It was just after we had all watched the video demonstration of
a pig being cut open and treated with a miracle medical invention
called QuikClot
™ that a special prayer time was suggested by Jeana McNeil, an
expert bartender at Johnny’s Bar
&
amp; Grill in Hollister.
It was just after we had all watched the video demonstration of a pig being cut open and treated with a miracle medical invention called QuikClot™ that a special prayer time was suggested by Jeana McNeil, an expert bartender at Johnny’s Bar & Grill in Hollister.
Jeana was nervous but determined that her brother-in-law, Jonathan, not leave for Iraq without the protection of prayer surrounding him. Some of those in the circle of family and friends who had gathered to see him off chimed in with words of their own, and then Jonathan himself prayed for wisdom.
The Navy has recalled Jonathan, a 48-year-old Japanese-American Navy Reservist, to active duty. His rank is E7, chief petty officer. Normally employed as a Toyota mechanic, he has 20 years experience as a weekend reservist, but this will be his first time sent out of the country on active duty.
He is leaving behind his wife and three daughters as he heads for Gulfport, Miss., to go through the mobilization process and get outfitted with all necessary desert gear. “For the next month or so we will be getting ready to go to the ‘Sandbox’ as we call it,” he explains.
After that he and his unit will be pretty busy ramping up their particular mission-specific skills for use in Iraq.
He and his fellow reservists have already trained in the use of medical technology such as QuikClot™ that saves people from dying on the battlefield due to wounds that would have meant certain death in the past. When applied to a wound, this inexpensive chemical mixture enables immediate clotting to take place. Some police officers are beginning to carry it as well.
A seabee answers FAQs:
What about your job?
“By law, my boss at Toyota has to give me my old job back at whatever my pay and benefits would be had I not left at all. This includes seniority. They don’t have to compensate me in any way while I’m gone (although many employers voluntarily continue to pay or give differential pay to show their support).”
What will you be doing?
“I don’t know what my particular assignment is yet but … Navy Seabees are construction workers created in WWII to build and maintain advance bases and airfields. We would also do infrastructure work like roads and power distribution. Another thing we are big on is humanitarian work like schools, clinics, water wells, and disaster recovery operations. We are real proud of our mission. We produce real tangible products that people can use. We don’t have to go around looking to shoot bad guys.”
How do you feel about going?
“Really, I’m OK with going. If I wanted to work the system I could have gotten out of it for legitimate reasons. But I would have been sickened by the idea of myself lying in my cozy bed knowing that the people I have trained with for years (some as much as 10) are out there in the dirt. You can’t join the reserves and whine if you get called up. I also have little sympathy for people who volunteer to join the military then cry about having to go into a war zone. What did they think the military was for?”
Last thoughts: “There is an old John Wayne/Susan Hayward movie from 1944 called ‘The Fighting Seabees.’ I always tell the new guys in my detail that they must watch it. Rent it if you want an education (with corny romance). It is our cult movie.”
Jonathan asks readers to, “Pray for us that we pay attention to our training. When Solomon became king of Israel, God told him he could have anything he wanted. He asked for wisdom. You could pray for that for me. I don’t want to do anything to steer our people the wrong way. I want to do the best job I can and get us back in one piece.
– Til Later, Jonathan.”
