A letter to the families from the Chaplain

Dear Family and friends of 1/6,

Well as most of you know we have made it to our destination. I have yet to make it around to the all the posts, but from what I have seen and heard your loved ones are off to a great start. Their faces show true excitement for the tasks that lay ahead. I know most of you by now have received phone calls, and emails from those to whom you are connected. I ask you to help us with our mission as the communications become more regular. The way you can do that is by sharing as positive a picture of the home front as possible. I am not asking you to be dishonest, but tell us the stuff that makes us smile and sends us the message that you are ok. This helps keep the focus on the mission and not thinking about things at home that may be beyond our control.

I have a piece of great news for you Roman Catholics. We have a fantastic Navy priest name Cdr. Dennis Rocheford who has an incredible history with the marines, both as a war fighter and as a chaplain. He is as excited to be near the 1/6 as we are to have him here. Soon, we will get him out to the troops for confession and services.

As for all the religious ministries for1/6, we are working hard to open the lines of communication between myself and those who were trained as religious lay leaders. Bibles and devotionals are already making their way to the posts with more to follow. Evening devotions are taking place each evening to cover the troops with prayers. We will have a Roman Catholic service and Protestant service here at the main base. I say all this to encourage those of you who value faith as an important part of your life. We will provide as many channels as possible for these guys to practice and grow in their faith.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers; the guys are off to a great start. The smiles on their faces tell me they are proud of what they are doing.

Thanks for holding down the home front for us. We love and miss you all.

Chaplain Jamie Stall-Ryan