November-December 2007 – How should a follower of Christ respond to the call of his country to go to war? For two members of the AFA family, the question is more than academic.

Rick Ochoa, 52, and Geoff Wagner, 45, worked side-by-side on the engineering staff of American Family Radio (AFR), AFA’s national radio network. When duty called, both also served honorably with the U.S. Army in Iraq and returned home without major injury.

Although they were not in Iraq at the same time, their stories share a number of similarities, the most important one being a deep trust in God’s sovereign hand that took them to war, then provided the grace to overcome fear with faith.

Iraq and back
Ochoa’s military service began in 1974 with six years of active duty in the Army. In the 1980s, he then served in both the National Guard and Army Reserve

Spurred on by his strong sense of patriotism, Ochoa, originally from California, rejoined the National Guard in Mississippi after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. At the time he was working at AFA’s radio network headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.

“I thought I could make a contribution and that my country needed me,” he said. “I assumed everybody would sign up, like Pearl Harbor.”

Ochoa made the most of his re-enlistment by re-training as a military intelligence analyst. In the coming years, that decision would set in motion events that would not only land him in the middle of a war, but would provide a new career direction in civilian life.

Wagner also had a history of military service that began in 1979 when he served as a field artillery surveyor in the National Guard in several different states. After a 15-year stint in the Guard, he left the military for 9 years, then rejoined in 2003.

“God convicted me as a minister to get back into the Guard and see it as a mission field,” Wagner said. The terrorist threat was less of a motivation than the opportunity to minister to soldiers during wartime, he said.

Wagner was sent to Italy to help train military police who were preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. While in Italy, his National Guard unit was activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom. After special training, Wagner headed to Iraq in January 2005. He served for nine months until a back injury forced his return home.

Faith under fire
Arriving in Iraq June 18, 2006, Ochoa was assigned as the intelligence sergeant for an 11-man Military Transition Team in Baqubah. Ochoa’s specialty was training Iraqi soldiers in intelligence gathering and analysis. It was a demanding job, Ochoa said, because it required validating information that commanders use to make battlefield decisions. The well-being of many soldiers can depend on the work of an intelligence analyst, he said.

The assignment took his team on many dangerous patrols into hostile territory. They operated under constant threat of roadside bombs, snipers and face-to-face encounters with Iraqi insurgents, whom Ochoa simply calls the “bad guys.”

Of the eleven men on the team, five earned the Purple Heart for being wounded in combat, and nine were decorated for valor under fire including one Bronze Star.

“So, naturally there were many times when I felt fear, but I faced the danger trusting my life into God’s hands,” Ochoa said. “I always had the peace and assurance that no matter what happened I knew where I was going.”

A different plan
Wagner had thought that his service in Iraq would be with the Military Police (MP); however, God had a different plan.

“I didn’t know exactly what God was doing at the time,” he said. “When I found out that I was going to Iraq with the infantry rather than the MP, I asked God to confirm that this was where I was supposed to be. Within an hour, a man who went to church with me knocked on the door of the fellowship hall of the church where I was cleaning and said he had bought a book that God led him to give to me. It was a book by a Marine chaplain called A Table in His Presence. This author was with the 1st Marine Division, which was an infantry division. That was confirmation to me that God was watching over me.”

Already Wagner had identified himself to his commanding officer as a minister and had been given permission to act as an unofficial chaplain among the soldiers. “I just encouraged them to keep their eyes on Jesus,” he explained. “I told them that God has a purpose for His children and that is to bring honor and glory to His name. As long as they are doing that, they had little to fear.”

And in the face of death and destruction, Wagner’s admonition to his fellow soldiers also proved true in his own life. “Of course there is fear of uncertainty,” he said, “but God gave me a calm that enabled me to minister to the other soldiers without looking into my own deficiencies.”

The gravest duty
For both men, a deep faith in the God of the Bible also informed their attitude concerning the prospect of having to kill an enemy combatant.

“Many years ago I learned in Bible School that the commandment ‘Thou shall not kill,’ is better translated ‘Thou shall not murder,’” Ochoa said.

Although he says he never wanted to kill anyone, he believes that soldiers and armies are legitimate parts of God-ordained government. Therefore, for a Christian to serve as a soldier, even in combat, does not put him at odds with God’s law.

Wagner, often a gunner on patrol, fought with the same understanding, and sometimes had the opportunity to share this view with other soldiers.

“Victory and survival demand that you are prepared to stop the enemy from killing oneself and one’s comrades,” Ochoa said. “We in this country would never have the ability to worship God as we see fit if patriots before us had not been willing to shed blood to defend family and country.”

Wagner adds that American soldiers are taught the principles of the Geneva Convention, which mainly deal with the treatment of non-combatants and prisoners of war, as well as the rules of engagement particular to combat in Iraq.

Homeward bound
Ochoa returned to the U. S. in June, thankful to God for having survived and for the privilege of serving his country. He confesses that the experience has made him more deeply appreciate the common blessings of life.

“I don’t take things for granted now, especially in my relationships,” he said. “I savor the moments and beauty in life.”

Ochoa now lives in Arizona where he remains in the Army Reserve. He works for a civilian contractor teaching his skills as a military intelligence analyst to young soldiers.

Wagner, who rejoined the AFR engineering staff, is less reflective, seeing his war experience as a continuation of his journey with Christ and ministry to others. He still serves in the Guard as a brigade chaplain assistant indirectly responsible for the religious support of some 3,500 troops. He says he would gladly serve another tour in Iraq.

“I’ve always done my work as unto the Lord,” he said. “As long as I do that, I know I will be pleasing others around me and bringing honor to God.”  

 Three AFA families have soldiers in Iraq, Middle East
Private First Class Jonathan Clayton Holt, 21, is the son of Clay and Anelese Holt. Anelese works in public relations at AFA.

Jonathan is serving in the Marines, 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines Echo Company. He was in Iraq the first time from September 2006 until April 2007. He worked with an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. He has lost 24 friends, including 23 in combat. He will leave for his second tour in Iraq in January.

U.S. Army Specialist Timothy Hayden is the son of Durick and Debbie Hayden. His dad is the head of human resources at AFA. Timmy serves with the 288 Sapper Company/1203rd Engineering Battalion near Bagdad. From an armored vehicle, he operates a robot that searches for potential explosive devices. This is his second tour in Iraq, and it will end in June 2008.

Airman First Class Rachel Locke Ferrell is the daughter of Don and Ruth Ann Locke. Don works in the engineering department at American Family Radio. Rachel was deployed to Camp Arifjan Kuwait October 2, 2007, for a six-month tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force. She is in vehicle operation and will be driving cargo convoys into Iraq. Her husband Patrick and five-year- old daughter Jade will stay at their home in Hampton, Virginia, during her deployment.