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From left to right are Airman First Class Daniel Coomer, Chaplain Major Kurt Taylor, Chaplain Captain Ricardo Salditos, Technical Sergeant (TSgt) Andrew†Hellrung. The Rev. Taylor was stationed in Kyrgyzstan, just north of the Afghanistan border, for four months.
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Senior Pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church in Waltz, the Rev. Kurt Taylor was deployed to Kyrgyzstan from Sept. 2007 to Jan. 2008 as a Chaplain Major in the USAF Reserve.
Taylor has many tales from his amazing and awe-inspiring mission.
"I was deployed to be a Chaplain to the men and women of Manas Airbase," Taylor said. "The base makes sure that fuel, people and cargo get down to the fight in Afghanistan."
Manas Base is part of the American Operation Enduring freedom, of which most of the efforts are concentrated in Afghanistan.
He says close to 100 church-goers would attend his services every week. The Rev. held a variety of services from traditional, to gospel and contemporary.
When asked what was one of his favorite memories from the experience, Taylor says spending Christmas with the troops was very special to him. Taylor described it as "bringing Christmas to our Troops."
He saysthere is no signal of Christmas in the culture of Kyrgyzstan and it was up to the Chaplain staff to bring holiday cheer to the troops.
"We had special services, decorated and had Christmas music playing all the time," Taylor says.
The staff took Christmas one step further and even brought Santa to the troops. He saysone of his chaplain assistants dressed in a Santa Claus costume and he dressed in a special Christmas uniform, and they visited all the troops from about 10 am. until 5 a.m. that morning.
He also recalled the atmosphere that night. Taylor says they paraded around the base spreading Christmas joy.
"It was a beautiful night and it was gently snowing."
He says the troops were happy when they saw the Chaplain staff pull up in a Hum-Vee. The assistant passed out candy canes to the troops.
Another one of Taylor's duties included overseeing "Ramp Services," where soldiers who have died in Afghanistan pass through the base on their way back to the United States, and the Chaplain is in charge of carrying out a respectful ceremony. Taylor says he oversaw many Ramp Services.
"The plane lands and has a casket on it and members of an honor guard make the casket ready with a flag to carry from the airplane to an awaiting vehicle, which will then transported it to a mortuary base or to a waiting airplane to take them home," he said.
He says that the honor guard also takes the casket to the flight line. Troops on the base are invited to the flight line to pay their final respects to the soldier.
Taylor says more than 100 people came to the ceremonies and troops were ordered to render a salute at the right moment when the casket is brought passed. Taylor explained that the Chaplain approaches the caskets and says a prayer. Taylor says the chaplain speaks about the nobility of the sacrifice of the solider.
"It's a moving experience," he says.
Another duty that he performed was overseeing the administration Manas Airbase Outreach Society or MABOS. It is a program designed to help the people in Kyrgyzstan.
"In Kyrgyzstan there are a lot of people in need," he says. "MABOS supported five orphanages and five other organizations.
Taylor says that the outreach program supported children's heart center and children's cancer center.
One of the tasks MABOS performed included building a shower facility for one of the orphanages. Taylor says children had to walk across town to take a shower once every 15 days.
Taylor talked about how he felt about his deployment. "The experience was outstanding but it was difficult to be away from my home and family," he said
Taylor says that his congregation and his wife, Christine, were supportive of his mission to Kyrgyzstan.
"I'm grateful to my wife for being such a great wife and mom and taking care of our kids and to my congregation," he said.
Taylor says his congregation was supportive and that not all congregations would have been so supportive of their pastor going away.
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