April 7, 2003
CREW members walk the 1,096 foot-long deck of the USS Harry Truman before flight operations begin to ensure there are no hazards to safety of aircraft or personnel. Chaplain Doyle Dunn (left) also takes this time to use the power of prayer to ask for safety of the ship as well as spiritual transformation in the lives of the crew. (Jim Veneman/BP Photo)
U.S. sailors pray as they walk the deck
___By Sara Horn
___LifeWay Christian Resources
___ABOARD USS HARRY TRUMAN (BP)--They walk step by step, a hundred men and women, shoulder to shoulder, stretching the width and walking the length of the flight deck, just as the sun rises over the horizon of a pale blue Mediterranean sky.
___These sailors aboard the USS Harry Truman may look like they're marching in slow motion, their heads down, their voices silent, but they're actually looking for debris that could cause FOD--foreign object damage--if sucked into a jet engine, or accelerated by jet exhaust or helicopter rotor wash.
BAPTIST chaplain Alan Wilmot, known as "Chaps" by the aviators he ministers to, visits with flight deck crewmen on the USS Harry Truman during flight operations. Wilmot is present on the flight deck for each launch. Chaplains are serving in all branches of the United States military during the Iraq war, many on the front lines of battle. These chaplains have requested prayer from Christians for their ministry during this time of stress, and they have issued a call for more ministers to consider the chaplaincy as a vocation. (Jim Veneman/BP Photo)
___The FOD prevention walk is a common drill, conducted before each launch and recovery cycle, maybe a number of times during the day, depending on the schedule of flight operations.
___The ship's chaplains take part as duties allow, also using the time as they cross the 1,096 feet of flight deck to silently lift up prayers to God for the ship's safety, for the sailors below and for the war at-large to be over quickly, with as little loss of life possible.
___Chaplain Doyle Dunn, a Southern Baptist from Virginia, prayerwalks as often as his schedule allows. He trusts the power of prayer to change the lives of the men and women aboard. Frequently, others join him, including lay leaders of Bible studies and church services. These Christians have been prayerwalking ever since Dunn joined the ship as command chaplain two months ago.
___"There are so many documented examples of God bringing revival to the military during war and peace times," Dunn said. "The prayerwalking came about as a result of discussion among the lay leaders and my staff about what it would be like if God could transform this ship. There's no better way to ask for that than through prayer."
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