Jane Cook - Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Father God, this morning I pray for John and Julie. Julie is struggling so very hard with John’s decision to join the Army National Guard and all that has resulted from that decision. She is grieving his leaving for Iraq and dreading his being away from them for seven months. Please give her strength and hope, peace and grace. Help me be an encouragement to her. Father, I pray for contentment and joy to fill her life. Help us know best how to support her while John is away.

Bless John too, Father. I know his heart is heavy with concern for Julie and with missing her and Caleb and Katie. Thank you for the love they share for each other and for you. Please keep him safe, Father, as he leaves Ft. Bliss this weekend and flies to Kuwait and then on to Iraq. Bless him in every way, every day. Keep him surrounded with your angels who will “guard him in all his ways” (Psalm 91:11). Thank you for your Word that promises: “Because he loves me, says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation’” (Psalm 91:14–16).

Bless John right now, Lord. Lift his spirit. Lift Julie’s spirit. Restore their joy in their relationship. Bless Caleb and Katie. Protect and bless this little family, Lord I pray. Thank you for them. Thank you for being near us all during this time. Thank you for your love and grace and for getting us through difficult times. Thank you for your faithfulness, Father God. Be with all my loved ones this day, I pray.

May we draw ever closer to you, Lord, when separated from those we love. May we cling to your Word, may we walk in your ways, and may we seek your will each step along the way.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)

Mississippi College gave me a chance to tryout as the team’s kicker, The coach allowed me but one kick for my tryout. Fortunately, my kick went eight yards deep in the end zone. It was a sixty-eight yard kick, the longest kick I made in my career. Football was one of my first experiences with teamwork and leadership.

People asked what made me an effective leader in Iraq. To be honest, I was scared to death on the inside, but just like the old saying goes I wasn’t going to let anyone see me sweat. Early on I was unsure that I would be able to actually do what everybody wanted me to do. I knew I needed to ask the Lord to help me do the right things to take care of my people. Throughout the experience I grew to trust my instincts that I believe were formed from my experiences and my faith in God to show me the way.

It was a difficult situation when I had to make a decision and my gut told me one thing and the people around me told me something else.

Another thing that defined my leadership was my staff. I have always felt that I must surround myself with the best people and then empower them. Effective leadership is a lot easier when the people around you do a great job.

We had six battalions working for us. Each one had its own commander and sergeant major. While most military organizations had higher-ranking officers in headquarters that wanted to run the battalions, we didn’t. We let the battalion commanders and the sergeant majors call the shots.

I don’t believe we needed to exert command authority, but rather we must give them the opportunity, show them the way, and empower them to do it. My management style is to not be a micromanager.

When we are weary, God, please renew us physically, emotionally, mentally, volitionally, and spiritually. When we feel exhausted, Holy Spirit, please fill us.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Leading men and women in combat strengthened my faith. We topped out at around three thousand soldiers under my command. Before we left I had a meeting with all the families. I asked them what their biggest concern was. Their top concern was that their loved ones would come home alive. Secondly, they wanted to be able to communicate with their loved ones while we were there. They also wanted the leadership to keep them informed of what was happening.

It was confirmation that God was telling me our number one priority was to bring everybody home. We were not going to go over there to be heroes, we were going to do our job and not take extra risks that we didn’t need to. We did take calculated risks and we minimized and mitigated the risk every way we could. We had twenty-six soldiers earn Purple Hearts but not one of these soldiers died. How many brigades operated over there and didn’t lose a single person?

Once a week out I would send out emails and always remind families back home to continue to pray for us. I cannot emphasize enough how important that prayer was. When we got back to Jackson, Mississippi a news reporter asked me how, with three thousand soldiers, we operated for a year without losing anyone. I responded to him that it was divine intervention. It was a miracle that we actually brought everybody back to their families.

God of miracles, God of deliverance, God of salvation, thank you so much that you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. Please be our Rock, our Fortress, our Almighty King of Kings again today.

“When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’” (Daniel 6:20)

I had the opportunity to meet with Iraqis at every level. The Iraqi people are really just like us. They want their kids to be raised in safety and to be successful. They do not want violence. They do not want terrorism. They want to build a peaceful life. Their biggest thing to overcome was to know whom to trust. They had a hard time trusting us because our folks would be in their village during the day and then go home at night. The terrorists would come in when we went home. And the people had a hard time trusting us because we wouldn’t protect them. To make the situation worse, some of the mayors and local leadership were corrupt. General Petraeus’s motto was: “Don’t Commute to Work.” That was a change in doctrine. Our troops started living with the Iraqi military. They were living among the Iraqis, and it changed everything. Living and working with the Iraqi troops allowed the Iraqi people to have more confidence in our troops.

Many people talk about the “surge.” There were four parts to the surge. It was more than just increasing the numbers of boots on the ground. The Sunnis calling themselves the ‘Sons of Iraq’ started fighting the terrorists instead of the Shia. The Shia Muslims began fighting the terrorists instead of the Sunnis. The military began to move out of the bases and into the cities and living with the Iraqis. And there were increased numbers of troops in the problem areas. General Petraeus put our men and women out in the community, and the people were able to see who we really were. We were not oppressors. The terrorists were. They raped and stole from the people and destroyed the places they were at. We built up and healed. The contrast was too great.

The people of Iraq understand the cost of freedom. They want it for their children. They are just like us.