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A UMNS Report
By Suzy Keenan*

7:00 A.M. EST June 23, 2010

The Rev. Nicolas Camacho holds a young girl at the Mirza Abdul Qader Day
Care Center in Afghanistan. UMNS photos courtesy of Nicolas Camacho.
View in Photo Gallery

It had been a painful week in Afghanistan. Constant direct and indirect attacks brought many “high-tension moments,” and resulted in the loss of six more soldiers.

Yet their memorial service, reflected the Rev. Nicolas Camacho, a United Methodist chaplain with the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade of the U.S. Army, allowed others to think about “our own commitments to what we are doing around here.”

For Comacho, now in his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, that commitment means both serving the brigade’s 54 soldiers and overseeing a charitable mission for the Afghan community.

A clergy member of the denomination’s Eastern Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference, Camacho had already served almost 10 years as a U.S. Army chaplain when the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks hit.

He immediately volunteered for Operation Enduring Freedom and was sent with the 528th Battalion to the frontiers of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. In this new tour of duty with the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, Camacho has been making a difference in the world through his concept of “Operation Winning Afghanistan.”

Enhancing the partnership

The project’s three main goals are to build cohesion between Afghanis and coalition forces, enhance the partnership between the people of Afghanistan and U.S. and coalition troops in charitable efforts and provide an opportunity for volunteers to make a difference in the Afghan community.

U.S. military personnel visit with Afghan orphans.
A UMNS web-only photo.

“We began our first charitable mission by bringing school supplies to a local girls’ school,” Camacho explained. “The experience of seeing hundreds of kids embracing with so much affection a simple pencil and bringing unto their faces a smile of gratitude was well recorded in my mind and heart. After that moment, I knew and understood that I would not be the same.”

The Operation Winning Afghanistan charitable effort now extends to 10 local missions, including five orphanages, two day care centers, the Afghan National Army Hospital, a School for Girls and Boys with more than 3,200 students, a mosque under construction and the Kabul Children Hospital.

The idea behind the program, created this year, is the realization that winning against the Taliban is dependent upon separating people from their control. “This means, for us, that we must learn to respect and protect the population from violence and from being coerced,” he said. “It also means that we need to operate in a manner which will win their support.”

Through Operation Winning Afghanistan, Camacho has met different local Afghan leaders, including one who is today a good friend, Col. Sediqullah Saberi, garrison commander for the Afghan National Army Training Center in Kabul. “Thanks to his support, I have been able to partner with him and use as secure protection for most of our missions the Afghan Force Protection based in his compound,” he explained.

Answering God’s call

It is not part of Camacho’s job to coordinate charitable work with the Afghan people, but rather to serve the religious needs of the soldiers and to advise his commander on anything affecting the welfare of his soldiers.

“However, to serve beyond your own described and identified duties is something that God calls you to do,” he said. “I highly appreciate the dimension of social justice that we have in The United Methodist Church. You help others because it is a call that is given birth in your heart and soul. You need to be very conscious of what you are doing, the places you are getting into, the challenges and high-risk factors that are involved. There is a high price in Christ our Savior that involves the dimension of serving by and in the grace and compassion of our Lord.”

Camacho (second from right) visits with community elders and military leaders about construction of a mosque near Kabul.
View in Photo Gallery

As a chaplain, he is very aware of the risk factors—not only to his own life, but also to every soldier and civilian who has volunteered “to help, to bring charity and kindness, hope and joy, a smile where there was sadness and lack of hope.”

The missions call for travel through hostile territory, “so when we go out I surrender completely in the merciful presence of God and I pray intensively for each life that offers his/her time to one of my programs,” Comacho said.

He is thankful for the United Methodist connection and support of his ministry from the denomination’s Board of Higher Education and Ministry. “They have provided spiritual support through their prayers and e-mailing of supporting materials for our use as chaplains,” he added. “They also have provided more than 800 free calling cards for soldiers in my brigade, which is so essential when in need of calling your family or support group in the USA.”

For his second tour in Afghanistan, which ends Oct. 15 when he returns to Fort Dix in New Jersey, Camacho will be awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Afghanistan Medal and the NATO Medal.

Camacho is collecting donations of school supplies for his project. For more information, contact him at ncamacho7@verizon.net.

*Keenan is director of communications for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.