incoming! By Chaplain David Trogdon A Free Will Baptist Chaplain shares the story of his harrowing near-miss during a rocket attack on his locationin Iraq!     To learn more about Free Will Baptist Chaplains, visit www.homemissions.net.

One Friday night in April, our location was hit by a rocket attack. Here is an account of what happened and how God protected us.

• At approximately 20:15, I was sitting at my office desk, talking to my wife Connie on the phone when we received the warning, "Incoming!"

• Roughly 10 seconds later, I heard a rocket go over my little building and explode. The 3'x3' window, which was about two feet from my head, shattered from the force of the blast. The explosion also blew my unit patch off of my left ACU sleeve. I discovered later that the rocket had detonated only 25 feet away.

• About a minute later, I was able to clear my head, dust myself off, and climb up off the floor. As far as I could tell, my only injury was a small cut on my right hand.

• I immediately went to the door, and seeing dust and smoke I went out to see if our headquarters building had been hit or if anyone had been hurt. To my great relief no one had been injured or killed. I immediately called Connie to reassure her that I was fine and discovered she had heard the explosion and the window shatter. She was relieved to hear I was okay. I told her she had just missed getting rich and was appropriately "disciplined."

Photo: The shattered window pictured above was only two feet from Chaplain Trogdon's head during the blast.

• Because we are Task Force Troy, our EOD members (emergency personnel) were immediately at my location. I was asked repeatedly if I was okay and if I needed to go to the TMC (Troop Medical Clinic). I responded that I was fine.

• At about 21:30, the MPs (military police) arrived on the scene and informed me that they needed my ID card and information for their investigation. They asked if I was okay, and I responded that I was fine. They informed me that I didn't have a choice, that I had to go to the clinic to be checked out.

• I arrived at the TMC at about 21:45 and was checked. My only symptoms were a headache and some ringing in my ears, which I figured was totally normal. The only other indication that something was a little off was that I had trouble remembering my rank, and I failed a memory test. I was told that I won the prize for being the closest to a rocket detonation and surviving. I was later diagnosed with a concussion.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your prayers. God surely answered those prayers on Friday night as evidenced by the following: God protected us and no one was seriously injured or killed. The glass, even though it shattered two feet from my head/face, all went outward. If the glass had come in on me due to the blast, things would have turned out differently.

I was not hurt by any frag, even though fragmentation from the rocket penetrated the sign and signpost across the street from me on impact. Finally, this has provided me with numerous ministry opportunities as word spread quickly that I had been close to the explosion, and I was able to give God the glory for His protection. Again, thank you for your prayers!"

EOD Psalm

“Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah. (Psalm 140: 4, 5).

In early May 2008, Chaplain David Trogdon received his promotion in rank from Captain to Major. Congratulations to Chaplain Trogdon.