‘The people more than the place’

AFGHANISTAN — When Forward Operating Base Salerno was attacked on June 1, a former Bureau County resident was in the midst of the chaos.

“We’ve had our hands full the last few days,” said Chaplain (Major) Ken Bolin.

Bolin has been in Afghanistan since December, his fourth overseas deployment.

Bolin is the son of Ken and Peggy Bolin of Manlius. He attended school in Manlius, playing football before graduating as the valedictorian of the Manlius High School in 1992.

Even as a child, Bolin was drawn to both the religious and the military lives.

“I had known since about age 10 that I’d be in ministry at some point,” Bolin said. “The pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Manlius even introduced me to a visiting bishop as future Pastor Bolin at one point, to which I responded that it was Lieutenant Bolin.”

While Bolin was still in high school, he was motivated by Robert Sierens, who graduated from Manlius in 1988, to go to West Point. After graduating in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Arabic and French, he spent four years as an infantry officer in Fort Campbell, Ky., and then three years as a Signal Corps officer, serving as a company commander in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.

“While in company command, I was convinced that it was time for me to take off my uniform and go into ministry,” Bolin said.

Bolin resigned from the Army and went to the Dallas Theological Seminary, where he felt
drawn to return to the military to serve as a chaplain.

Bolin has spent quite a bit of time in the Middle East in the last 13 years. He served in Egypt for five months in 1999; Saudi Arabia for 14 months in 2002-03; and Iraq for 15 months in 2006-07.

Bolin called his current deployment in Afghanistan a “huge blessing.

“We do the same things here that we do anywhere else,” he said. “We nurture the living, care for the wounded, and honor the dead, no matter what their faith traditions are.”

Bolin said this deployment is different in that they confront issues of life and death every day, and issues that have huge implications. Issues such as the Koran-burning a few months ago or allegations of civilian casualties from a few weeks ago which can have strategic consequences, both for the soldiers on the ground and the government as a whole.

Bolin said that although, as a chaplain, he doesn’t handle weapons any more, he doesn’t worry about his safety because his chaplain assistant provides security.

“Even last Friday, after the attack that brought down our dining facility while we were still in it, and insurgents that were only about 100 meters away from us, I wasn’t concerned,” he said. “Everyone here knows who I am and what I do.”

After the shooting died down, Bolin and the others made their way to the hospital to care for the personnel, both military and civilian, who were wounded.

“Everywhere I go, the people that I deal with are both the best part and the hardest part — dealing both with their personal victories and pains,” Bolin said.

But there is a downside.

“The two loneliest jobs in the military are commander and chaplain, and I’ve done both,” Bolin said. “But I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything.”

Bolin’s deployment is scheduled to end in mid-October, at which time he’ll return to Alaska and wife, Sharon, and children, Brianna - 14, Paige - 9, and Christian - 7. At that time, he is scheduled to go back to school for a year, followed by three years of teaching ethics to junior leaders who are preparing to lead soldiers into combat.

And after that?

“I plan to stay in the military as long as God, the Army, and my wife want me to, no more and no less,” he said. “Sharon and I essentially agree that we’ll continue walking the road that God lays in front of us until He closes the door and provides some other way.”

Bolin said they love Alaska and have purchased property, but they’re not taking any action while Bolin is still in the service.

“We’ll wait to build anything, though, until we truly feel we know where God wants to place us when it’s time to leave the military,” he said. “To be honest, we’ve moved enough — nine times in the 20 years since leaving my parents’ home in Illinois — that I can learn to feel comfortable anywhere. Again, it’s about the people more than the place.”

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On the homefront

Ken Bolin's mother, Peggy Bolin, said the local community has been very supportive since her son was deployed in December.

Family members, friends, the ladies of the New Bedford Royal Neighbors #1491, and members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Manlius and the Manlius Baptist Church have donated about 250 pounds of items to help soldiers under the care of Ken Bolin's team of chaplains. 

Peggy said she was almost ready to make the most recent shipment of items when she was notified by her daughter-in-law, Sharon, that Ken's base had been attacked. During the attack, the post-exchange was completely destroyed, and the main dining facility was hit so soldiers were back to using MREs on a regular basis.

Peggy shared the news about the attack, and her friends and family wanted to help. The Royal Neighbors collected toiletries and made a financial donation to assist with shipping items; the local men's Cursillo group provided a religious item needed by the Catholic priest on base; and friends collected snack items to help give soldiers a little taste of home.

"It makes my heart feel good that the larger community is involved with helping our soldiers overseas," Peggy said. "How wonderful is that!"