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Battalion Chaplain for the 1-181st Field Artillery Army National Guard Father Patrick Brownell will speak about his tour of duty in Iraq at John A. Patten Recreation Center Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. for Lookout Valley’s Tribute to the Veterans that will recognize military heroes.
Brownell joined the 1-181st in January 2007. His first military duty occurred from 1985 to 1990 as a military pharmacy tech and medic. He finished his enlistment time and moved on to seminary and graduate school to later become an ordained Catholic priest.
Father Patrick Brownell, who serves as Battalion Chaplain for the 1-181st Field Artillery Army National Guard, displays his Bronze Star.
After a 15-year military break, Brownell became a commissioned U.S. Army National Guard chaplain in December 2005.
“I did basic training at 20 and basic training at 40,” said Brownell. “I graduated the top 20 percent of my class in chaplain school.”
Brownell was deployed in July 2007 and returned July 2008. He trained for four months in Fort Bliss, Texas.
According to Brownell, the 1-181st’s mission was to work with and guard 20,000 detainees at Camp Bucca, formerly the largest detention center in the world. Approximately 6,000 military soldiers from all branches served at the detention center.
“The Army National Guard began courses that had never been done before with detainees,” said Brownell. “We built classrooms and taught agriculture and woodworking skills. Detainees made school desks and tables that we gave to local schools. We built a brick factory to give bricks to local homeowners to rebuild their homes too.”
Brownell said in January 2008 he volunteered to go to northern Iraq to provide Catholic religious coverage support.
“The majority of my counseling time centered on marital problems,” said Brownell. “The divorce rate for officers is 70 percent. Spouses can overwhelm the soldier by talking about family problems over Skype. Many times the soldier is not in a position to change things in the home.”
While volunteering at Camp Speicher in Tikrit north of Baghdad, Brownell said there were 16,000 military soldiers and 40 chaplains. Brownell hosted Catholic religious services on the weekends at Camp Speicher.
Brownell said he flew by Black Hawk helicopter into dangerous territories where improvised explosive devices were often set off.
For his bravery, going into dangerous territory unarmed, by recommendation of Gen. Raymond T. Odierno and Battalion Commander for the 1-181st Lt. Col. Jeff Basham, Brownell was awarded the Bronze Star.
Brownell said throughout his tour of duty in Iraq, he wore his father Paul Brownell’s cross, worn by his father in Vietnam.
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