School-teacher, reservist called to ops in Iraq war

MIAMI (FBW)–Waving his arms in the universal sign for “Stop!” Air Force reservist Joseph Finn scrambled from the transport van he was driving to wave down the driver of a fuel-tanker truck headed on a collision course towards an airstrip ramp where a tanker aircraft was due to land any moment.

Spotting Finn, the truck driver immediately altered his course to avert an accident that could have caused loss of life and millions of dollars in damage during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Just last fall, Tech Sergeant Finn was far from the war, writing instructions on a chalkboard at W.A. Chapman Elementary School in Homestead. Having just received notification he was eligible to retire from the reserves, 50-year-old Finn said he was taken by surprise when the school’s principal asked him to report to the office to answer a phone call.

“I’m thinking, after 20 years this call isn’t going to come,” Finn told Florida Baptist Witness. “I thought, ‘this is a joke.’”

No joke. Finn was told his unit was being deployed to an “undisclosed location” in support of Iraqi Freedom. He had 72 hours to make arrangements to leave the United States.

Back in the office, the school’s principal told him he looked as white as a ghost. Finn said he told her: “You are not going to believe this.”

The shock stayed with him throughout the whirlwind of preparation that included organizing his finances, submitting to a physical exam, putting his will in order, and notifying relatives.

“I had to rely on the strength of the Lord,” Finn said. “I have never been activated before and I just remember mass confusion and one checkpoint to the next.”

An adjunct professor for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Miami extension, and a teacher in the singles department at Wayside Baptist Church, the veteran public school teacher said he returned to his elementary classroom to pack up, but didn’t look back.

One minute he was standing before his young students, the next, lugging his gear aboard an aircraft heading east.

“All of a sudden, the real thing hits,” Finn said. He remembered thinking: “Oh, wow. Lord, I’m being activated for a 6-month tour in the Middle East in a hostile fire zone.”

Energized by the memory of a grandfather who had served honorably in the military during World War II and a father who had been in the Merchant Marines, Finn joined the reserves in 1984 for what he intended to be a short stint in logistics and transportation.

With undergraduate and graduate degrees in history, religion and humanities from the University of Florida and California State University Dominguez Hills, and a Ph.D. from Greenwich University School of Theology in the United Kingdom, Finn most likely could have eventually served as Air Force chaplain, but instead chose to stay on as an enlisted man, earning the respect of those with whom he worked—and his supervisors.

Finn did recently seek and receive an appointment as an auxiliary chaplain to the Civil Air Patrol—a designation that enabled him to work alongside military chaplains in preaching and counseling during his deployment.

“A lot of people look up to me,” Finn said, explaining he served alongside “20-year-old kids” who couldn’t seem to shake him even when running through sand dunes in 120 degree weather. “Sometimes they were more comfortable talking to me than a chaplain. I was really able to minister to a lot of the younger men.”

In fact, some of those airmen/airwomen may have been counting their blessings when Finn headed off an air disaster last November. He was recently awarded a medal for heroism by the Air Force at Homestead Air Force Base near Miami, where he returned in March.

“I was just doing my job and the Lord had me there for a reason,” Finn mused. “I was able to be used as a chaplain and he used me to divert this potential disaster.”

To fight the constant stress or the “little fear factor” of the unstable environment in which he worked, Finn said he prayed and immersed himself in the Word. All the while, he kept a special watch over the younger men he said are prone to suicide.

As a Christian, Finn said he understands how difficult it was for people who “don’t have God in their lives” to face the threats of bombs and explosives.

Being in the Middle East, where Muslim prayers are broadcast through loud speakers several times each day, also sensitized him to the culture of the Islamic faith, Finn said.

“Some of the people over there who worked at the base loved me and invited me in for tea,” Finn said. “Some of them even asked me about Jesus. They wouldn’t have gone to a chaplain, but as an enlisted person, they talked to me.”

Because he had no other responsibilities than to complete his shift-work for the most part, Finn said he was less distracted than usual when returning to his barren desert tent each night. He noted a “most remarkable” thing happened at a time when he believed he would be overwhelmed with tasks.

“I felt like going to the desert improved my quiet time,” he said. “It was like a spiritual journey for me—to be in the tent by myself, just me and the Lord. I became a lot more spiritual.”

Finn also credits not having to think “academically”—but to instead have the Bible and just one other book, The Purpose Driven Life–with a renewed sense of being on the right path in simplifying his devotional life.

“At first, I didn’t see—I asked, ‘Lord why? What are you doing sending me there?’ until I went over and saw and was able to minister,” Finn said.

Ironically, Finn’s maternal grandparents were Mennonites and pacifists and he was raised in a Christian home in Harrisburg, Penn., before moving to Miami where he attended Florida Christian School. Finn said he respects both the military and pacifist traditions of his family and believes in “defending and protecting the constitution of the United States.”

Supportive of Operation Iraqi Freedom and America’s involvement on foreign soil, Finn said he believes the “goodness” of the American soldiers and airmen is evident in their dedication to their country and to its military action.

“People needed us for the freedoms they enjoy that they’ve never had,” Finn said. “They are so happy. Now they have religious freedoms and freedoms they hold so dearly.”

Told by other airmen and soldiers of Iraqis “kissing the feet of the American soldiers” after they received voting machines for the historic election months ago, Finn said he believes the media regularly glosses over the good news in Iraq. He said he was impressed by the young troops willing to working 13-14 hours a day – believing they had “purpose in their life and were contributing to help others.”

Calling the action in Iraq “justified,” Finn said removing Sadaam Hussein from power was important.

And even though some believe Iraq may not have had weapons of mass destruction stockpiled throughout the region—as previously thought—Finn said millions would be impacted by the positive changes that have taken place if those stories were the focus of media reports.

While overseas, Finn said he was encouraged by those who kept the home fires burning. Members of his church regularly sent him care packages filled with goodies—and more importantly—little notes. He discourages mass distribution of care items—and says they can be a security risk and slow down the personal mail.

“Little cards with a personal touch mean a lot,” Finn said. “They don’t need the cookies and candy, but what they need is the support letters.”

Another morale booster, Finn said, was receiving Florida Baptist Witness in the mail through his APO address. Finn said the weekly newspaper became a “treasure” to him—something he kept in his Humvee and left for others to read in the break room.

“I kept up with what was going on in Florida and in the nation—in the church,” Finn chuckled. “I want you to put this in the story—I’m spending a little more time reading it now.”

Whatever way a church can honor or support its military members by hosting a support group, sending letters or featuring the names and military addresses of its members who are away on a bulletin board–help maintain morale, Finn said.

Incredibly, there are also too few Bibles to fill the need in the field, Finn said, urging churches to contact a local base chaplain to coordinate sending Bibles overseas. “You’d be surprised at how many people want a Bible,” Finn said.