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송상준 베드로 8/16/2008 |
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News - 2008.08 |
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 Lt. Cmdr. Kobena Arthur leads Reserve Marines from Company E, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, in prayer during a field religious service prior to a training exercise at Range 400 aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., on July 12. Photo by Capt. Paul L. Greenberg |
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The Way of a Peaceful Warrior
Story and photos by Capt. Paul L. Greenberg
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TWENTYININE PALMS, Calif. — Lt. Cmdr. Kobena Arthur’s odyssey has taken him across America and around the world to minister to the young men and women who serve on the front lines of the Global War on Terror.
Arthur is currently training with the Reserve Marines and Sailors of 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., in preparation for deployment this fall.
Regardless of where the service members are from or their religious background, Arthur’s job is to reach out to them all, both as warriors and as human beings.
“Chaplains are a force multiplier, as they provide spiritual care and support to all members of the command, helping ensure that Marines are able to perform their military duties,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Jim Hightower, the deputy chaplain of the Marine Corps. “The unique role of the chaplain in the command allows them to observe and monitor personal and family readiness. Chaplains are able to provide their commanders with advice and insight on critical morale and readiness issues, helping ensure that the unit is fully capable of fulfilling any mission.”
Arthur, a four-year veteran of the battalion, understands his role as chaplain. And more importantly, he understands his Marines.
Born in Potsin, Ghana, in 1955, Arthur moved to the U.S. at the age of 24 to attend an undergraduate program at Patten University in Oakland, Calif.
“More than anything, I wanted to be a minister,” said Arthur. “I could do that in Ghana, but there were so many more educational opportunities in America.”
 Lt. Cmdr. Kobena Arthur gives a motivational speech to Marines and Sailors at Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 17. Arthur exclaimed, “Keep on!” to which the troops responded, “Keeping on!” This adage has become ubiquitous throughout the battalion as they head into the final phase of their pre-deployment training. |
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He explained that because of nepotism and “the good old boys’ network” in his native country, he was limited in where he could study and what professional opportunities were open to him.
Arthur embraced the world of American academia. He was ordained in the Methodist Church in 1985, and shortly after, earned a master’s degree in divinity from Southern Methodist University.
“That was my number one dream, to be a minister. Ever since I was young, I felt it was my calling,” said Arthur.
He served as a pastor in Methodist churches in Texas for several years. With a Socratic love for learning, Arthur returned to school in 1987 to pursue a doctorate degree.
“Knowledge is power,” said Arthur. “Knowledge helps you to be able to communicate with everybody, regardless of their educational, economic or social background. And that is what the U.S. military stands for.”
Arthur’s perseverance paid off. Over a six-year period, he earned a doctorate in higher education administration and counseling from the University of North Texas while concurrently working as a parole officer for the state and raising three children with his wife, who came to the United States from Ghana with him.
He returned to California in 1992 to pursue his second doctorate in psychology at the Center for Psychological Studies. He also worked as an outreach consultant for the Oakland City School Districts, helping to develop a program to keep at-risk adolescents in school.
“I tried to keep them away from drugs and gangs and get their parents more involved in their lives. It really opened my eyes to the social influences on adolescents in America,” said Arthur.
One night in 1995, Arthur had a dream that he was a U.S. Navy chaplain. He couldn’t get back to sleep, and in the morning, he called the local U.S. Navy Officer Recruiting Office.
 Lt. Cmdr. Kobena Arthur gives a motivational speech to Marines and Sailors at Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 17. Arthur exclaimed, “Keep on!” to which the troops responded, “Keeping on!” This adage has become ubiquitous throughout the battalion as they head into the final phase of their pre-deployment training. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Marie |
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He was pleased to find that he met all the requirements to enter the chaplain training program.
After completing all the coursework for his second doctorate degree in psychology, Arthur set off for the U.S. Navy Chaplain Course in Newport, R.I., in the winter of 1996.
He spent nine weeks with a diverse group of about 50 candidates from nearly as many religious faith groups. Together, they studied U.S. Naval history, culture and the role of the military chaplain. Following graduation, Arthur, then 41 years old, headed to the Fleet.
“That’s the uniqueness about the U.S. Navy chaplain corps,” said Arthur. “I’m a people’s chaplain in the Navy,” he insisted. “I am not a Methodist chaplain. I serve everyone.”
Arthur explained that regardless of service members’ religious backgrounds, he must find a way to reach out to them spiritually and intellectually in order to help them find answers to existential questions which young people are confronted with for the first time. He guides them in resolving personal issues with relationships, finances and difficulty with adjustment to military lifestyle.
His four-year active-duty tour was at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., where he ministered to the new recruits at the Navy’s only recruit training center and fledgling sailors at the advanced service schools.
“I worked closely with the Navy psychologists to determine which Sailors were truly in need of psychological help and which could resolve their issues through informal counseling,” explained Arthur.
Arthur left active duty in 2000 but served as a drilling reservist with a U.S. Naval reserve support unit at Great Lakes while working as a financial consultant for a non-profit organization in North Chicago, Ill.
“The chaplain is a force multiplier because he brings peace to our Marines,” said Sgt. Maj. Anthony Allen, the battalion sergeant major.
 Lt. Cmdr. Kobena Arthur, the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment chaplain, delivers a Sunday church service at a remote training site at Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 22. A minister for more than 25 years, Arthur is preparing for his first deployment to Iraq with the battalion. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Marie |
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“He gives the Marines clear ears, a clear mind, and a clear heart,” insisted Allen. “When the chaplain speaks, people listen.”
Over the course of his tenure with 2/25, Arthur has deployed with the battalion during their annual training exercises in Senegal, Norway and Quantico, Va. He was eligible to rotate to another Navy or Marine Reserve unit this year but extended his tour with 2/25 in order to remain with them for their upcoming 7-month deployment to Iraq.
“I have been training with them every step of the way,” asserted Arthur. “They know me, from the commander down to the individual Marines. By deploying to Iraq with them, I can make an impact. One of my senior chaplains told me that I am the flesh and blood of the battalion. I welcome this opportunity to deploy with my Marines.”
Sgt. Julio Barrera-Riveira, the battalion’s pay and promotions chief from Brooklyn, N.Y., has forged a close bond with the chaplain over the past two and a half years.
“He makes a personal connection with the Marines. Even if you haven’t known him for a long time, he makes an effort to get to know you,” said Barrera-Riveira.
“Things were tough toward the end of the deployment,” said Barrera-Riveira. “But he was always there, whenever the Marines were in the field, he was always there, and his message was the same: ‘keep on keepin’ on.’ And then everyone started saying it— ‘keep on keepin’ on.’”
With only one chaplain for more than 1,100 battalion personnel, Arthur is in high demand. He delivered eight services to Marines and Sailors at three ranges scattered across the Twentynine Palms training areas on June 29, undaunted by the temperatures topping 110 degrees.
 Lt. Cmdr. Kobena Arthur, the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment Chaplain, leads the battalion Marines in a non-denominational church service in a make-shift chapel at Camp Upshur on March 9. The unit spent two weeks at Camp Upshur in Quantico, Va. for their annual training requirement. Arthur is an assistant pastor in South Orange, N.J. and a professor of psychology at Essex County College in Newark. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Marie |
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The battalion was mobilized May 17 and shipped out from locations throughout the U.S. May 27 for about four months of intense training in the Mojave Desert.
For many of the Reservists, the transition from a sedentary civilian career or university campus life in the Northeast to the brutal summer heat and grueling Marine Corps training here has been a great challenge.
During a recent conversation with a job recruitment agency, the interviewer asked Arthur why, with all his education and earning potential, he elected to serve as a Navy chaplain.
Arthur’s modest response was, “It’s all about service to your country and service to God. The satisfaction I get from working with these Marines is worth more than a million dollars.” |
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