Capt. Wiley Hammer and members of Troop G of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee Army National Guard, were honored Sunday by Covenant Family Worship Center.

Members of the church promised to pray daily for Troop G while its members are training in Mississippi and California, and during their expected deployment in Iraq.

Capt. Hammer, who wore a desert utility uniform, was presented with a traditional cavalry saber by Danny Wills, the church’s youth pastor, who noted, “This sword is to defend.”

Wills said it was “very special” for the church to be able to honor Troop G. He said that although he had just met the troop’s leader, “I know in my heart, Capt. Hammer, that you’ll be bringing these men back to the land of freedom.”

The church presented a framed Bible to Troop G as a group, along with a list of 200 church members and others who have committed to pray for the troop each day. David Brown, 13, presented the Bible to Capt. Hammer, saying, “You are our defenders.”

Becky Miller, the church’s children’s pastor, gave Capt. Hammer a softback copy of the daily devotional book, “My Utmost for His Highest,” by Oswald Chambers, and said copies of it would be given to every member of the troop. President Bush has been said to read this particular devotional daily.

Miller noted that inside the cover of each devotional book is a sticker that says, “Remember, we’re praying for you,” and said those who have agreed to pray have “given their word” that they will pray daily, and other times as they are prompted by God’s Holy Spirit, and their names are also on the “Prayer Wall” in the hall outside the sanctuary.

The church also had wanted to honor the entire troop in some more elaborate way, he said. However, because the troop will be leaving Greeneville on Father’s Day, June 20, and time available to spend with families is growing short, the church decided to ask for only a representative delegation to accept its gifts. Sgt. Larry Henderson, the troop’s information specialist, said about a dozen Troop G members attended, some with their families, in addition to the color guard that the church had requested.

The Rev. Randy Reed, Covenant’s pastor, also presented Hammer with 200 of the 600-minute global prepaid telephone cards for each of the men. He noted that when officials at Wal-Mart learned what the church was doing, they donated another 100 cards to the 100 the church was purchasing.

Richard Weber, a retired Air Force major who is a member of the church, offered a prayer for the troop, and quoted liberally from Psalm 91, which talks about God’s protection.

Capt. Hammer’s Remarks

When Capt. Hammer spoke, he thanked the church “for this outpouring of support, and for your prayers,” saying it was truly humbling.

In addition, “To have people that don’t know you reach out to you is truly touching,” he said.

Hammer said, “I don’t believe in luck,” or in fate, or in destiny. “My faith lies in God,” he said.

He said he also believes that whether the meeting takes place in a building, a Humvee or a tent, “when two people come together to talk about God, you’ve got a church.”

Hammer said the historical origins of the Tennessee National Guard date to 1780, when Tennesseans were called to muster at Sycamore Shoals (in what is now Elizabethton) before the battle of Kings Mountain. That battle is considered the turning point in the southern theatre of the Revolutionary War.

The Rev. Samuel Doak, whose home was in Greene County, said a prayer over those troops, Hammer noted, praying “for God to watch over them” and their families. Hammer said he reads that prayer often, because it seems very appropriate for today.

Those who mustered at Sycamore Shoals were in a battle for liberty against the forces of tyranny, he said.

“Our battle is not against the Iraqi people, our battle is against evil,” Hammer said. “We trust in our faith in the Lord, God,” he said.

Hammer said he has told his soldiers “We should not seek glory in battle,” because that kind of glory is not lasting.

“The only true glory comes from God,” said Capt. Hammer, adding, “The only true lasting victory comes from the risen Christ, and I believe that.”

On Father’s Day, he said, “we leave for Camp Shelby, Miss.,” for a hot and humid summer of training. “If we survive that,” he said, the troop goes to California for three weeks of desert training.

“If we survive that,” he said, the troop will take “a long plane ride” to the Middle East, and if they survive that, he said, they will be in a land inhabited by “camel spiders and people that don’t like us too much.”

However, he said, “We chose this, and we take that responsibility very seriously.” Hammer said the members of troop G “lean on each other, because we are a family.” He told the congregation that “people like you in this community are also part of that family.”

Rev. Reed encouraged those present to nourish the spiritual part of their lives using the checklist found in Phillippians 4:4-9, which exhorts believers to rejoice always, not be anxious, to pray and meditate on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or worthy of praise.

Rev. Reed also spoke of how Joseph became a hero because his commitment to God developed his character and his courage, and prepared him to act when the opportunity was presented.

“How much I appreciate Troop G,” Rev. Reed said, and the sacrifice that its members and their families are making.

“I pray you never have to go,” Rev. Reed said, “but whether you go or stay, that God’s hand will be with you.”

The service was dismissed as Troop G’s color guard removed the U.S. and Tennessee flags from beside the altar. A bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace” was heard playing very softly.