wfn.org | Air Force Chaplain safe

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3044 notes).

Note 3040 by UMNS on July 1, 1996 at 16:00 Eastern (4191 characters).

SEARCH: bomb, explosion, Americans, Air Force, Saudi Arabia,
terrorism

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CONTACT: Linda Green                              326(10-71){3040}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470              July 1, 1996

United Methodist chaplain performed 
ministry to military in Saudi Arabia

     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- A United Methodist Air Force
chaplain who had close ties to United States military personnel at
Dhahran Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia was not injured when
terrorists bombed the Kobar Towers there, June 25. 
     The denomination's Division of Chaplains and Related
Ministry, here, received word June 27, that Lt. Col. Dennis E.
Aleson, 49, the only United Methodist Air Force chaplain in
Dharahan, was not among the 19 Americans killed by the explosion
nor was he among the 345 injured.  
     Aleson, a member of the Dakotas Annual Conference, is senior
chaplain for the 4404th Wing (Provisional) at Dhahran. The bomb
tore through Kobar Towers, an eight-story apartment building that
houses and serves as offices for 2,500 Americans.
     Also living in the housing area were U.S. Army personnel who
operated a Patriot air defense unit and a signals battalion.
British, French and Saudi troops are also based at the military
complex.  
     In an April 22 letter to the Division of Chaplains and
Related Ministry in Nashville, Aleson, who had arrived in Dhahran
from Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nev., on March 28,
described his ministry and duties.
     He heads the base chapel program and supervises three 
chaplains there, three other Air Force Chaplains in Riyadh and one
near Kuwait. 
     As senior chaplain, Aleson leads "Rotation 20," chaplaincy
teams who serve the unit in three-month rotations. His direct
responsibility included ministering to the Americans in Kobar
towers. The team also provides care to 1,000 other personnel
through twice-monthly visits to various military locations in the
Middle East. 
     Collectively the chaplains are called the AOR (Area of
Responsibility) and Aleson is the senior member within the AOR.
Another member of AOR is United Methodist Air Force Chaplain,
Captain Thomas Porter, 42, of Scottsboro, Ala., who serves in
Kuwait.  
     The AOR provides ministry to American personnel (including
Army) engaged in supporting  Operation Southern Watch and
enforcing the no-fly/no-drive zone below the 35th parallel in
southern Iraq.
     There are approximately 40,000 Americans working in the oil
industry throughout Saudi Arabia and 5,000 United States military
personnel.
     Aleson was to rotate from Dhahran and return to Nellis July
4. The majority of the people at the Air Force Base are there for
90 days, with some of the "key" leadership remaining for a year to
provide continuity to the everchanging personnel.
     In his letter, he said the greatest hardships are "the
extreme heat/humidity" and "the very long hours" along with "the
usual family separation issues and living in a very strict Islamic
state that imposes severe restrictions on many aspects of American
lifestyle." 
      Americans in Dhahran recently had dedicated a multipurpose
"chapel" in one of the underground garages of Kobar Towers. The
chapel consisted of a well-equipped worship area plus a large
furnished fellowship/classroom area.    
     Aleson said that although they are allowed to worship freely
within the grounds of the military base, "any Christians
attempting to practice their faith in the Saudi culture do so at
great risk, for faith practices other than Islam are strictly
forbidden in Saudi Arabia."
     Aleson wrote that the apartments in Kobar Towers were
"nicely" furnished and possessed American luxuries. "Over the past
four to five years of the provisional wing, they have poured in
quite a bit of money to give us first-class military
resources/aids," his letter said.
                              #  #  #

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