I was a chaplain with an infantry battalion that was conducting field exercises in Yakima, Washington. While visiting our soldiers at remote locations, I asked my Chaplain Assistant if he would go up and over the mountain instead of taking the road around it. He agreed, but soon stopped and said he couldn’t go further because it was too steep. I told him the Hummer was built for steep inclines and asked him to proceed.
That’s when he said, “Chaplain, I’m not stopping because the vehicle can’t make it. I’m stopping because it’s too scary. I don’t want to drive up this mountain!”
“I understand. Let’s trade places and I’ll drive.”
Being a good, responsible NCO, he insisted that I show him my military driving license. And I did.
Driving up that mountain was so much fun. We got to the top, got out, and looked around. We could see for miles in each direction. Coming back down was even scarier because it seemed we were looking straight down. It was exhilarating. We were now ready to go and visit our Soldiers.
Paul Linzey 