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the morality ofbombing

cities

away from homethis Christmas

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what aremere mortals...

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Psalm 8:4

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Away from homeat Christmas -Unwrapping the realmeaning

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PPTTSSDD aa vviiccttiimm’’ss ssttoorryyooff hheeaalliinngg - wwiitthh eexx--mmaarriinnee NNiiggeell MMuummffoorrdd

13Martin’s Memo

Christmas lights will be well and trulytwinkling by the time this issue of Contactreaches our readers. As nativity plays andChristmas carols get into gear, it’s amazingto think of the different parts of the worldwhere Contact magazine is being read andpassed around...from the deserts of

Afghanistan and the beaches of Cyprus to ships in theNorth Sea and married quarter patches in Germany andthe UK.

Wherever you are based, Christmas can be a happy timefor friends and families to come together, however, in theforces we can’t forget the many personnel who areseparated from their families. On page 4 there’s a look atlife on operations at Christmas and what the festival isreally about, beyond the tinsel and gift wrappings.

There are also some meaty issues to delve into in thisissue including an article on military ethics by Dr PeterLee, who examines the morality of the destruction of theGerman cities in World War II by Bomber Command. Thereis a feature on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with thesecond part on the new book by author and former marine,the Revd Nigel Mumford. His very personal experience oftrauma and healing are an inspiration.

The AFCU is very pleased to be in partnership with Alphafor Forces, which is sponsoring the magazine. On page 11there is an advert for the course and information on howto pick up free materials. Alpha for Forces administrator,Eric Martin, a former Army PT instructor, also shares hisstory of discovering God.

There is an interesting insight into the life of the newsecretary of the Naval Christian Fellowship, Nathan Senior,who spent his early years aboard HMS Edinburgh, workingout how to live out faith on board.

I hope the regular columns and reviews all makeinteresting reading over the festive period and I would liketo take this opportunity to wish you a very HappyChristmas and a peaceful New Year.

RRaacchheell FFaarrmmeerrRachel FarmerEditor

If you wish to know more about what it means to be a Christian and/orhow to become a Christian, find and ask your local chaplain or aChristian you may know or pick up the phone and ask the AFCU office01252 311221

8the morality of theGerman citybombings - Dr Peter Lee investigates

early onChristmasmorning,some of theBritishsoldiersclimbed out oftheir trenchesinto ‘no man'sland’ carryinga football...

’

‘B

eing away from familyand friends at Christmasis always hard. It is asthough your life goes onhold when you are awayfrom home at thisspecial time of year.

Everyone knows that one of the costs ofserving in the military is to be postedoverseas or deployed on an operationaltour. It might be away at sea, in theFalklands, across in Germany, in the sun inCyprus, or on operations in Afghanistan.Every year there will be many men andwomen of the British Armed Forces awayfrom home.

As Christmas approaches, wherever youare, the expectations start to grow. Whenyou serve overseas there is ‘thecountdown’ to the day itself, but not in theway you'd expect. As I heard someoneonce say, "Christmas for many becomes amilestone to be achieved and climbed over,rather like climbing to the top of amountain. Getting to the top is a struggle,but once you have got to the top, you havedone the worst bit. You have battledthrough but then you can slide down theother side. At times it can be difficult andtricky, but in terms of time on ops, you areon the home run - no matter whenChristmas came in your deployment: nearthe start, in the middle or towards the end -you have done the hard thing and have therun downhill home. In essence it definesyour tour. You are away for Christmas...notaway from October until May. Not goingaway in December. You are going away forChristmas!"

And then when Christmas finally comes,you hope there may be a parcel, a card orletter to remind you of home, but with postas it is, it may arrive far too early or verylate and if that happens the impact is

almost completely lost! In the build up toChristmas you may have a unit carolservice, or a Christmas dinner served bythe officers. Santa hats may have replacedyour head gear for a few hours and youmight even see a Christmas tree or two. Onthe day itself perhaps you are hoping youcan get a phone call home or a Facebookchat on WiFi but even though you plan thatcall into your day - if you are on ops youwill also be aware in Afghanistan OpMinimise (a communications blackout whensomeone is seriously injured or killed) couldbe called at any time if a tragic eventhappens. So perhaps you aim to try to callas early as possible in the day. It wouldalways be a very sad Christmas Day ifMinimise were to be called, not onlybecause you can't communicate with homebut because of all people you will be awareof the very tough time others would then begoing through back home.

Christmas dinner will very likely be laid onby the chefs wherever you serve - afantastic feast with all the trimmings -turkey, Christmas pudding and crackers aresent out in bucket loads to the troopsoverseas and it is always hugelyappreciated. There will be a partyatmosphere too, but none of this makes upfor the fact that you are away from yourloved ones and all your usual familytraditions are on hold. But while your life ison hold, it might be worth asking again,what is Christmas all about? What makes itso special? Is it just a time when we gettogether with family and friends?

Christmas for many has become nothingmore than an excuse for a party, where wesing a few traditional carols and eat somefestive food. It is a time of rest from workand a time to be with family and lovedones. For others it has become more andmore a commercialized frenzy of shoppers

away fo

r Christmas

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who almost trample each other underfootwhile trying to get a good deal on shoes,games, and clothing. The real meaning ofChristmas appears to get lost in thewrapping or not known at all. You couldsay, "The baby being thrown out with thebath water!"

Christmas is a time of great celebration -a time to celebrate the birth of the LordGod in our world. Isaiah 9:6. “For unto usa child is born, unto us a son is given...”This was recorded some 700 years beforeJesus Christ was born - a prophecy thatwas to be fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. Weknow that Jesus, the Son of God, wasborn so that He might die, to save everyperson on earth and to show everyonebeing the way to a life on earth thatcentres on God and that ultimately leads,having passed through this present life, toeternity with God in heaven. And so Mary,the mother of Jesus, gave birth in a stablein Bethlehem in the Holy Land. This wasthe greatest gift our Father in Heavencould have given to the people on earth.At Christmas, we find the beginnings ofredemption, blessing, and all our hope.The birth of Christ changed all things andstill rings true in this story from a previousconflict...

An old German soldier who had foughtwith the German forces in the First WorldWar in trenches full of mud, blood andvermin, recalled a story that described themagic of the Christmas spirit, on the backof the redemption, blessing and hope thatcomes from the Christmas story. In thosetrenches, dug in the fields of France, weare told that enemies could actually heareach other talking. They didn't needsatellites to locate the enemy. The enemywas just over there! This old soldier

recalled on one cold, moonlit ChristmasEve, he had huddled in the bottom of thetrench and that because of the annualChristmas truce, the fighting stopped. Hesaid:"Suddenly, from the British trenches aloud, sweet tenor voice began to sing,‘The Lord Is my Shepherd,’ and the soundfloated up into the clear, moonlit air." Thenhe said: "And in immediate response, fromthe German trenches, a rich baritonevoice tuned in, singing in German, ‘DerHerr ist mein Heiter auf Deutsche.’ (TheLord Is My Shepherd). And for a fewmoments, everybody in both trenchesconcentrated on the sound of these twoinvisible singers and the beautiful musicand the harmony. The British soldier andthe German soldier sang praise to theLord who was their shepherd. The singingstopped, and the sound slowly died away."He continued: "We huddled in the bottomof our trenches and tried to keep warmuntil Christmas Day dawned and then,early on Christmas morning, some of theBritish soldiers climbed out of theirtrenches into ‘no man's land’, carrying afootball. Everyone knows that the Britishdon't go anywhere without two importantthings, their teapots and their footballs!The English soldiers started kickingaround a football, in a game in ‘no man'sland’, between the trenches." Then the oldsoldier said: "Some of the Germansoldiers climbed out, and England playedGermany at football in ‘no man's land’ onChristmas Day in the middle of thebattlefield in France in the First WorldWar.” That’s what I’d call a ‘God moment’.

The love of Christ that we see from themoment of His birth at that first Christmascan cause people to put away differencesand re-focus on God and not onthemselves. The love of Christ that

everyone can receive is something thatJesus wants each and every human beingto know and live out in his or herlife...praising God, singing in song and inspirit...coming together with all believers inan antiphony of praise to Him who isworthy...that is the joy of singingChristmas carols.

If you feel alone, especially at Christmas,perhaps unwrap Christmas again and findthe Son of God who wants nothing morethan to bring purpose and hope into yourlife and offer you a love that the world willnever understand. Jesus is the greatestgift anyone can receive at Christmas time.

by Padre Simon Farmer

Jesus is the greatestgift anyone canreceive at Christmas

’‘

�� Nations join together to sing carols on operations

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the battle withinIn the second part of this series on post traumatic healing andliving with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), we includeextracts from author and pastor Nigel Mumford’s book, as well ascomments from two colleagues who witnessed healing and workedalongside PTSD sufferers.

Ex-army lieutenantcolonel, Noel Daweshas worked alongsideNigel Mumford, forseveral years, and hewrites, “As an infantryofficer I had my fair

share of operational deployments,particularly to Northern Ireland during the‘Troubles’. I had four ‘street’ tours thereincluding one year accompanied by mywife, Meryl, and two sons 6 and 8 yearsold.

“I didn’t think much about combat traumaand, whether I was a rifle platoon orcompany commander or a battalionoperations coordinator, it seemed to methat few of my soldiers, even thosewounded, or those in the battalion sufferedany trauma at all. I was DEFINITELY notsuffering any trauma and I prided myselfthat as a regiment we had clearly trainedeffectively and professionally to avoid theunseen wounds of combat as well as wedid!

“Years later the truth started to come out -and it still does. There were more‘wounded warriors’ in our midst than I everthought there were - and I was one ofthem.

“Thankfully, for myself, the trauma wasmild compared to many others. Re-experiencing, (usually well hidden) anger;the ‘thousand yard stare’, activities thatprovided a greater adrenaline rush, feelingisolated from my wife and children, whohad bonded very closely with each otherwhilst I was away and other symptoms,were kept very private by me until I met aformer Royal Marine, the Reverend NigelMumford in the North Country of New Yorkstate, USA, in 2007.

“Nigel had had full blown PTSD from hisservice in Northern Ireland. As ourfriendship grew, we discovered the HolySpirit had laid heavily on both our hearts adeep desire to help traumatised combatveterans find healing and peace for theirsouls. With much prayer and discussion,

we (mainly Nigel) developed a 48 hourretreat for veterans, lasting over threedays. Spouses are welcome, as arechildren. Veterans pay for their ownjourneys to and from the retreat locationbut we cover fully all subsistence costs asour gift to them, saying ‘thank you for yourservice’ and ‘welcome home’. We calledthe retreat the Welcome Home Initiative(WHI).

“Since early 2008, we have carried out 17retreats reaching out to over 200 US,British, Canadian and Australian Veterans.They have seen combat in almost everycampaign from World War 2 to Iraq andAfghanistan including some lesser knowncampaigns. Some 15 retreatants havebeen active duty or formerly servingchaplains. We have seen Christ the Healerbring comfort and peace to the lives ofover 90% of those who have attended aretreat, including ourselves. More than10% have seen thrilling and significanttransformation in their lives.

“Since Nigel’s excellent and influentialbook, ‘After the Trauma the Battle Begins(Post Trauma Healing)’ was publishedthere seems to have been an increase inveterans acknowledging healing they havereceived on retreats. The book is the bestbook on healing of the many I have readand focuses on practical aspects of it.Several veterans have indicated they havereceived healing as they have followed theextremely practical advice Nigel suggestsin each chapter.”

Lt Col Noel Dawes served in theSTAFFORDS for nearly 30 years beforeretiring in February 1994. He and Meryl,his wife, served with an organisationworking with Christians in the military in theUSA for 10 years. In 2004, he wasdetached to Alpha USA to coordinate thegrowth and practice of the course withinthe US armed forces. He and Meryl,together, are members of Nigel Mumford’steam bringing healing to veterans throughthe Welcome Home Initiative, a partnerministry of ACCTS.

There were more

‘woundedwarriors’ in ourmidst than Iever thoughtthere were -and I was oneof them

’

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Part 2

Extracts from After the Trauma theBattle Begins:Living with PTSD from: Chapter 17Living with someone who has beentraumatised in life and is suffering fromPTSD, is good reason to set healthyboundaries. Without healthycommunication between spouses,especially if both have suffered trauma,their marriage is at risk of becoming aconstant source of triggers. The axiom,"Of course your family pushes yourbuttons" comes to mind. Our loved onesknow us. They know our quirks, foibles,warts and everything else! They may notsee, with their eyes, the wall that thetrauma victim has built but they know itsperimeters and, they know when they gettoo close to the ‘hot spot.’ There is a lot ofgive and take in our relationships, but thespouse of the sufferer of PTSD is mostlythe ‘giver’. Living with someone withPTSD is like negotiating our path aroundan unexploded bomb or walking oneggshells. Their hyper vigilance can bethe source of great tension within familydynamics. The family knows all too well,that the slightest thing can set the victimoff. Just like a bomb.

Nigel explains: "PTSD sufferers arenotorious for building walls! We need tobuild bridges.... If pressed too hard theequal reaction within a spouse can beenormous pain". He also quotes Sir IsaacNewton, "Tact is the art of making a pointwithout making an enemy" and says thatPTSD sufferers lose all tact whentriggered. He also says, “The void ofPTSD and all that it represents includesconfusion, dis-ease, dissatisfaction,unhealed wounds and unfinishedbusiness.

Asking for help or discussing these thingswith one's spouse can be a problem forsome men who view such activity as aweakness to their manliness. This is, ofcourse, yet another matter for healing anda first step to setting the captive free.Getting over this hurdle will requirehealing in addition to the trauma itself.When triggered either a fight will ensue ora flight is in the making. Though flight orleaving can be very frustrating for the

spouse, it may be necessary for safetyreasons to allow time for a reaction todiffuse... This calming down period is theslowing down of the fly wheel. This type ofliving can be utterly exhausting and taxingon a marriage, because your enemy stillhas the upper hand. The enemy is thecontinued horror of memory that thesufferer is trying to sort out in their mind.We do seem to hurt the ones we love.Extreme grace is required by the spouseto be able to forgive again and again.Changing behaviours can be a slowprocess but there is hope.

Nigel Mumford’s own story of healing andrecovery from a recent illness is outlinedin the book’s introduction by one of hisAmerican colleagues the Rt Revd DavidBena, a bishop and Vietnam veteran. Hewrites: “We had been ministeringalongside Nigel during the heady days of

2003-2009 days when Nigel was strongand effective, as he was an instrument ofhealing in the lives of so many. So it wasparticularly challenging for us to see himat death’s door in the hospital bed in late

2009. Here was the one who broughthealing to so many, now in need of radicalhealing in his own right. We visited himoften in the hospital, with his wife, Lynn,and with his faithful assistant Sandra. Wejoined others in anointing him, praying forhim, and encouraging him. We just knewthat any day he would start getting better.But as he slipped into a coma, gettingworse day by day, I began to wonderwhether he would pull out of it. Of course Ihad to be strong and encouraging. But Ikept wondering to myself and to God, “Willhe get better, Lord? Is there reallyanything to this healing business or is itjust mind over matter?” We get belted withdoubts when a loved one’s life isthreatened, don’t we? So I had to pushthrough the doubts and continue praying.There is a phrase, ‘Hope for the best; planfor the worst.’ Mary Ellen and I prayed forthe best and planned for the worst. Theworst came one night when Sandra textedto say that the doctors had told Lynn notto leave the hospital that night because itwould likely be Nigel’s last.

“We drove immediately to the hospitalwhere I administered the Last Rites tohim, after I asked God to completely healhim. As I said goodbye to him, part of methought that that would be the last time Iwould see Nigel alive on the earth. Thenext day he was still alive. And the next.And the next. Time seemed in suspensionas we checked on him each day. Then hebegan to rally. Eventually he was broughtout of the coma. Eventually he was ableto talk, and then to walk, and then tobegin praying for others again. Today, heis again ministering full time. A miracle!What did we all learn from Nigel’s illness?“Pray for the best; plan for the worst.” Thebishops, clergy and lay people whosustained Nigel in prayer know that God isindeed in control of the universe, that heloves us all very much, and that He wantsto heal us. Some will be healedimmediately, some eventually, and somewill be healed after they have ceased tolive on the earth. Our role is to prayfervently and wait for God to act.”

For more details on Nigel’s ministrysee: http://byhiswoundsministry.com

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� Nigel in recovery

� Nigel Mumford in hospital � prayers for healing

� Nigel Mumford

Mary Ellen and I prayed for the

best and planned for the worst‘ ’

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Few names, if any, inBritish military historydivide opinion like thatof Arthur ‘Bomber’Harris, Air OfficerCommanding-in-Chief,Bomber Command from

February 1942 until September 1945. Fewnames conjure up such a spectrum ofhuman responses: from devoted loyalty toabhorrence, from admiration to disgust.His personal legacy was decided byothers as the bombed-out ruins ofDresden smouldered and the city buriedits dead in February 1945: the scapegoatwho bore the moral culpability of hismilitary and political superiors.

As early as 1933 – nine years beforeHarris took over Bomber Command – J.M.Spaight, a key figure in the shaping ofpolicy at the Air Ministry, warned of whatwas to come in a future war: “Let there beno mistake about it: the cities will bebombed, whatever rule is laid down.” Allattempts to outlaw bombing in the 1920sand ‘30s had failed and the bomber wasseen as the key to future victory.

Following the outbreak of war it did nottake long for area bombing to emerge asa destructive offensive tool. On 13September 1939 the Luftwaffe attackedWarsaw using a 50:50 ratio of explosivesto incendiaries in a clear attempt to usefire as a weapon of devastation againstthe city and its people.

By April 1940 Bomber Command wasalready using long-delay-action bombs todisrupt German fire services and civilreconstruction efforts. Further areabombings took place by both sides overthe subsequent months. On 8 July 1940Churchill wrote to Lord Beaverbrook, theMinister for War Production: “When I lookaround to see how we can win the war Isee that there is only one sure path ...there is one thing that will bring him backand bring him down, and that is anabsolutely devastating, exterminatingattack by very heavy bombers from thiscountry upon the Nazi homeland.”Churchill was an enthusiastic andpassionate advocate of area bombing and

would remain so throughout the war –right up to the point where the practicethreatened to harm his post-war legacy.

Churchill was being disingenuous at bestwhen he told the Commons in August1940 that the RAF was bombing deep intoGermany with ‘deliberate carefuldiscrimination.’ His public message andthe military reality were quite different. Hisscientific advisor, Professor Lindemann,had already prescribed the most effectivemeans of area bombing: mixingexplosives and incendiaries to de-housevast numbers of Germans. Disruptingdaily life, reducing industrial productionand damaging morale in the process. Itwould become Churchill’s and the RAF’spolicy.

Analysis of the effectiveness of BomberCommand’s actions in the Butt Report ofAugust 1941 scotched the pretence ofprecision bombing; only a third of bombswere getting within five miles of theirtargets. In the shadow of the Blitz onLondon and Coventry a new directive wasenacted. In February 1942, ten daysbefore Harris took charge, BomberCommand was told: “The primary objectof your operations should now befocussed on the morale of the enemycivilian population and in particular, of theindustrial workers.” The die was cast.

In many ways Harris was the ideal manfor the job. He came from a long career asa bomber, with experience inMesopotamia and the North-WestFrontier. He was passionately convincedabout the effectiveness of bombing andhad spent years developing its accuracyand efficiency. Most important, however,was his character. He had a single-minded devotion to his task and, alien tomost modern sensibilities, a burningsense of duty. These strengths would laterbecome his greatest weaknesses.

The moral assessment of events whenthese directives were given to Harris in1942 and 1943 is probably morestraightforward than it would become inthe final year of the war. Aspects of itmake for potentially uncomfortable

reading for unquestioning area bombingadvocates and opponents alike.

Pacifists reject any taking of human life,while political realists see no place formorality in their calculations. Betweenthese positions sits just war reasoning andits demand for proportionality of meansand discrimination of military targets, withChristians to be found across the wholepolitical spectrum. If area bombing isapproached simplistically as a straightchoice between good and evil, thetargeting of civilians renders it unjust.However, there was no choice betweengood or evil, only between lesser andgreater evils. And Harris could not do hisjob without killing civilians even if hewanted to – the technology was notadvanced enough to do otherwise. As thewar progressed increasing accuracy couldbe achieved but often with unsustainablelosses of aircraft and personnel to thecommand that already suffered thehighest loss rates across the armedforces.

By late 1944 and early 1945 there wasclear disagreement between Harris andChief of the Air Staff Charles Portal, hissuperior, as to the best use of thebombers. Harris remained convinced thatto hit anything you had to hit everything,i.e,: the cities. Despite Harris’sprioritisation of area bombing above oil or

a lesser evil?‘Bomber’Harris –morality andthe Germancity bombings

other ‘panacea’ targets as he called them,he was not removed from his position. Hecontinued to have support from above.Then came the directive to Harris to attackDresden, Berlin, Leipzig and Chemnitz –with Churchill’s full knowledge andcomplicity. Harris’s night bombers wouldprovide the means of ‘destroying theseindustrial cities.’

In the weeks that followed the attacks onDresden on 13/14 February 1945 (theBomber Command attack and the twofollow-up American attacks), publicdisquiet began to emerge eventuallyprompting Churchill, shamefully, to try anddistance himself from the controversy.Similarly, others in Harris’s chain ofcommand – Portal, the other Chiefs andthe Air Ministry – left him isolated. Victory was nigh, reputations – especiallyChurchill’s – were being made andprotected. Thoughts were turning to whata post-war Germany might look like. Thescapegoating began in earnest with Harristoo focused on his task, too politicallyinept, to sense the winds of change. What responsibility did Harris bear for hisactions? He had been directed by theChief of the Air Staff, the Air Minister andChurchill, who was both Minister ofDefence and Prime Minister. If moralresponsibility is apportioned according toone’s freedom to shape events Harrisclearly bore greater responsibility than thecrews he ordered into action over

Germany. Yet he had little more room forpersonal choice than they did. Some, like A.C Grayling, argue that thearea bombings should never have takenplace, that the crews should have refusedto fly and that Harris only avoided being awar criminal by being on the winning side.Harris’s determination to publicly, almostaggressively, stand by the actions ofBomber Command without apology orregret was, from a leadership perspective,no doubt a comfort and inspiration to thecrews who had dropped the bombs. However, given the deafening silence ofhis superiors over Dresden, through hisobduracy Harris effectively marked himselfout as the scapegoat. Harris stood alone,defiant and destined to publicly bear themoral culpability of his superiors. Churchill’s actions were the most damningand damnable. They indicate a willingnesson the part of Britain’s great war-timeleader to abdicate moral responsibility foracts that he co-authored and on whoseauthority they rested.

Many of the arguments about Harris’spolicies towards the end of the war focuson the relative success and strategicconsequences of the targeting of oilinfrastructure versus the targeting of cities.Military historians and moral philosopherswill debate forever the merits of one overthe other and the contributions to bothmade by Bomber Command. Historiansand moral philosophers have one majoradvantage in making their judgements ofHarris who had to make terrible decisionswith awful consequences in the heat ofbattle - the benefit of 20/20 hindsight andaccess to far more, and more accurate,information than he did. Similarly,Christians looking back from acomfortable pew in the twenty-first centurywill find it difficult to put themselves in theposition of having to somehow sustain afaith while dropping explosives andincendiaries.

We do so from the safety and security ofseven decades of reasonable politicalstability and relative peace in WesternEurope. If the morality of the actions ofHarris and his bombers are to be judgedin simple, absolute terms then they will be

forever guilty and their names will live onin ignominy. However, when Harris’actions are assessed comparatively, theoutcome is somewhat different. The lesserevil prevailed over the much greater evil,even if there remained evil on both sides. Post-war, the world had and retains agreater appreciation of the impact of theoil strategy. In parallel, however, the worldalso has a greater appreciation of Hitler’sFinal Solution, which has similarly to beweighed retrospectively. In the obscenecalculus of human catastrophe how do25,000 deaths in Dresden measureagainst more than a million men, womenand children killed with malevolentefficiency at Auschwitz? Or the millionSoviets who died defending Stalingrad?If Harris and Bomber Command reducedthe length of the war by one day howmany lives were saved? What if BomberCommand reduced the length of the warby a week? By a month? Such agrotesque numbers game can never beaccurately completed and it would seemperverse to even try. However, thesenumbers remind us that when great evilstalked Europe and Britain took the fightto its Nazi enemy, Harris more thananyone was prepared to embrace a lesserevil in order to defeat it.

Harris never shirked from his duty, neverdenied it, never apologised and neverregretted his actions. He had blood on hishands and never tried to hide it, and itwas this more than anything that singledhim out for blame. Churchill wanted hislegacy and many in the country –Christian and non-Christian alike – wantedto forget what they had demanded of‘Bomber’ Harris in the darkest of hourswhen the stench of fear and danger wasoverwhelming. It is perhaps time weremembered Harris’ role and moralculpability in its proper perspective andrecall the scapegoat from the wilderness.

‘But the goatchosen by Lot as

the scapegoat shallbe presented alivebefore the Lord to

be used for makingatonement by

sending it into thewilderness as a

scapegoat ... Thegoat will carry onitself all their sinsto a remote place.’

(Leviticus 16:10, 22)

Dr Peter Lee is a Portsmouth UniversityPrincipal Lecturer in Ethics based at RAFCollege Cranwell. This is an abridgedversion of ‘Return from the Wilderness: AnAssessment of Arthur Harris’s MoralResponsibility for the German CityBombings’, Air Power Review, Vol. 16, No.1 (Spring 2013) pp. 70-90.

Harris effectivelymarked himself outas the scapegoat...

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Nathan Senior (picturedleft) is a sailor's sailor.No doubt about that.His direct and evenmanner, immediatehumour and Yorkshirebrogue make an

immediate warm impression, writes CliveLangmead. Here is a man you would trustto sling your hammock if you were new onboard and didn't know how to, a friendwho would draw your rum ration for youwithout sneaking a sip, a messmate whowould brew you a mug of 'kai' (hot sweetcocoa with-a-dash-of-something) as youpull on your duffle coat to go on deck for anight watch. Today hammocks, rumrations, duffle coats and even kai are nolonger naval style (though night watches,sadly, are) but Nathan still seems to carrythat traditional, supportive, 'we're all in thesame boat, shipmate' air with him. A trueman of the sea.

He is also a man of God. Born inDewsbury, West Yorkshire, he became aChristian at age 15 in a fierce Baptistsetting. "It was really hard core, they did'A' level guilt!" However, mainly due to therigid social setting ("all my friends wereChristians") he felt he had no real'ownership' of his faith. It all ran, rathercomfortably, on rails.

All this changed when he joined the Navyat 17. Was he answering a distant call ofthe sea? Looking for adventure? Longingfor far horizons? No. "It was better thanbeing out of work." Fair enough. But itproved a shock to the system. In a 50man mess deck in a warship he was nowlikely to be the only Christian.

"When you live your life cheek by jowlwith messmates - dozens to a mess -there is nowhere to hide. You are alwayson show, all of the time. Christians are notsupposed to judge but - trust me -everyone is happy to start judging YOU! Ifyou lose it, or swear, or look grumpy, yourmess mates will delight in saying: ‘Ho, ho!- you're a Christian! You're not supposed

to do that!' So for me it was do or diereally." Fortunately he is still alive."But they do want you to take your beliefsseriously - which is not unreasonablewhen you think about it. And they will askyou to pray if they feel something goingadrift in their own lives. Many ask for this.They get to see the answers too. I stillhear from some of my old messmateswho want to ask for prayer or knowsomething more about Jesus. They don'tforget. Nor does God."

"But I was very far from getting it right. Infact I got most of it wrong. On one trip Idecided to really fast and pray for mymess mates, and for two months nothinghappened. Just zero. Nothing. We were inthe Caribbean and so one day I justjacked it in and went ashore with mymates and drank for 10 days straight. Idon't remember a single one. BUT...oneevening I saw a mate looking really downin the mouth at a nightclub and went overto talk to him. We went outside to cool offand sat in the porch of a church opposite.There was a bible text on the noticeboard. That must have triggeredsomething in me (I don't remember this)and I told him the gospel. Now he is outof the Navy and an assistant minister! SoGod does have a sense of humour."

Humour is something you can't get awayfrom with Nathan. A serious comment onfaith is always counterbalanced with asmile. "I used to pray every day for myship - 'cause you don't want it hitting arock...especially at sea..."

Nathan left the sea - and the Navy - lastyear from a final draft in HMSEDINBURGH, the last Type 42 AirDefence destroyer, itself now retired 'onthe beach.' But for him service to theNavy is far from over. He is still intimatelyconcerned with both the service and thegospel as the new Naval ChristianFellowship’s Executive Secretary. And asa man who understands, deeply, the seaand sailors it would seem that he is verymuch God's man for that appointment.

man of the sea

When you live your life

cheek by jowlwith messmates- dozens to amess - there is nowhere to hide

’‘

HMS Edinburgh

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It was whilst serving as the PTInstructor with 1QLR inGermany that I had a few'God dreams and visitations'which woke me to thepossibility that there wasmore to life than the present.

The closest I ever came to a padre in 22years of service was sharing a sauna aftera game of squash. I never heard theGospel during any of the many churchparades and services I had attended so Iwasn't really looking for God. I realise nowHe was looking for me.

On a posting to Belize I found a Bible inmy office on St. George's Caye. It wasThe Living Bible and I started reading it.At night we would drink our body weight inrum and during the day, after the troopshad been allocated their activities, I wouldrelax at the end of the jetty as far awayfrom the mosquitoes as possible and readthe Bible. I became so convicted of my sinI was going to convert to the chosenpeople and get circumcised (reading theOld Testament) yet thankfully before thathappened, as I was leaving Belize Idiscovered a tract pointing the way toJesus. I arrived in Hong Kong inSeptember 1990 and whilst unpacking inthe Sgts' Mess I uncovered this tractagain, read it, and got on my knees andprayed. I heard an audible voice telling meto go to church, so the first Sunday I wentto the Garrison Church Book of CommonPrayer service. What an awful experience!So I returned dejectedly to my room andsaid to the 'voice', "That was terrible, justlike all the other boring church servicesI've ever attended". The second time I

ever heard theaudible voice of Godwas when He said,"You went to the wrong service". I didwonder who this was speaking to me.

So the next Sunday I returned at 11amand went to the family service andexperienced the love and joy of beingwelcomed into God's family. OneChristian, also in the APTC, welcomed meby saying "Eric, you are the last person Iever expected to become a Christian",which puzzled me because I alwaysthought of myself as a Christian - I had alot to learn! I was so overcome by joy thatI started preaching to everyone I couldbother and quickly drove all my friends,colleagues and family far away from me.A couple of years later I did eventuallymanage to share the Gospel successfullywith someone who was to become myclosest friend and brother, and eventuallymy boss! We had been in the APTCtogether so he knew the 'before and after'Eric Martin, and the latter version hadsomething he found attractive. That wasJesus in me.

After he committed his life to Christ hestarted attending Holy Trinity Brompton(HTB) the home of the Alpha course andhe invited me onto Alpha. It was likediscovering Jesus all over again. I thenstarted running Alpha courses and startedseeing people come to faith in largenumbers. That was nearly twenty yearsago and Alpha works as well today as itdid at the beginning. Three years ago Iwas invited to join the staff of AlphaInternational to promote Alpha globally in

the military. It's a great challenge. I lovethe work. One of the blessings I havereaped recently is that a seed and someresources I planted over one year ago inGermany has resulted in Alpha runningthere, and my older brother Andrew whohas lived in Germany for forty years hasstarted attending and is well on the way tosalvation. Such joy again. It's like beingborn again.....again!

I live in Cyprus where I completed myArmy service and met my wife, Angela.We have a daughter, Charis (18) and ason Joshua (16). Life is good....and thenyou live!�� Alpha for Forces is offering freeAlpha resources to anyone who wouldlike to register and run Alpha in amilitary environment, includingdependants. Email your details andintended plans to:alphaforforces@htb.org.uk

force 4goodAlpha for Forces Administrator, Eric Martin (picturedright) tells his story of faith, after initially joining theRoyal Engineers and transferring into the ArmyPhysical Training Corps (APTC)…

� 200 Finnishtroops attend Alpha

every 6 months

Afew weeksago I was sitting inthe Shrivenham MessCosta Coffee with afriend laughing overmy past horrendousand failed attempts to

communicate the Gospel of Christ. Yousee when I hit Christendom as a 17-year-old I hit it pretty hard and in the process ofletting everybody at college know howfrankly awesome my God was I, sadly, didnot do Him or His Kingdom any favours.

After a few years of having my abrasiveevangelistic technique chipped andsanded away in God’s great workshop Ihad the misfortune of realising just howbadly I had come across. There was aguy on one of my flying training courseswho gave Christ such a bad name that Ihad heard his extensive reputation amonth before I even met him and, onmore than one uncomfortable occasionwas left sitting amongst an angry mobwatching the Gospel explained byrecounting each individual’s sinfulproclivities and describing in painstakingdetail exactly why they were going to hell.

This 10-month experience of fieldinggenuine questions from incensed youngaviators, due to misguided statements offaith, proved very significant to me.Knowing that only a few years before Ihad come out with almost identicalarguments, delivered in the same harshtones, made me realise a couple of keyfacts. Firstly, the statement ‘God hates (fillthe blank)’ is not only fundamentallywrong, but it will only ever push a personfurther away from God’s father heart, and,secondly, my course mates were quicklybuilding their understanding of who Christis based almost entirely on the ratherdamning example paraded daily aroundthe squadron.

What they needed to hear about was the God who loved them and waspursuing them no matter who they are orwhat they had done. They needed toknow that all the specifics were irrelevant,that the only

thing that mattered was that they turnaround and start walking back towardsChrist.

I left that squadron with two things: a pairof wings on my chest and anunderstanding of just how badly I hadbelittled Christianity as a fanaticalteenager. When you try to spread themessage of love to the world and do it inany way other than love, it becomes veryeasy for everyone to not take you, or yourmessage, seriously.

So how is this, true as it may be, relevantto our previous discussions ondemonstrating scriptural accuracy throughscience or basing our sure and steadfasthope on the tangible day-to-day presenceof an Almighty God?

‘My dear friends, we must love each other.Love comes from God, and when we loveeach other, it shows that we have beengiven new life. We are now God’s childrenand we know Him ... Since God loved usthis much, we must love each other.’ (1John 4:7,11)

Everything we have to say about Christ,about our beliefs and why we hold them,everything that could possibly contributeto our giving a justifiable defence of ourfaith rests on the foundation of our livingin such a way as to be taken seriously. If,as I once did as a teenager, you standwith a cigarette in hand and dole out theadvice that‘smoking’s just notworth it’ yourmessage will bepassed over. In thesame way when wedo not treat

everyone around us with thefull love of Christ on a dailybasis we will be completelyignored when we speak of a

saviour that is in very nature love.This is a very easy statement to

make, but an exceptionally hard one tolive out and begs the question of whatsuch living looks like, especially in themilitary environment.

Never mind Sunday school, we’re about totalk back-to-crèche basics. Put simply, wejust need to treat those around us in sucha way that we would want to be treated.Give 100% to all you do and to everyoneyou do it with, particularly those of youwho are in command roles – live aroundyour troops in such a way that they neverever doubt that you would watch theirback, even if that took your life or evenyour career! Never destroy someone elseto build yourself up, especially if they’renot there to defend themselves, andalways credit others for their hard graft.

This is not easy. During a recent 5 monthspell of flying the squadron’s planningdesk I have found it virtually impossible(and failed on a number of occasions) tolive out this basic code. Nonetheless, wehave to strive continually to overcome thetemptation simply to run with the crowd ortake the path of least resistance – wemust have our own extensive reputation,one that tells of our absolute considerationfor others and our genuine care andconcern for everyone, regardless ofwhether it’s the admin clerk or the boss.Without this reputation no stack ofacademic papers, raft of archaeologicalreports or sworn testimony to themiraculous will hold any sway whatsoever.You can argue until you're blue in the faceabout factual backing of biblical claims butthe single greatest defence of faith youwill ever be able to give, is that you lovethose around you like you love yourself.

JP’s BlogL i v i n g t h e F a i t h

loveA three part look at why we believe from

1 Corinthians 13by Flying Officer Jonny (JP) Palmer

jonnyandhayley@hotmail.com

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As I write it’s less thana week to theSnowdonia marathon.It’s always at thisstage that I amworried about gettinga slight niggle, or a

cold or something that could get worseand stop me running on Saturday. I think Iwould rather break my leg at this point,then at least it would be clear-cut! Injuriesdefinitely knock us out of the game, andwhen I got a sports injury generally Ifound my mess mates completelyunsympathetic. There was one guy onone ship who smoked 80 ‘tabs’ aday…yup no typo….eighty. Whenever weused to drip about him forever sloping offto have a tab, he would say that sport wasbad for you, and that a sportsman spentmore time off work with injuries than hedid having a tab in the smoking area onboard (affectionately known as the ‘LeperColony’). Interesting point!

One of the worst injuries I had whilstrunning, was interestingly not a directresult of the actual run (like tripping over aring bolt whilst running round the upperdeck and twisting my ankle, having ascreen door opened in my face and nearlybreaking my nose or slipping on spilt fuelafter a Replenishment at Sea and takingall the skin off my leg when falling on thedeck).

I was running in the RN Cross CountryChampionships for HMS Collingwood. Wewere expected to be in the top 3 teamsand I was looking at being one of the top6 Collingwood runners, thus counting inthe overall team points. I suddenly got thismassive pain in my chest. I had to stopimmediately, sure I’d had a heart attack,but at the same time thinking, “That’simpossible - I’m really fit!” I was sittingpropped up against a tree holding mychest and a marshal came over (young

sailor) who suggested that I stayed thereand not continue running for a bit. Helpful.The rest of the field carried on runningpast, with the Collingwood guys shoutinghelpful things like ‘stop loafing’ and ‘get amove on you lazy person of dubiousparentage’. After a few minutes the worstof the pain had gone, but I (sensible forme) took a slow walk back up to the sickbay. The doc did an ECG and made melie still. He said there was nothing obviouson the ECG and told me to go to thesickbay the following day. I was gettingready to get back on the coach when hechanged his mind and put me in anambulance to hospital to get checked out.Good man, because it turned out I hadsomething called Woolf-Parkinson-Whitesyndrome – to do with the electricalpathways in the heart – and totallycurable. Many people have it and gothrough life without it ever causing aproblem. So a few weeks later I had a‘procedure’ and it was all sorted.

Life is a bit like that. There you arebimbling along quite happily and suddenlyit’s all going ‘pete tang’ – you are stoppedin your tracks wondering what on earthhas caused it. It could be any number ofthings, finances, relationships, health,career, addiction. For me thankfully thedoc had the courage of his convictionsand got me the expert help I needed. Ifyou are facing something that you can’tsee the way through, why not get somehelp or advice? Like the rest of my team alot of friends/acquaintances will tell you toignore it, it’s not a problem, but it’s alwaysbest to speak to an oppo, or a chaplain -or of course you can talk to God direct (it’scalled prayer).

Sometimes it’s not until you are knockedflat that you start to ask for help. As amate to other guys facing challengesthough, can I suggest that you are morelike the doc than the marshal? If you are

not sure how to help your oppo, get someadvice or encourage them to see anexpert. Don’t just tell them to sit by a treeand hope it all gets better. As a Christian Ibelieve that all of us need to look at howwe live our lives and although followingJesus doesn’t take away all thechallenges of life, it does open up acommunications link to God (who is theultimate *SME on life). There’s also anetwork of support and encouragementthrough other guys and gals who followHim too – other members of the AFCU,those who meet at the chaplaincy, andthose ‘strange’ people at the local church -not all of them wear sandals with socksand sing ‘kum by yah’ honest!

So, whilst writing this I have decided notto pray for a broken leg, but to go for it onSaturday. I am, howeve,r praying for threethings: 1. To finish 2. For my mate Carl tofinish (in that order – sorry mate); and 3.That I go under four hours. Next time I willreport back on whether all that trainingwas sufficient. Go safe and watch out forring bolts. *Subject Matter ExpertSteve (along with Carl Beech) ran theSnowdonia Marathon in October forChristian Vision for Men. If you want tosponsor them follow the links fromwww.cvm.org.uk to their Just Giving page.

by Steve Martin,Operations Director -Christian Vision for Men

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LICC (LondonInstitute forContemporaryChristianity)launches a newsmall group DVDresource to engage,

equip and empower Christians to serveGod on the frontlines of everyday life.

‘Mission. Mates. Me.’ Most militarypersonnel are familiar with this handymantra, reminding them of the essentialpriorities of any deployment: there’s ajob to do, a challenge to meet. Themission is your motivation. Fortunately, success doesn’t depend ongung-ho acts of individual heroism.Rather, it’s based on teamwork andtrust. Your mates look out for you, andyou for them. What’s more, such life-saving interdependence creates thesafe space in which your individual giftsand skills can flourish – which is thepositive explanation of why ‘me’ has totake third place.

How does the ‘3M’ maxim apply? Director of LICC’s Imagine Project, NeilHudson, comments: “Our experiencefrom working with churches is thatpeople feel liberated when they see howtheir daily lives can be wrapped up intoGod’s mission. They want to grow andbe fruitful. But it’s hard to keep going onyour own.” So our ‘mates’ matter. Andthis is the starting point for our newcourse ‘Life on the Frontline.’ The realityis that we all have a frontline, we allhave a mission field where we connectto people who don’t know Jesus. So Lifeon the Frontline is designed to helppeople in small groups recognise oneanother’s frontlines, see how God maybe using them there, pray with realpurpose for one another and experiencehow the Bible helps us respond to Godon our frontlines.

Each session begins with a short,documentary-style film featuring real-lifestories that help people discover thepotential in their own contexts. Take Ed,for example. Convinced that he wascalled to service anywhere but in hisworkplace, Ed was frustrated by God’sseeming refusal to move him out of hisplace of work. But one day he realised

that maybe this was the place God hadcalled him to be a blessing. It was thenthat he made his life-changing decision:to arrive ten minutes earlier everymorning. This gave him time to chat tohis co-workers and slowly forge betterrelationships with them. Ed didn’t ‘push’his faith on to them, but nor did he makea secret of it. And he felt a newmotivation to pray for his colleaguesand, in whatever way he could, tominister to them. So, not surprisingly, hewas prepared when one of them beganto share a personal problem with him… Unspectacular, perhaps. But definitelytransformational.

Presented by Neil Hudson, Life on theFrontline, although not specifically forthe military community, builds on thefilms using select Bible passages andinteractive exercises to explore Christ’scall and commission, and how the smallgroup and the wider church can reallywork to equip and support theirmembers. Indeed, this new resource isdesigned to help us grow confident inour calling, mutually supportive in ourministry and fruitful in our mission. Bringit on.

Life on the Frontline is a 6 session DVD-based course. Disk contains videos,Leaders’ and Participants’ Guides. £8for one pack; £5 per pack for multipackpurchases. Available online fromwww.licc.org.uk/shop or by phone 0207399 9555. Review by Rory Keegan, see resourcesat www.licc.org.uk

What is the Armed Forces’ Christian Union (AFCU)?AFCU is one of a number of British militaryChristian fellowships. It is a tri-service, all-rank,inter-denominational fellowship of Christians whowish to grow in their faith and share it with thosewith whom they serve. The basis of membershipis prayer.

Who can join? Anyone who believes in prayer to God throughour Lord Jesus Christ, and who is willing to prayregularly for the spiritual welfare of the ArmedForces, is welcome as a member. Those servingin regular or reserve sections of the Royal Navy,Royal Marines, Army or Royal Air Force join asServing Members. All others, including those whohave retired from the services, join as AssociateMembers. Serving membership is open to officercadets and recruits under training, while thoseserving in foreign armed forces are welcomed as‘honorary’ members. The Union welcomes asAssociate Members those who are not part of HMForces, but have a concern for the spiritual well-being of Service personnel and their families.Their prayers will be greatly valued and there areopportunities to meet with others in existingprayer groups or to pray individually for servingmembers and the work of the AFCU.

What will it mean to me?Members receive regular mailings of Contactmagazine, AFCU News & Views and otherliterature. They also have access to informationand resources on the website and links with anetwork of Christian contacts across the ArmedForces. They are invited to attend various eventsincluding teaching and fellowship days andweekends, and holidays with a Christianemphasis. Serving members are invited to belinked to an Associate group for regular prayersupport and, as far as possible, encouraged tomake contact with other AFCU members in theirlocation.

Will it cost me anything?The Union does not have a membershipsubscription. Members are simply asked to giveas the Lord leads and according to their means (2Corinthians 9:6-8). The cost of producing themailings alone is about £30 per person per year.

How do I join?You can apply for membership on the AFCUwebsite www.afcu.org.uk by clicking on the ‘Join’button and following directions. Or you can email(office@afcu.org.uk) or phone (01252 311221) theoffice and ask for a membership form.

life on thefrontline...

What is happening in photo above? Send in your Caption... Thank you to all of you forentering this competition. We get some really good captions.Congratulations to the winner. Please send your funny caption to:rachel.reay@gmail.com and get them in before 31st January 2014.

the big read

what a pic!competition

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Ah! Thenthis mustbe theGareloch!

MC

£25Prize

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Grace: More Than We Deserve,Greater Than We Imagine by MaxLucado We all know the idea of grace,but do we truly understand it? Chapterby chapter, page by page, Max Lucadotakes us on a journey of uncovering thegrandeur of God’s grace – a radical andtransforming grace. From stories of theBible made tangible and relatable - tojourneys of his own life as well as hisfriends, you are gripped from beginningto end. Another important book from theLucado stable.

£10.99 Thomas Nelson

How to be a Bad Christian: .. And aBetter Human Being by DaveTomlinson Dave has written a‘practical’ book which he hopes willbring Christianity into conversationswith the real circumstances of humanliving and relating. Each chapter startswith a real story from his own parish-lifeexperience as a London vicar. Startingwhere people are it looks at how theHoly Spirit’s healing work can make usmore ‘fully human’, but perhaps not‘churchy’. A great read.

£8.99 Hodder Stoughton

Joni and Ken: An Untold Love StoryMoving on from the story of JoniErickson, who was left a quadriplegicafter a diving accident, this book chartsthe later part of her life, which includes alove story with its own ups and downs.There is much pain, anguish, despair,yet also joy and inspiration in the book.Joni and her husband Ken keep lovingGod and seeking to serve him, despitewhat happens. The book is not just forcouples or for those who have someonedisabled in their family. Anyone andeveryone can learn and be inspired bywhat they have gone through and still gothrough. £12.50 Zondervan

Please send letters and captions and ideas for articles to: contact@afcu.org.ukPhotographs © Crown Copyright from www.photos.mod.uk are reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.All photographs are copyright. Every effort is made to trace copyright holders of the images reproduced. We apologise for any unintentional omission and would bepleased to insert appropriate acknowledgement in the next issue.Please note: 1.Pictures of service men and women and those not members of the AFCU reflect our prayers and support to all members of the Armed Forces.2.Not all articles are the view of the AFCU General Committee.

Contact Editorial Team: Sqn Ldr Priestnall RAF, Mrs S Sandy, Mrs Y Cobbold, AFCU staff, the Editors

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Contact magazine is published by AFCU three times per year - Contact ISSN 1359 - 1726 - Registered Charity (No. 249636)