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AFMAO chaplain encourages preparation, resiliency in weathering storms

  • Published
  • By Kendahl Johnson
  • AFMAO/PA
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Get your life in order, putting into place the kinds of resources that will help carry you through difficult and emotionally trying times.

That's the advice of Chaplain David Sparks, senior port mortuary chaplain at the Air Force Mortuary Operations Center at Dover Air Force Base, Del. He said whether you are a family member dealing with the loss of a loved one, or an employee at the center seeing for the first time the devastation caused by war, having those resources in place is important.

"Whether that's spiritual, mental, emotional, social, or physical, folks need to put those things into place in their lives that will help them weather a storm," Chaplain Sparks said. "Build into your life, in all of those areas of health, whatever it is that makes you resilient, whatever it is that gives you the strength you can draw on in times of need."

Chaplain Sparks has had a lot of experience ministering at AFMAO. While serving in Dover in 1980 as a pastor, he joined the Air Force Reserve. As a Reservist, he was often called to the mortuary to work alongside active-duty chaplains, particularly when there was a mass casualty. While his career as a pastor and a Reservist took him all over the East coast, he eventually ended up back in Dover, where he worked more frequently at the mortuary.

In 2007, he retired from the Reserve and was asked to continue to work at the mortuary as a permanent civilian employee. He works alongside four other chaplains and two chaplain assistants, military members on temporary six-month assignments - four from the Air National Guard and two active duty. His job here is twofold. He ministers to the deployed personnel, the employees of the center and to the families of the fallen.

"I have the opportunity to work with military members from all over the country," he said. "Our job is to help them get through their deployment in as healthy way as possible. I also have the honor of ministering to family members in their time of need. "

Chaplains are integral to helping AFMAO fulfill its mission of providing dignity, honor and respect for America's fallen, while providing care, service and support for their families.

In the past few years, there has been tremendous growth at the center, including a recent decision by the Department of Defense to make a more concerted effort to invite families of fallen servicemembers to the center to witness the dignified transfer of their loved ones' remains. This decision has provided more opportunities for the chaplains and their assistants to minister to these families, a responsibility Chaplain Sparks feels is "extremely rewarding."

"It's an honor to be with them and we are glad to do it because we know what we have to offer them; we know we can help them," he said.

While honorable, the duty is not without its challenges for the chaplains.

"We are fully embedded in this very difficult work and it can be emotionally draining. The challenge is to stay fresh," Chaplain Sparks said. "We draw on our own faith while encouraging others to do the same. Everyone needs to find a way to be resilient, and chaplains are no different."

He said knowing he somehow made a difference in the lives of the families of the fallen and in the lives of the employees at the center is what motivates him to stay resilient and to continue to develop those inner attributes that will help others find healing.