Chaplain makes mark, passes the torch

***image1***“Leave your campsite cleaner than you found it,” is an old Boy Scout motto that Deputy Command Chaplain, Lt. Col. Lindsey Arnold, 21st Theater Support Command, said best describes his driving philosophy throughout his three-decade long military career.
Chaplain Arnold will retire May 31. The event concludes a diverse career spanning enlisted time in Korea, a hitch with U.S. Special Forces and time in the Pentagon.
Chaplain Arnold said he does not intend to stop doing the work that has made his life so gratifying up to this point.
“If you honor people by expecting them to accomplish their goals and then give them tools, knowledge and procedures to help them do well, they’ll respond,” he said. “I really look forward to being able to continue doing that in the future just like I have my entire military career.”
The chaplain’s career began Sept. 25, 1972. He served in Korea with an intelligence unit. After leaving active duty as a sergeant, he joined a Seattle-based U.S. Special Forces unit as a light weapons specialist concentrating on counter insurgency. He then became a commissioned officer and a chaplain.
Chaplain Arnold was assigned to the Pentagon offices that were hit with an aircraft hijacked by terrorists Sept. 11, 2001. He was working as the chief executive officer, human resource directorate, office of the deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Headquarters, Department of the Army; and assistant deputy for Command, Leadership, and Ethics, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army.
He was not in the office the morning the plane hit, he said. Despite that tragic event, Chaplain Arnold said he enjoyed his time at the Pentagon because that job allowed him to do what he really enjoys – helping Soldiers.
“We all stand our watches in life … What we pass on is important,” he said. “I’ve believed and practiced this my entire life. If a person models compassion, respect and care then they have the ability to impart the appropriate knowledge to the situation at hand.”
Chaplain Arnold said he fully intends to continue being a role model after retiring his military career by working with the youth of the Washington, D.C., area. He said he does not have any definitely laid plans for the future, but he is confident he will be happy.
“I’ve planned very much for this move. I’ve had excellent help from the Army Career Alumni Program. I’ve accumulated large binders of job opportunities and talked to many of those people from the D.C. area,” said Chaplain Arnold. “I’m comfortable in my decision to pass the torch of my military career on, it’s the time of season to do that; and with that the next step will come, whatever it may be.”
“If I knew everything the day I joined on … if I knew everything that would happen to me up to this day, I would proudly raise my hand again,” said Chaplain Arnold.