Editor's Note: The following article appeared in the Modesto Bee (CA) on January 27, 2004. Chuck Roots is a long-time Free Methodist pastor and chaplain.

Military Chaplain Makes a Difference
Michael Doyle, Bee Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Chaplain Chuck Roots brings light to some dark places.

Places like a remote orphanage, where tough Marines hold tender babies.

A Ripon resident and reserve Navy commander, Roots organized a unique orphanage program in far-off Djibouti. By all accounts, it's been a godsend for the children and for the roughly 1,500 U.S. troops based in the tiny east African republic.

"It's one of those places where you don't just stop by," Roots said. "You can feel a little bit like you've been dropped off of the end of the Earth."

Such work pays off, though, and in more ways than one. Taking a brief respite from his overseas service, Roots stepped on a national stage Monday as Reserve Chaplain of the Year.

The Reserve Officers Association selected Roots for the honor, in part because of his work in Djibouti, but also for his other service since being summoned to active duty in November 2002.

"This is a tremendous job for me," Roots told several hundred members of the Reserve Officers Association, "to be able to serve the men and women in uniform, and share with them the wonderful words of life, and introduce them to the author of life."

In civilian life, Roots is pastor of the Ripon Free Methodist Church. But now, in his 20th year as a Navy chaplain, the father of two daughters is on active duty. In the past 14 months, he's been at California's Camp Pendleton, Kuwait's Camp Commando, Djibouti's Camp Lemonier and, for about a week, in Iraq.

"I don't know what I'd do without e-mail," said Roots' wife, Isaura. "It's been a long year."

It's not over yet.

Soon, the 55-year-old former Marine enlisted man will see Iraq in far greater depth, as he undertakes a six- or seven-month tour with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Among other pastoral duties, Roots will be helping Marines cope with the unnerving combination of peace and war that defines the aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"We will be counseling them, helping them process the ugliness of war," said Roots, who joined the Free Methodist Church in Ripon about five years ago.

Navy Rear Adm. Darold Bigger said Roots brings to the task a special combination of initiative and organizational acumen. The chief of the Chaplain Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve, Bigger helped select Roots for the honor as Chaplain of the Year.

Bigger cited the Djibouti orphanage program as one reason. A small nation north of Somalia, Djibouti is home to a U.S.-led anti-terrorism task force that combines Marine, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces units.

It's strategically located in what Roots termed "the heart of terrorism country." The Central Intelligence Agency has reportedly used Djibouti's Camp Lemonier as a staging ground for unmanned Predator aircraft to track al-Qaida terrorists, according to by GlobalSecurity.Org and others.

But as a home, Djibouti can be brutal. One in 10 babies dies at birth. The average life expectancy is 43 years, compared with 77 years in the United States. At least half of the nation's adults are unemployed.

During his six-month Djibouti tour, Roots arranged for the U.S. troops to pitch in at three local orphanages. The babies and the Americans got to hold one another.

"It's not just a battle of arms," Bigger said. "It's a battle of sentiment."

By early March, Roots will be in Iraq, though he won't yet disclose the exact location. He's excited about the prospects — "serving with the men and women of the military is the greatest experience anyone can have, and they're paying me for it," Roots said — but the ongoing overseas deployment also has a hometown cost.

"It's hard," Isaura Roots said. "I keep hoping they change their mind."