Chaplains launched South Dakota National Guard's annual Golden Coyote exercise with a prayer breakfast on June 8, and Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Lynn Wilson wrapped up the two-week training today with final daily devotions at Camp Rapid Chapel.

In between, 27 military chaplains and unit ministry team members provided Bible studies, nondenominational prayer services, Catholic mass, Protestant chapel, a gospel sing and numerous other kinds of spiritual support for 3,800 military personnel who hailed from 24 states and many religious denominations.

"We wanted to start Golden Coyote with an emphasis on prayer and spirituality. Soldiers are most ready when they are strong in a relationship with both their family and their God," Wilson said.

Guest speaker for the prayer breakfast was retired Chaplain (Col.) Herbert Cleveland, who reminded service members that they are training for the time when they are called to duty and that military life can be difficult.

"Any soldier from the rank of private all the way to the top leader needs a strong foundation. God gives you hope and strength," said Cleveland. "There are times where it looks very bleak and you need a sense of personal hope."

Sgt. Gregory Fritz of the 109th Regional Support Group of Rapid City said the prayer breakfast was a "great opportunity to hear a message of hope and strength, to not only get us through the next two weeks, but for the rest of our lives."

Chaplains and the religious support they provide are a "reminder of God's presence and God's strength" for the troops in training, Wilson said.

"During AT (annual training), a lot of units are far away from their home base. When they're here, they're working hard, putting in long days, sometimes as long as 16-hour shifts," Wilson said. Religious services help them "reflect that they aren't alone, that God has come along with them on the journey and he's with them here and he'll be with them on the return trip home," he said.

At various forward operating bases in the field, attendance was good at the daily devotions and weekly church services that were held in tents, mess halls and temporary quarters despite some stormy weather, Wilson said.

"It was muddy and you had to make sure you didn't slip on the way into chapel services," he said.

In addition to conducting religious services, the chaplain corps is responsible for pastoral counseling duties during the training. Whenever that many soldiers gather in one place, there are inevitably messages about deaths, tragedies and crises back home that need to be delivered, Wilson said.

"There's always Red Cross messages that come - the sudden and unexpected loss of a soldier's loved one - and our chaplains covered those and ministered to the soldier and their family back home," Wilson said.

Wilson said gratitude for Golden Coyote's 25th anniversary year and the "visionaries" who established it were part of his prayers this year.

"We honored those who began this annual training, that in all these years, by the grace of God, we've been able to train in the beautiful Black Hills and to become better soldiers. It's been an extremely successful idea and there's gratitude for those visionaries," he said.

Ordained in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Wilson is the National Guard's only full-time chaplain in the state. There are six Army National Guard and three Air National Guard chaplains in South Dakota.

Since 2001, the South Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 3,150 soldiers and 1,000 airmen in support of overseas contingency operations. Currently, more than 50 soldiers and airmen from the South Dakota National Guard remain on duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations throughout Southwest Asia and Europe. More than 4,500 National Guardsmen are available in South Dakota to provide support for state and national emergencies and homeland defense.

Spc. Nicole Sullivan and Sgt. 1st Class Kristi Palmer contributed to this story.

Contact Mary Garrigan at 394-8424 or mary.garrigan@rapidcityjournal