments are being achieved. Battalions with engineers are involved in constructing buildings and roads and in infrastructure assistance.
"They've lived under a dictatorship for so long, the concept of taking responsibility is culturally unknown," Mr. Lawson said of the Iraqi people. "But they are making progress."
And even though insurgents target police, Iraqis still apply for those positions. "They want to push the insurgents back," Mr. Lawson said. "What does that tell you about their resolve?"
Comparing Americans, Iraqis
Mr. Lawson said he sees the similarities, not the differences, between Americans and Iraqis.
"People are people wherever you go. What I've found is that human nature is the same. Kids are kids ... they're interested in toys and candy," Mr. Lawson said. He also was somewhat surprised by their curiosity, recalling how one young boy jumped into a humvee to look around.
"People are trying to have a semblance of a normal life. It's amazing they're functioning in this situation," he said. "They are not as poor as you might think. People make a living farming, as shepherds or store owners. There are pockets of desperate poverty. But this is not a Third-World country. People go to the markets to buy clothes and food."
Mr. Lawson said he expected to return to his normal life sometime in June. His wife is the Rev. Joyce Lawson, pastor of Mahoning United Methodist Church, and their children are Emily, 16, and Ethan, 14. He keeps in touch by e-mail and sends updates that are published in the Brownlee Woods church newsletter. The Rev. Dick Braun, who is retired, is filling in at Brownlee Woods.
The Rev. Peter Lawson will be sending occasional columns on his experiences in Iraq to The Vindicator. Columns will appear on the Religion page, which is published Saturdays.