Faith sustained through service Published May 18, 2010 By Airman 1st Class Jarad A. Denton 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. -- What are the forces that can motivate an Airman to serve their country for more than 35 years? As one of a handful of Vietnam War veterans still serving on active duty, Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Norman Ellis, 28th Bomb Wing chaplain, said his reason for staying with the Air Force can be summarized in a single word. "Duty," he said. "It was my job to do, and I did it." Chaplain Ellis' duty began June 28, 1971 when he reported to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas for his first day of basic training as an enlisted Airman. His first assignment came in 1971 as an air cargo specialist, assigned to the 8th Aerial Port Squadron at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam. Chaplain Ellis said he worked with the "special handling" section, where he handled chemicals, volatile substances and anything else requiring special attention - including the remains of military members and civilians killed in Vietnam and marked for transportation to the United States. "Back then," he said. "We placed the transfer cases containing the remains on the cleanest 463L pallets we could find, covered them with new plastic pallet covers and strapped them to a pallet with the cleanest, newest straps we could find." Chaplain Ellis said the pallets were then kept under watch and loaded with a forklift with the highest priority. Finally, they were sent on the next available aircraft to the United States. "This was the 'dignity' afforded our patriots at that time," he said. Chaplain Ellis moved through the enlisted ranks before separating Dec. 4, 1975 and enlisting in the U.S. Army in April of 1976. After three years of serving in field artillery he separated from the Army, got married and enrolled in college. "Shortly after I began graduate school in 1982, I began the application process to enter the Air Force Chaplaincy," he said. "I was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, chaplain candidate in Feb. 1983." Chaplain Ellis received his chaplain's commission as a 1st lieutenant in June of 1986 and served as a reserve chaplain until 1993, when he returned to active duty. Throughout his career, he said most of his assignments have been "memorable, defining and redefining." In 2005, when Chaplain Ellis stepped off the ramp of a C-130 transport at Sather Air Base, Iraq, he said he immediately saw the same mission he'd done as an enlisted Airman being carried out. "After 34 years I had come home," he said. "Within 24 hours of my arrival in Iraq, I officiated my first 'Patriotic Detail.'" Chaplain Ellis said he watched as the mortuary brought two American flag draped transfer cases to the flightline. "Two lines of somber Airmen formed a detail at the loading ramp of the aircraft and gingerly transferred the two patriots from the truck to the plane," he said. "I stood in the cargo area to receive them." Once in place, Chaplain Ellis said he read a Psalm, voiced a prayer and left the aircraft quietly with the rest of the Airmen. "We had come a long way from moving our fallen heroes by forklift to treating them with the dignity they deserve," he said. "This was a good thing." Throughout Chaplain Ellis' career he has seen the Air Force from both the enlisted and officer force structures. He said, despite the disappointments and hardships he faced he never forgot the lessons learned from his mentors. "[They taught me] the value of authenticity," he said. "My greatest mentors were people who were true to others and themselves." He said their accomplishments were not only based on a deep sense of duty and commitment, but because of who they were as individuals. It gave Chaplain Ellis a direction and purpose when he mentored Airmen of his own. "We have been truly fortunate to have Chaplain Ellis as our head chaplain at Ellsworth," said Col. Jeffrey Taliaferro, 28 BW commander. "His stellar service and dedication to duty serves as an example for all Airmen." As Chaplain Ellis reflects back on his time in the Air Force he said he hoped the Airmen he mentored within the Chaplain Corps would learn to care for the community and their careers, but not practice "careerism." "I use the analogy of Noah and the Ark," he said. "Noah was charged with the care and feeding of the Ark's precious cargo and maintenance of the Ark itself. The Chaplain Corps is responsible for the spiritual care and feeding of the military community; they are also responsible for keeping their careers viable or afloat." Chaplain Ellis said if Noah had neglected the Ark to care for the animals, it would have sunk and the entire mission would have been a failure. Conversely, if Noah had ignored the animals in lieu of the Ark, the mission would have still failed. "The successful chaplain cares for the animals, his ministry, and takes care of the Ark, his career, and keeps them in appropriate balance."