Yokota chaplain FOB hops, provides mass to isolated servicemembers

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jessica Lockoski
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq --  "We can (celebrate) Mass on the hood of a jeep if we need to. To me, there is no awkward place to perform Mass."

Air Force Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Mark Rowan "FOB hops" from here to celebrate Catholic Mass and provide religious services to deployed Soldiers located at Forward Operating Base McHenry and Patrol Base Doria, small, relatively isolated bases near here in northern Iraq.

The 506th Air Expeditionary Group group chaplain, Chaplain Rowan said he offers needed religious services due to a shortage of Catholic priests in the military, in general, and particularly in the Army here. The Long Island, N.Y., native deployed from Yokota Air Base, Japan, said Catholic chaplains make up 12 percent of the Air Force Chaplain Corps. The Army has a similar shortage, he said.

When the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Calvary Division deployed here in February, they arrived with six Protestant chaplains. "By default, I became the only priest on the base," Chaplain Rowan said.

Because of the great relationship between the chaplain staffs here, the Army chaplains asked him to provide Catholic support to their Soldiers stationed here and at other military bases, he said.

"I told the Army chaplains, 'I will never say no to you. Whatever needs done for Catholics here at Kirkuk or at the other bases I will do,'" said Chaplain Rowan, an Air Force chaplain for more than 18 years. He said he feels he must never deny a Catholic of religious support; a duty he has within his diocese.

To fulfill that commitment to ground forces, Chaplain Rowan must take to the air. He flies on a bi-weekly, and sometimes weekly, basis, or as often as he can arrange airlift to one of the outlying bases. He refers to this frequent practice as "FOB hopping."

Chaplain Rowan said men and women at some deployed locations go without Catholic Mass and confession for weeks at a time. "It's wonderful for me to be able to minister to them ... bring the church to them, and let them know they are not forgotten or abandoned by the church," he said. It's also great to see the gratitude and the appreciation they have knowing that there is a pastor to care for them, he said.

One particular Sunday, only an hour after celebrating Mass here, the chaplain rushed to catch a ride on a UH 60 Black Hawk flying to FOB McHenry.

He carried with him a unique uniform-one without a nametape, rank insignia or unit patch: a white alb (liturgical robe) and stole (cloth for draping around his neck). He also brought a chalice, wine and bread for Eucharist, religious ornaments, and fresh linens to spread over an altar to present Mass offerings.

One Soldier celebrating Mass that day expressed his appreciation for Father Rowan's dedication to his congregation.

It's definitely a luxury, said Private First Class Michael Phelps, a Freeburg, Ill., native deployed from Ft. Hood, Texas. It gets your mind off what's going on around here, he said. "It's something to look forward to."

Army Chaplain (Capt.) Angel Perez, the Protestant chaplain serving at the FOB, attended the Mass and noted the special union of the religious joint-service efforts.

"The nice thing about being in the Armed Services of the United States is that we can help each other out and be able to fill needs," he said. The New York City native, also deployed from Ft. Hood, Texas, said Chaplain Rowan's visits are a good way to demonstrate joint-service ministry. He said it's an exciting thing to see happen.