Erskine Theological
Seminary Dean Dr. R.J. Gore
Erskine Seminary Dean Prepares For Duty In Iraq
At a time of year when many Americans are planning holiday visits with loved ones, Erskine Theological Seminary Dean Dr. R.J. Gore, who is also a chaplain and major in the U.S. Army, is packing for a journey that will take him away from his family before Christmas and land him a little north of Baghdad in Iraq.
Gore said he "kept getting rumblings" about two weeks ago that such an assignment might be in the works. "Then last week I got the phone call saying I had been mobilized," he said Wednesday. "Just yesterday I got ordered to active duty for Operation Iraqi Freedom."
Serving as chaplain for the 172nd Corps Support Group, Gore expects to be overseas for at least a year. "This is a reserve group out of the Midwest," he explained. "There will be two support battalions and one transportation battalion, and I'll have three chaplains working with me, one for each of the battalions."
Gore said he served a year in Korea in 1991 after the Gulf War and it was "a tense place," but not as dangerous as Iraq.
He will be going to Logistical Support Area Anaconda (LSAA), a logistics hub for Iraq, with both Air Force and Army personnel on the base. "Rumor has it there are more than a couple of dozen chaplains, and several thousand people on the site," Gore said, adding that he will have direct responsibility for about 150 people in the headquarters group and indirect responsibility for three battalions and their battalion chaplains.
His experience and training have equipped Gore for work as a supervisory chaplain. "My job is to mentor the chaplains under me," he said. "I will be teaching them how to work in the military setting, how to live in the desert."
Although he said his ministry "becomes more indirect" as a supervisory chaplain, Gore hopes for opportunities to "shore up believers and introduce the gospel to nonbelievers" while in Iraq.
"My expectation is that this is a place where everyone's thoughts will be wonderfully concentrated," he said.
An ongoing personal devotional life will be a key element for Gore's own spiritual health as he ministers to others, he said. "I am taking my Greek and Hebrew texts with me, and I plan to take advantage of downtime for a lot of prayer and reflection."
Another important element for spiritual health is accountability, which Gore believes he will experience with other chaplains. "Even though I supervise these other chaplains there will be some mutual accountability there," he said.
Gore's supervising chaplain is Lt. Col. Al Lowe. "He and I went through the advanced chaplain's course together and later he came to Fort Jackson to the chaplain school," he said. "He was our site coordinator for the doctor of ministry program."
One of the items Gore will be packing is a book on Arabic. "There will probably be some Iraqi civilians working there," he said. "I'm hoping I can find someone whose English I can help to improve and who can help me learn the Arabic language."
Meanwhile, Gore reflects with his wife Joan and their three children on their upcoming time of separation. He said he told his daughter Alison, "You are privileged. Very few people know what it is to sacrifice for your country."
Gore knows the months ahead will be difficult for his family. "It's not something we planned," he said. "It's going to be tough. But in July of 1986 I raised my right hand and said I'd do this." He hopes to return home in time to witness such milestone events as son Colin's graduation from high school and son Matt's graduation from college and wedding.
The seminary will be in good hands during his absence, Gore said. "The transition last year with Neely Gaston appointed vice president was a good thing.
"We have two associate deans, Robby Bell and Steve Lowe, who are quite capable of handling any academic questions that come along, and assistant dean Mary Ruth Marshall is a whiz at institutional assessment," he said.
