Highlights of Hutcheson's reflections include the following:

     "Images of the Iraqi children come to mind when I think of Iraqis. They are beautiful, with large eyes that seem to invite you in. They smile, wave and ask about "Arnold" (Schwarzenegger). They are full of questions about America. I have also seen children eating castaway food in garbage piles, and that hurts. How they can run around barefoot on the hot, hot asphalt is beyond me."
     "Rockets and/or mortars impact around us on a fairly regular basis. They usually are fired by inexperienced, untrained individuals who cannot see what they are firing at. Consequently, they miss a lot of the time. I've gotten to the point that if I hear one, it didn't get me."
     "We, the viewing public, have for so long demanded sensationalism in our newscasts that we have moved the news media into the entertainment category. As a consequence, you probably are not hearing much of the good news that has been happening over the months. For example, have you seen on the prime-time news that the electrical generation levels are now higher than before the war? Or those 18 hospitals are being either built or renovated? Or how about the nearly 1,100 schools under construction or renovation? Has there been much air/column space given to the fact that every Iraqi will have the right to vote, according to law, in free, fair competitive and periodic elections?"
     "The people of Iraq are a long way from having an established democracy and we don't know how long it will take, or if, a democracy will be established. Before we get too impatient with them and their efforts to establish a new government, it might be helpful to recall how long it took to establish the United States of America. Our first century as a country is decorated with all sorts of scandalous events: slavery, the whiskey rebellion, and the exploitation of Native Americans, just to begin a list."
     "I am able to see God at work all around. There have been numerous instances of an explosive projectile hitting a vehicle or building that didn't explode. Frequently, there are people who will do some small, tender act of mercy toward another that makes life easier or more bearable. To witness soldiers fall in to support another who has had a tragedy strike. When a brigade commander tells me it is his discipline to pray for his soldiers three times a day, certainly God is at work among us."

Following is text of the Texas Episcopalian interview: 

Carol Barnwell: What is the typical day like for you?

Reese Hutcheson: About the only thing typical for any given day is the get-up time. I usually get up at 5 a.m. It is usually quiet at that hour, and quiet time is a prized commodity. After shower and shave comes Daily Office and entry into my journal. Reading the Daily Office is a key part of my day. If for some reason I don't get it done early, I'll catch up sometime before I go to bed.
  Next item involves making a pot of coffee and checking the e-mail traffic, both secure and non-secure. Most of the people in Central Texas are still up at that time of day, and I can usually get in touch with them, perhaps by phone.
  After breakfast comes the daily "Battle Update Brief" in which the significant acts of the previous day are reviewed as well as the plans for that day and beyond. This is a key part of the day in that representatives from all sections of the unit are there and we share a common body of information. That is about the last thing that is "routine" for the day.
  If we are going out to visit one of the subordinate units, then comes the protective vests, Kevlar helmets and protective glasses, climbing aboard an up-armored vehicle and heading "outside the wire" where all sorts of adventure awaits those who dare venture out.  We always travel with security details, Soldiers who are specially trained to protect the convoy from hostile attacks. Every passenger has a sector to watch for possible insurgent activity.
  Sometimes we visit places where there is combat -- places with names like Fallujah and Sadr City. One experiences what I have labeled "intense alertness" while traveling there, while there and while traveling from those places.  It is definitely a unique experience to have rockets and/or mortars exploding closely enough to make the ground quiver under your feet.

CB: Describe your surroundings and the area where you are.

RH: I live and work out of what was once one of Uday' Hussein's recreation palaces on a tract of land that was formerly a game preserve. The building is surrounded on three sides by the water of a lake fed by a canal from the Tigris River. There are a few trees here: date palms, locust, and eucalyptus. It is also now home to what might be the world's largest trailer parks -- life support areas for the soldiers housed here.

CB: Where do you do services? Are they Episcopal? What kind of response do you get?

RH: I currently celebrate Holy Eucharist, Rite II, twice on Sundays: once at 10 a.m. at Camp Cropper and again at 4 p.m. here on Camp Victory. I have had inquiries about offering a service at Abu Ghraib, but that one hasn't started yet. The service at Cropper is in a conference room; the one on Victory is in a building converted to a chapel that may have as many as seven services per Sunday in it. Since this is an "Anglican/Episcopal/Lutheran" service, the responses are varied -- pretty much as they are at St. Swithin's in the Swamp. One big difference seems to surface: people here don't seem to take worship for granted and are grateful for the opportunity.
  The congregations here are different: there are no children or senior citizens, though most of the Soldiers put me into that latter category. At the age of 58 I am older than most of their parents.  Everybody except the chaplain comes to services armed. Chaplains are non-combatants and do not carry firearms.

CB: What are your physical challenges?

RH: This time of the year the most dominant challenge involves the heat! I had experienced 115-degree heat before, but not day after day. They tell us the hot weather is on the way. Add to that stress the additional weight and bother of the protective vest and Kevlar helmet and life can be miserable. Not having a day off has been a new experience, not that there is much to do if a day off came available. One must drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. Duty days seem to stretch beyond the 12 to 15 hours normally thought of as "work days." One feels exhausted at any hour of the day or night.
  There are three programs to give the soldiers relief from the drive of operations: 1) 4-day pass to a facility in Qatar, 2) 4-day pass to Freedom Rest here in Baghdad, 3) 15 days of Environmental leave. The Environmental leave is also called Rest and Recreation leave wherein soldiers get 15 days leave to visit family, normally back stateside.

CB: What is it like to be a chaplain in the middle of a war zone?

RH: Living a life full of uncertainty. For example, rockets and/or mortars impact around us on a fairly regular basis. They usually are fired by inexperienced, untrained individuals who cannot see what they are firing at. Consequently, they miss a lot of the time. I've gotten to the point that if I hear one, it didn't get me. But there is that chance that one could come through the window of the room where I sleep, for example. Or an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) could explode at any time I'm out on the roads, or a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) could come head-on to us and blow us up. Someone could launch a rocket-propelled grenade at us. There's not much defense against such things. Small arms fire is common, but they have little effect on the armored vehicles.

CB: How do you help service men and women deal with separation from their families and familiar surroundings?

RH: First off, I let them know that no one is exempt from homesickness and that it is one of the most difficult of maladies to treat. And that the hurt they feel is very real. Next I try to teach them techniques on how to look down that long, dark tunnel towards redeployment and reunion. Many make phone calls back home. Some very generous people have provided us with phone cards to help ease that expense. We have an Internet café they can use to communicate with family members as well.

CB: What kinds of things do you deal with as chaplain most often?

RH: Typically, soldier problems fall into three categories: administrative, personal, and family. That's an oversimplification, but for explanation it works better. The Army is a big bureaucracy -- not quite as large as the Episcopal Church in the United States, but large.  Paperwork keeps a lot of people very busy. Sometimes that paperwork gets lost, misfiled, mislaid, or otherwise does not get to the person it was intended for in the time appointed.  Perhaps a family member did not get enrolled in one of the family member support agencies that s/he needs. These are just some of the administrative sorts of problems that come down the pike. They are not necessarily "chaplain issues" but we get a lot of them. After a while, chaplains learn where to direct the soldier to get those administrative problems resolved.
  Personal and family problems are much more complicated because they involve a much more diverse range of persons and personalities.  Some are interpersonal in nature; some are adjustment problems while others fall into the category of "combat stress". The Army has Combat Stress Control teams scattered throughout the country and they are a Godsend.
  Then there are the heart-wrenching tragedies. One soldier's son was born with a defective heart. We got him out on Emergency Leave, but a donor wasn't found in time and his infant son died. Another Soldier's mother was attacked as she was loading groceries into her car. The assailant struck her 11 times in the head. She has come out of the coma once, but had no recognition or memory. Her living will names him, the youngest of seven children, as the one to make the decision to discontinue life support should she become incapacitated. Another soldier's 13-year-old daughter was molested by the next-door-neighbor. That's one week's tragedies. There are no easy, pat, canned answers for these situations. I pray for grace and strength to help them cope.

CB: What kind of interaction do you have with Iraqi people? What are some of the responses you have experienced from local people? What are their most immediate needs, hopes?

RH: Images of the Iraqi children come to mind when I think of Iraqis. They are beautiful, with large eyes that seem to invite you in. They smile, wave and ask about "Arnold." They are full of questions about America. I have also seen children eating castaway food in garbage piles, and that hurts. How they can run around barefoot on the hot, hot asphalt is beyond me.
  Being assigned to a Military police Brigade, I also come in contact with Iraqi Police. They seem fascinated that I do not carry a firearm, that my margin of safety is the security team. It is difficult for them to comprehend a member of the clergy in the uniformed services.
  Most of the rest of the local national population I have come in contact with are the contractors who come onto the installation to work. They are very friendly, hospitable and generous even in their poverty. Families are their main source of pride and concern. They want their children to grow up, marry and raise their families and have it better than they have had it. Many want to come to the USA and marry a blonde.
  As for their hopes, how can they have a concept of a democratic government that gives them an opportunity to have a say in a government that operates of, by and for them? It is a new thing for them and it will take time for them to become accustomed to the liberties and responsibilities that come with such a government. They are very upset at their fellow countrymen who continue to set off bombs against them. We have an idea that they may have begun to take some initiative, singularly and in small groups, against those insurgents. Only time will tell.

CB: What have you learned about Islam?

RH: Basically, there are five "pillars of Islam":

1. Shahadah. "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the Prophet of God."

2. Salat -- Daily prayers. Moslems pray five times a day, facing toward Mecca. The Friday noonday prayers are a weekly worship service - usually with a sermon.

3. Sawm -- fasting. During Ramadan, the ninth month of their lunar calendar, able-bodied Moslems fast during the daylight hours.

4. Zakat -- charity on behalf of the needy -- supposedly voluntary; in some cultures it is not. There is a minimum of 2.5%.

5. Hajj -- the pilgrimage to Mecca during the twelfth lunar month. It is expected that everyone will make at least one Hajj during a lifetime.

CB: What are your hopes for the people of Iraq?

RH: I hope they are given a fair opportunity to establish a government of their choice, one that will afford them an opportunity to enjoy the blessings of liberty.

CB: As a priest, how do you respond to the casualties of our people, local people?

RH: When we have Soldiers hospitalized because of combat-related injuries, I will normally go, with our brigade commander, to the hospital to visit them. The commander presents them with the Purple Heart medal, and I pray for them and anoint them with laying on of hands. I have very little contact with the casualties of the Iraqis.
  Every combat team and every security team has at least one Combat Life Saver (CLS) who is trained and equipped to deal with a wide variety of injuries. Teams are also equipped with radios and while the CLS is dealing with the trauma, someone is normally on the radio calling for a medivac helicopter, if the injury is life-threatening. The chopper will fly the victim to a Combat Support Hospital (CSH). If necessary, the CSH will stabilize the patient for evacuation to Landstuhl, Germany, and from there to either Walter Reed hospital in Washington, D.C. or to Brooke Army hospital in San Antonio.
  The emotional states of the soldiers in the hospital are varied. For example, one soldier who had been hurt when a mortar hit the dining facility where he was eating ran the risk of losing an eye. He told the brigade commander, "Sir, if they try to take my eye out, they're gonna have to run fast because I'm gonna run!" Another refused the use of a cell phone to call his mother saying, "My God! She'd have a coronary!" Others are concerned about their battle buddies who were in the same attack.

CB: We are so overwhelmed with news, what are we not seeing?

RH: We, the viewing public, have for so long demanded sensationalism in our newscasts that we have moved the news media into the entertainment category. As a consequence, you probably are not hearing much of the good news that has been happening over the months. For example, have you seen on the prime-time news that the electrical generation levels are now higher than before the war? Or those 18 hospitals are being either built or renovated? Or how about the nearly 1,100 schools under construction or renovation? Has there been much air/column space given to the fact that every Iraqi will have the right to vote, according to law, in free, fair competitive and periodic elections?
  The people of Iraq are a long way from having an established democracy and we don't know how long it will take, or if, a democracy will be established. Before we get too impatient with them and their efforts to establish a new government, it might be helpful to recall how long it took to establish the United States of America. Our first century as a country is decorated with all sorts of scandalous events: slavery, the whiskey rebellion, and the exploitation of Native Americans, just to begin a list.

CB: Are you able to see God in any of this?  In whom do you see the face of Christ?

RH: Of course, I am able to see God at work all around. There have been numerous instances of an explosive projectile hitting a vehicle or building that didn't explode. Frequently, there are people who will do some small, tender act of mercy toward another that makes life easier or more bearable. To witness soldiers fall in to support another who has had a tragedy strike.  When a brigade commander tells me it is his discipline to pray for his soldiers three times a day, certainly God is at work among us.
  When the term "face of Christ" is mentioned, the images that come to mind first are the faces of the children. OK, I'm a grandfather six times over so I am a bit sensitive to them, but I am also frequently reminded of that Galilee moment when Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs ... and he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them and blessed them." Or look into the eyes of a Soldier who has been out in the "bad lands" scratching for his life telling of how he could very easily have breathed his last, if only. I remind them that there is no such thing as coincidence in the kingdom of God.

CB: Where is the most unlikely place you have met Jesus?

RH: Actually, two places come to mind and both involved elderly Iraqis. The first was in Samara while on a dismounted patrol with Military Police and Iraqi Police. The Mosque of the Golden Dome is located there. As we walked down the street a white-bearded man was sitting in the gate to a house. As I passed him, he saluted me and placed his hand over his heart. The other was at a graduation at the Iraqi Police Academy. I was seated next to an elderly Imam, who was very gracious. After the graduation, he shook hands with me and said, "Salaam" (peace). These two instances came as surprises to me and reaffirmed the presence of the Holy Spirit among us at all times.
  Another instance happened when an Iraqi contractor offered to take me to the Anglican Church [St George's] in downtown Baghdad. I was unable to take him up on this generous offer -- generous because it could well have been very dangerous to him and his family. Such is the hospitality of the Iraqi people. I shouldn't have been surprised at it since basically it is the same hospitality we see presented in the Books of Moses. We may try to keep those laws; for them it is a way of life.