Ralph Chapman, U.S. Navy Lieutenant
Served from Sept. 1989 until June 1993 aboard the USS Charles F. Adams and the USS Elmer Montgomery.
God watched over me throughout my Naval career. In one instance, during the Persian Gulf War, our ship was on its way to Israel to pull into port. But, in the middle of the night, our plans were changed and we were turned around. The next day the port we were to pull into was bombed. I could go on about all that God had done in my Naval career, as well as all He is still doing, but suffice it to say God continues to prove Himself more than faithful.
Showing posts with label The Cold War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Cold War. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Jeffrey Copeland, U.S. Army
Julie and I have a rich military family history. All four of our grandfathers served in the military during World War II and both of our fathers served in the military during Vietnam. The Lord faithfully provided protection for all. As a freshman in undergraduate school, the Lord blessed me with an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship. Following graduation and commissioning as a Second Lieutenant, I was blessed with an educational delay to pursue Pharmacy.
During Christmas preceding my final semester in Pharmacy School, I understood that the Lord had called me into ministry. Upon graduation and promotion to Captain, it was time to serve my country in the Army. Of all the world-wide Army posts that I could be sent, the Lord arranged my tour of duty at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The Lord tremendously blessed my time in the Army. While in the Army, the Lord provided the perfect way to simultaneously serve in the Army and begin pursuing the Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.
He also guided me to Castle Hills First Baptist Church in San Antonio where I met my future wife, Julie, in Sunday School. Following marriage and the completion of my Army service, we moved to Dallas to complete Seminary. We joined First Baptist Church of Dallas and the Lord provided an opportunity to serve Him as I served on staff as the Associate Minister of Evangelism and Discipleship at First Baptist Church of Dallas. Only the Lord could arrange so many uncontrollable and seemingly random pieces to produce a wonderful puzzle.
During Christmas preceding my final semester in Pharmacy School, I understood that the Lord had called me into ministry. Upon graduation and promotion to Captain, it was time to serve my country in the Army. Of all the world-wide Army posts that I could be sent, the Lord arranged my tour of duty at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The Lord tremendously blessed my time in the Army. While in the Army, the Lord provided the perfect way to simultaneously serve in the Army and begin pursuing the Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.
He also guided me to Castle Hills First Baptist Church in San Antonio where I met my future wife, Julie, in Sunday School. Following marriage and the completion of my Army service, we moved to Dallas to complete Seminary. We joined First Baptist Church of Dallas and the Lord provided an opportunity to serve Him as I served on staff as the Associate Minister of Evangelism and Discipleship at First Baptist Church of Dallas. Only the Lord could arrange so many uncontrollable and seemingly random pieces to produce a wonderful puzzle.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Matthew Elias
Matthew Elias served just over twenty years in the Navy, retiring as a Commander and was an active contributor in winning what many people call World War III, the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Following graduation and commissioning as an Ensign from the U.S. Naval Academy, Matthew attended flight school and was assigned to fly the
P-3 Orion in Brunswick Maine. The P-3 Orion's main mission is to detect and track submarines, and detecting and tracking Soviet submarines was one of the critical cat and mouse games played throughout the Cold War. It was a high stakes game played throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as far away as the Soviet coastlines and as close as the United States coastlines. While in Brunswick, Matthew deployed twice to Keflavik, Iceland, for six months each time. While there, he would fly into the North Sea to chase Soviet subs as they left their home waters. He also flew out of bases in Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, the Azores and Bermuda to go where Soviet subs operated. While flying against a Soviet submarine off Bermuda, the Soviet sub had a major engineering problem and surfaced while being tracked by Matthew's crew. The sub stayed on the surface for several days and in the first hours on the surface while Matthew's crew was still on station, another P-3 came out and videoed his aircraft flying by the sub. That video was all over the national news the next night but you have to take his word that he's in the airplane in the video.
Upon completion of the tour in Brunswick, Matthew and his family were assigned as an exchange officer to the Royal Air Force flying the Nimrod aircraft. The Nimrod has the same mission as the P-3 and he spent three more years chasing Soviet submarines in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. After attending training with the RAF in Yorkshire and Cornwall, England, he was assigned to 206 SQUADRON at RAF Kinloss, Scotland. Deployments were much shorter than deployments in the U.S. Navy and new deployment sites included Gibraltar, Cyprus and Oman.
In January 1987, Matthew and his family switched sides of the globe and reported to the aircraft carrier USS MIDWAY homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, for two and a half years. Flying opportunities were limited and his main duties were as a member of ship's company. Deployments included six months in the Indian Ocean during the Iran- Iraq war protecting oil tankers from attack. Shorter three-month deployments included Australia, numerous times to the Philippines and several times to South Korea including the 1988 Olympics when the MIDWAY served as a deterrent to any disruption of the Olympics by North Korea. Of the 29 months on the MIDWAY, he was gone for 20 of them, including the month our second daughter Sarah was born.
Upon returning to the United States from Japan, Matthew was assigned back to the P-3 in Jacksonville, Florida. During this assignment, Matthew made six-month deployments to Sigonella, Sicily and Keflavik, Iceland as the Cold War ended.
Following this tour, Matthew reported to the Pentagon, for what turned out to be a pretty good tour. At the Pentagon, he served as the Chief of Naval Operations' political-military policy advisor on the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia interacting with the Joint Staff, the office of Secretary of Defense and the embassies of those nations. While assigned there, he also participated in the 1992 Presidential Inauguration as the Military Escort to a participating dignitary and saw the inauguration behind the scenes and up close. During this tour, Matthew was selected to study at Harvard University under the U.S. Navy's Advanced Education Program and earned a Master in Public Administration with a dual concentration in International Policy and Institutions and Strategic Management.
Following graduate school, Matthew reported to the Navy Recruiting District in Dallas, Texas as the Commanding Officer. After completing a three-year tour, Matthew decided to retire and settle in Dallas. During the twenty years of service, Matthew flew over 4,200 hours, moved twelve times, was deployed away from his family for over four years and missed five Christmases. His personal awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, a Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Expert Pistol Medal, and numerous general and unit awards.
P-3 Orion in Brunswick Maine. The P-3 Orion's main mission is to detect and track submarines, and detecting and tracking Soviet submarines was one of the critical cat and mouse games played throughout the Cold War. It was a high stakes game played throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as far away as the Soviet coastlines and as close as the United States coastlines. While in Brunswick, Matthew deployed twice to Keflavik, Iceland, for six months each time. While there, he would fly into the North Sea to chase Soviet subs as they left their home waters. He also flew out of bases in Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, the Azores and Bermuda to go where Soviet subs operated. While flying against a Soviet submarine off Bermuda, the Soviet sub had a major engineering problem and surfaced while being tracked by Matthew's crew. The sub stayed on the surface for several days and in the first hours on the surface while Matthew's crew was still on station, another P-3 came out and videoed his aircraft flying by the sub. That video was all over the national news the next night but you have to take his word that he's in the airplane in the video.
Upon completion of the tour in Brunswick, Matthew and his family were assigned as an exchange officer to the Royal Air Force flying the Nimrod aircraft. The Nimrod has the same mission as the P-3 and he spent three more years chasing Soviet submarines in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. After attending training with the RAF in Yorkshire and Cornwall, England, he was assigned to 206 SQUADRON at RAF Kinloss, Scotland. Deployments were much shorter than deployments in the U.S. Navy and new deployment sites included Gibraltar, Cyprus and Oman.
In January 1987, Matthew and his family switched sides of the globe and reported to the aircraft carrier USS MIDWAY homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, for two and a half years. Flying opportunities were limited and his main duties were as a member of ship's company. Deployments included six months in the Indian Ocean during the Iran- Iraq war protecting oil tankers from attack. Shorter three-month deployments included Australia, numerous times to the Philippines and several times to South Korea including the 1988 Olympics when the MIDWAY served as a deterrent to any disruption of the Olympics by North Korea. Of the 29 months on the MIDWAY, he was gone for 20 of them, including the month our second daughter Sarah was born.
Upon returning to the United States from Japan, Matthew was assigned back to the P-3 in Jacksonville, Florida. During this assignment, Matthew made six-month deployments to Sigonella, Sicily and Keflavik, Iceland as the Cold War ended.
Following this tour, Matthew reported to the Pentagon, for what turned out to be a pretty good tour. At the Pentagon, he served as the Chief of Naval Operations' political-military policy advisor on the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia interacting with the Joint Staff, the office of Secretary of Defense and the embassies of those nations. While assigned there, he also participated in the 1992 Presidential Inauguration as the Military Escort to a participating dignitary and saw the inauguration behind the scenes and up close. During this tour, Matthew was selected to study at Harvard University under the U.S. Navy's Advanced Education Program and earned a Master in Public Administration with a dual concentration in International Policy and Institutions and Strategic Management.
Following graduate school, Matthew reported to the Navy Recruiting District in Dallas, Texas as the Commanding Officer. After completing a three-year tour, Matthew decided to retire and settle in Dallas. During the twenty years of service, Matthew flew over 4,200 hours, moved twelve times, was deployed away from his family for over four years and missed five Christmases. His personal awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, a Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Expert Pistol Medal, and numerous general and unit awards.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
David Bristow, U.S. Navy
Name: David Bristow
Service: U.S. Navy
Rank: MRFN
Time of Service:
Active Duty: September 9, 1987 to September 9, 1989
Inactive Reserves: September 9, 1989 to March 5, 1995
Honorably Discharged March 5, 1995
Although my faith in God never wavered during my time of service, my dependence upon Him suffered. I was a young man going out into the world alone for the first time in my life, discovering and experiencing things which did not always honor God. But, despite my lack of dependence on Him on a number of occasions, God made me a better man leaving the Navy than when I went in. God saw to it that I gained discipline in my life, a deep love for my country, and respect for my fellow service men and women who have served before, during, and since. I know pride can be a sin, but I am very proud to have served in the United States Navy.
Service: U.S. Navy
Rank: MRFN
Time of Service:
Active Duty: September 9, 1987 to September 9, 1989
Inactive Reserves: September 9, 1989 to March 5, 1995
Honorably Discharged March 5, 1995
Although my faith in God never wavered during my time of service, my dependence upon Him suffered. I was a young man going out into the world alone for the first time in my life, discovering and experiencing things which did not always honor God. But, despite my lack of dependence on Him on a number of occasions, God made me a better man leaving the Navy than when I went in. God saw to it that I gained discipline in my life, a deep love for my country, and respect for my fellow service men and women who have served before, during, and since. I know pride can be a sin, but I am very proud to have served in the United States Navy.
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