So, some of you know some military stories that I’ve shared about my dad. He has a unique military career, serving as both a KC-135 pilot refueling SR-71’s and as a chaplain in the USAF. He is one of only a very few men in the history of the USAF to wear both the pilot wings and the Chaplain cross on his uniform.

Well, here’s one more small story about my dad’s Air Force career…

We are walking through the hall at the Southern Baptist Convention today in Indianapolis and a man in full Air Force uniform recognized my dad and called to him by name. Who is he?

30 years ago he was a young chaplain assigned to the 45th space wing in Florida. The senior ranking Protestant Chaplain at the base, who was his OIC (Officer in Charge), was none other than Lieutenant Colonel Charles Ross Rowland III (my dad).

This brings me back to today. The Air Force Chaplain in the picture hugs my dad and tells him how grateful he is for him and that my dad was “a great mentor to me” and that my dad really “grounded me and put me on the right track for the rest of my career.”

So I’ll ask the question again, who is the Air Force Chaplain in the picture who said these things to my dad? Major General Randall Kitchens. He is the highest ranking Chaplain in the USAF and his current assignment is to serve at the Pentagon as the USAF Chief of Chaplains.

Proud of my dad.

SBC24