Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
Blog Number 22
June 1, 2020
Heroes in Hard Times
Part Nine
We are inundated with bad and scary news. During this month I will be doing blogs that celebrate heroes in our congregation. I hope that you gain some inspiration from these and receive a respite from the bad news that the media continues to feed us.
This is a shout out to Lieutenant Coronel Kenneth Reed. Kenny did not grow up in our congregation but his wife did, so we adopt him as our own. He is a hero, but a behind-the-scenes hero. When the Navy hospital ship Comfort came to New York City to help with the inundation of Corona victims, it was Kenny whose work stocked the ship with supplies. Around the world, our military gets medical supplies because of his work. He is a hero that is never seen, but is a crucial part of all their operations. He told me about it in his own words.
The words of Lieutenant Coronel Kenneth Reed:
Thank you for the email and for the willingness to highlight my job in your blog. I have to admit, I normally don’t do this, however I will give you a brief description and will keep the explanations as sterilized as possible;
I currently work at The US Army Forces Command aka “FORSCOM” on Ft. Bragg, NC. FORSCOM is one of four – 4-star Army Commands. I currently serve as the FORSCOM Surgeon Medical Plans & Operations Officer and Medical Operational Integrator.
Essentially I nominate / source medical units for world-wide, emergent (immediate need) rotational (forecasted) requirements and anything in support of the homeland. I dialogue daily with all components of our Army (Active / Reserve / National Guard) as well as multiple command entities in order to meet the global demand and maintain a pulse on the readiness of those units; which unit is “next” in the chute and which unit needs time back at home to build readiness etc.
Most recently, I assisted with unit nominations for the DoD COVID response and worked with Army Senior Leaders to explain what capability we had available to respond, what could be provided and how fast it could respond.
Lastly, I’m part of a larger group of staff who coordinate activities with both internal and external staffs to ensure FORSCOM deploys trained and ready medical forces to combatant commanders in support of worldwide contingency and named operations.
Pastor Mark’s Words:
Not all military heroes are in combat. Kenny is a hero. In this time of crisis may we all be grateful for his work and the work of others like him. When we see him let us thank him for his service to our country. Who can count the number of lives that he has saved?
God bless you and your work, Kenny. Thank you for your service to our nation and all of humanity. May we all imitate these Kenny in the work that we do.
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To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order a copy of his book:
https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/
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