SOUTHWEST ASIA -- I am Tech. Sgt. Karriem Oliver, a 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Chaplain Corps assistant and NCO in charge of readiness and training. My home unit is the 82nd Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.
As a chaplain’s assistant I assist in providing for the spiritual care and free exercise of religion for Airmen and their families. I do this by conducting unit visits, providing crisis intervention counseling, managing religious programs and events, and advising leadership on religious accommodations throughout the installation. I am also responsible for daily administrative and logistical tasks to ensure the chapel and its programs run smoothly.
The best part of the mission here is being able to meet the needs of the people, spiritual or otherwise. Talking to someone who is going through a tough situation and giving them hope or facilitating a worship service- those are the best parts. Challenges I’ve dealt with during this deployment are associated with operating in the joint environment with different branches of service and coalition forces. The senior enlisted professional military education here helped me work through those challenges because I was able to read and understand more about those barriers that exist between services.
The deployed environment is unique because I have the opportunity to visit and support our Airmen and other joint warfighters at forward operating bases throughout the theater. Also, facilitating religious support for our military and civilian personnel at the U.S. Embassy here in country; it was a great experience.
Enlisting the military gave me the chance to be part of something big and provided the means to a great future.