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| News > Chaplain's office keeps the faith at TCM |
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Lt. Col. Caesar Silva is a chaplain at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan. Chaplains provide spiritual care and the opportunity for service members to exercise their constitutional right to the free exercise of religion. This is accomplished through religious observances, providing pastoral care, and advice on spiritual, ethical, moral, morale, core values, and religious accommodation issues. Silva is deployed from the 159th Fighter Wing at the Louisiana Air National Guard and is a native of New Orleans. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brett Clashman)
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Chaplain's office keeps the faith at TCM
Posted 7/23/2012 Updated 7/23/2012
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by Staff Sgt. Matt Benedetti
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
7/23/2012 - Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan -- To a service member arriving at the Transit Center at Manas, the standardized light brown buildings and tents may appear indistinguishable from one another. All structures are similar except for the chapel, which features a distinctive steeple and bluish, gray roof.
The Wings of Hope Chapel serves as a beacon to those seeking comfort and represents a port in the storm of deployment for many transient and permanent party members at the Transit Center.
The mission of the chaplain's office is to provide the opportunity for the free exercise of religion, pastoral care, ministry of presence and ethical guidance. The team at the Wings of Hope Chapel is comprised of three chaplains and three chaplain assistants and has been fulfilling this mission since the Transit Center stood up in December 2001. They endeavor to offer religious services for every faith.
Tech. Sgt. Bill Dean serves as a chaplain's assistant at the Transit Center. "We provide all the traditional religious services of most home station bases. We provide Christian studies during the week and invite people to stop in to the Ministry Center, which gives service members a clean, quiet place to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee," said the Bangor, Maine, native who is deployed from the 101st Air Refueling Wing located at Bangor International Airport.
"The chance to discuss issues and stressors in a confidential environment can often lessen the intensity of a situation," Dean said. "Sometimes it's just a chance to vent before heading home or down range. We are here to provide that opportunity and I find that to be very rewarding. I enjoy listening to their stories of home and hopefully provide some comfort."
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Caesar Silva, a Catholic priest who has been deployed for the past 14 months throughout the area of operations, currently serves at the Wings of Hope Chapel. Silva, who is deployed from the 159th Fighter Wing of the Louisiana Air National Guard, appreciates the role he plays serving the spiritual needs of the personnel associated with the Transit Center.
"When I help people, I purify them of all the troubles and problems that surface due to temporary detachment from their families. I remind them that the experience of missing someone is painful but that love will endure and you will reconcile when you return," said Silva, a New Orleans native. "I want them to regain focus and be effective in their jobs."
The Wings of Hope Chapel is always open and its team members encourage Transit Center personnel to visit anytime.
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