海角大神

Maj. Brian Minietta's eyes are locked down the barrel of a camera lens. He sways gently back and forth in silence, then his gruff voice belts out, in singsong: "A little patience ... yeah, yeah!"

He finishes the chorus 鈥� it's the 1989 Guns N鈥� Roses hit 鈥淧atience.鈥� And he tells the Green Berets he counsels as an Army chaplain: 鈥淵eah. Patience. That's the word we're going to talk about today.鈥�

For two years, Major Minietta has served the 3rd Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, though many of the soldiers have spent more time bouncing from deployments to conflict zones in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria than at home. As Green Berets 鈥� the better-known moniker for the elite soldiers of the Special Forces 鈥� these operators specialize in unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, and counterinsurgency.

Now, the coronavirus outbreak has upended the norm on base and beyond. Some training and deployments continue, but many have been sidelined. Only essential workers are reporting on post, ushered through gates patrolled by military police officers wearing masks.

A chaplain鈥檚 ministry 鈥� no matter the religion 鈥� has always been about in-person connections. How does that continue when the flock is forced apart? Major聽Minietta and others are figuring it out on the fly, with the help of technology, all while tensions are high for soldiers.

鈥淲hether that鈥檚 anxiety, whether that鈥檚 fear, whether it鈥檚 the family dynamics that come up from being home 鈥� we have the opportunity to support," he said. "This has given us the opportunity to be innovative and creative.鈥�

Major聽Minietta鈥檚 patience-themed video message is the third he鈥檚 recorded since the pandemic began. He鈥檚 also preached about fear and hope in video clips uploaded to his group鈥檚 Facebook page.

The Green Berets he serves are known as quiet professionals. They've done a lot, seen a lot 鈥� but they don't talk about it much. Gaining their trust takes time and effort, Major聽Minietta said. And while most chaplains don鈥檛 go through the Special Forces selection process, they train, deploy, and are airborne qualified, jumping out of airplanes alongside the operators they serve. Major聽Minietta, after spending years as a missionary and youth pastor, was commissioned in 2007 and has deployed seven times.

When Capt. Scott Britton, a fellow Fort Bragg chaplain who serves the Green Berets of 3rd Group's 3rd Battalion, joined the Army in 2012, he felt he was walking among giants. But through his training and building relationships, he now feels connected to his soldiers.

鈥淭his style of ministry allows the shepherd to smell like the sheep,鈥� Captain Britton said. 鈥淲e get to experience a lot of the same things the soldiers do, and I think for a lot of chaplains that鈥檚 a comfortable place to be.鈥�

This month, Captain Britton preached his Easter sermon alone on his back porch, while 35 soldiers training in the field listened on the phone. It was certainly a first, he said, but "we do find ways.鈥�

Both chaplains say they're used to being out of their comfort zones. Working with soldiers whose lives are grounded in chaos and loss can be hard.

Since 2002, the 3rd Special Forces Group has lost 60 Green Berets in action. Sixteen times, Major聽Minietta has knocked on doors alongside casualty assistance officers who are giving families the worst kind of news.

鈥淓very time I knock on a door, there are an unbelievable amount of nerves,鈥� he said.

Major聽Minietta brings up those door knocks at the end of his video message. He tells the camera he couldn't have done it without patience 鈥� patience to know the worst thing is never the last thing, whether it鈥檚 death, divorce, or a pandemic.

鈥淢ay we remember that Axl Rose ultimately had it right,鈥� he told his video audience. 鈥淎ll we need is a little patience.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽

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