What a Trip! (Part 2 of 3)

(if you missed part 1 of the trip, go here to the previous post to see how it all started)

I have been flying all night to get to Thule AFB and get to speak at the luncheon. (Every Air Force Base across the world does a Prayer Luncheon – Not the same as The National Day of Prayer here, but similar!) I spoke on how prayer can break down the toughest walls that men and women can face in their jobs – and families.

1:30PM – Get a Briefing with the Top Brass!

These are extremely busy, overworked and serious people. But they roll out the red carpet for me and I get a “briefing” – not unlike what they just did for a general who had been on base a few weeks before!

Here’s the base commander of the 821 Air Base Group, Col. Christopher Gentry, and Lt. Col Jim Hickman, his 2nd in command. While I can’t repeat all they do, in short these men and women are tasked with spotting, identifying, and assessing the threat level of anything coming over the North Pole and toward the United States and it’s Allies. In short, the 280 airmen are the very tip of the spear, looking every day, 24 hours-a-day, for anything that might need to be “knocked down” before it reaches our shores.

While their primary mission is our defense, they also do a tremendous amount with groups like NASA who do mapping and satellite tracking work from Thule. And if you’re an Arctic explorer – like many trips staged by National Geographic – you start your trek to the North Pole from Thule! Add in Danish planes flying in and joint Canadian/American air exercises – and you have just landed at the home of “multi-tasking!

Please pray for these men and women who help so many. They live in 24-hour dark for months, and then 24-hour sun for months (And “Chappy” Haltom told me that as many airmen have tremendous challenges with the sun never going down (and their brains never feeling like going to sleep) as those who only want to sleep when it’s dark 24/7!

3:00PM – I get to go to Dundas Village –

The Danish Air Officer wants to take me to Dundas Village, an Eskimo (Inuit) village with huge sled dogs and a few homes. One of the last inhabited places between Thule and the North Pole.

We drive through the snow and wind. Even with four wheel drive, we only get close enough to take some long distance pictures of the village. (Visibility drops to zero several times).

I get to see an Arctic Hare! Incredible! Many people have been on base for months and haven’t seen one. They have long pencil-thin legs and fluffy white bodies – they look like a “Q-Tip” rabbit! We saw one on the way out and two on the way back! An awesome experience to get to traverse the Polar Ice Cap – even if we couldn’t see the road several times! (My pictures of the “hare” didn’t turn out. This photo courtesy of the Canadian Museum of Nature gives you an idea of what they look like.)

5:00PM Officer’s Dinner and Training

Because I’ve spoken on leadership and team-building over the years to many groups (including military groups), I was asked by the Col. Gentry, the Base commander (pictured below) to share with his top officers and enlisted men.

What an incredible honor. And before I spoke, I get to hear Col. Gentry go all the way around the table (probably 20 officers and the top enlisted men and women present) and hear him introduce his staff to me. Talk about giving the Blessing! I was blown away by the way he addressed each person on his staff. I know parents and bosses who have never verbally honored their spouse or children or co-workers as specifically, and powerfully as this outstanding leader did that night. Absolutely amazing – and I found out from “Chappy” Haltom later that it was totally unexpected (but incredibly appreciated by everyone)!

He had already heard me talk to him about “Blessing” others – and he did a great job of doing just that!

Then I shared what little wisdom I have to a very “thirsty” group. They ask questions and are hungry for anything you can share that can help them do their job even better, be a better team, and go home and be better with their families. An incredible time.

It's been a busy day, but I still have one more conference to go...more on that in my next post. Thank you for coming along on this journey. It was an honor to be there!