When this chaplain sounds off, soldiers take notice

BY BORDEN BLACK --

Special to the Ledger-Enquirer

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Soldiers, sweaty and hot from a week in the field, are marching back to the barracks. It is dusk and the path is lit by torches. From the woods comes the plaintive wail of the bagpipe.

It is an emotional and inspirational moment for the trainees, says the piper, Maj. Steve Cantrell. The bagpipe is just one of the instruments the 192nd brigade chaplain uses to reach out to the soldiers.

Cantrell is unique in the chaplaincy. Not only does he play myriad instruments, he first served as an enlisted man, is Airborne qualified and is one of just a few Army chaplains to make a combat jump.

Even before he joined the Army in 1984, Cantrell felt a calling to preach. He grew up in the Baptist church in Cleveland, Tenn. As a young man, he enlisted to "see if the Army thing would work." As an NCO, Cantrell became Airborne qualified and served as a chaplain's assistant. After four years, he decided to return to college and get his master's in divinity. He pastored for several years in Minnesota and Pennsylvania and then returned to the Army in 1998 as a Church of God chaplain.

His prior service has given Cantrell a different perspective.

"There is an us-them mentality," between enlisted and officers, Cantrell points out. Since he has been on both sides, he can sometimes bridge that divide. Music also helps him connect with the troops.

As a child, Cantrell remembers practicing the piano in a cold, unheated back room.

"My dad showed me how to play chords with three fingers on each hand," he recalls.

He learned to play by ear, but then became a bass trombone major in college. In addition to those two instruments, he plays the guitar, harmonica, other brass instruments and most recently the bagpipes. He was introduced to that instrument before his combat experience.

Cantrell was one of three chaplains and 959 paratroopers participating in a parachute assault into northern Iraq in March of 2003 by the 508th and 2nd Battalion of the 503rd. Music helped him through that mission. Cantrell recalls humming "On Eagles' Wings" (derived from Isaiah 40:31) for the six-hour flight to the drop zone. A fellow captain, John McDougal played the bagpipes before they departed for the jump.

"That did it for me," Cantrell remembers. He was so enthralled by the sound that he took up the pipes, taking lessons from McDougal while deployed.

Cantrell started learning the instrument on a practice chanter and then bought a set of pipes later while on a family vacation to Ireland. Bagpipes are a difficult instrument to learn. "I sometimes joke it is four instruments in one," says Cantrell.

There are four reeds fed from a reservoir of air in a bag. Cantrell says you really can't learn the instrument from reading or from tapes. You need to have someone show you the arm movements required to push the air from the bag.

"It's the devil to play and very hard to tune." He says he has a whole tool box devoted to the bagpipes since the instrument often breaks.

The effort is worth it. The pipes have a unique sound and a long military history. Bagpipes were often used as troops marched into battle and have become a common tradition for military memorials.

During his deployment in Iraq Cantrell also had a guitar sent in and he recalls playing contemporary songs, hosanna music, inspirational songs and hymns to bring his ministry to the soldiers. He says they really enjoyed when he played Beatles and Eric Clapton selections. The instrument would also attract other musicians.

Asked how music has helped with his ministry Cantrell replies, "It is the language I speak."