It was April 2015. The heat was sweltering. It was a beach city, with hostiles around every corner. You see, it was illegal for us to be in Nam for our mission. These enemy combatants could blow our cover and we could end up in a POW situation or in need of an emergency extraction. Each day was spent on the front lines. We met our targets in various rendezvous points throughout Nha Trang. Our rendezvous points were different cafes everyday. Our targets were Vietnamese students wanting to learn English. We were not allowed to talk about the mission. But that never changed the mission.
Our mission was to meet with students and get to know them, let them get to know us. And hopefully the opportunity to talk about Our Commander would arise. Should be easy right?! Wrong! My normal extroverted personality became introverted. I lost energy hanging out with the targets. Every other mission that I had faced that involved hand to hand interaction with targets went well. I had flourished up until this point.
Due to an illness I had taken in a previous mission, I was nutrient deficient and didn’t know it. I spent a week and a half in shooting pain all over my body and unable to sleep at night due to night terrors. I was on the phone with my Commander any chance I got. As I’m sure you know, in the heat of the battle hearing the calming voice of the Commander over the radio is a game changer.
So I called and I called. I thought there may have been a radio malfunction and that COMMs were out.
During that time, I tried to find my comfort and strength in my teammates, the resources around me and the fact that we had finally been given a base with air conditioning. None of these things could comfort me. I knew I needed the Commander. I needed the comfort and rest that only a Commander’s voice could give in such a fire fight. So I checked the COMMs relentlessly. Day and night I checked it.
The Commander’s voice could finally be heard across the radio, over the white noise. He had heard my every call. The Commander couldn’t get through because of my constant radio traffic. Rookie mistake. His voice brought the comfort I needed in the fire fight. The pain didn’t leave, the rendezvous still exhausted me, but these obstacles were no longer overwhelming. They were manageable. The Commander’s voice has that effect on people.
I learned a lot about the power the Commander holds, back in Nam. I hadn’t fully trusted it before. I trusted it, I just didn’t function within my mission remembering the power He holds. That’s why I frantically hit the COMMs. I didn’t trust that He was aware of the fire fight and had already sent reinforcements. The Commander is ALWAYS aware of the fight. Reinforcements are on the way. Remember that, Soldier!!
