Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan – Capt. Matt Foley hasn’t presided over any weddings or christenings since he arrived here in April – not much call for those services in a war zone.

But the Army chaplain and Catholic priest who spent much of his childhood in Wauwatosa stays very busy ministering to nine companies in the 82nd Airborne Divisional Special Troops Battalion, delivering care packages, checking on soldiers’ welfare, presiding over Catholic Masses as well as handling any calls for a priest.

And like all military chaplains, he cares for all service members regardless of their religion.

His job is very rewarding though he says the toughest part is getting to know people and sharing in sacred moments with them such as funerals and prayers and then seeing them leave when their unit returns home.

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