Melinda Russell

Unvalidated Pain: a Chaplain?s Journey to Iraq and Back Melinda Russell

Iraq, fall 2007. The surge was in full swing. The tours were increased to 15 months. IED?s had become a daily occurrence. But she was a chaplain in an Aviation Brigade, going to a large, safe COB. There wouldn?t be dangerous convoys. There wouldn?t be mortars shaking everyone from their beds in the middle of the night. Except for the long time away from family and home, it would be an easy tour. Until June 2, 2008, when the Chaplain?s world was turned upside down. You know the pain of military suicides through statistics. Now, share that pain through the eyes of a Chaplain who lost her assistant 10 months into a 15 month tour in Iraq. His pain may have ended that fateful summer morning, but nothing will ever be the same for those who experience Unvalidated Pain.