I know that may not seem like news, but it’s actually pretty rare these days and has had me musing on my own unique experiences when I was becoming an army chaplain at boot camp.

The first thing you lose is your name. 

I went from being called Father to Private, which is a strange name given they stick you in a room with 37 other blokes. 

In the army they sort out the men from the boys very quickly, so within 20 minutes I was in a bassinet. 

But it was hard not to get in trouble! 

I looked at the timetable on my first day: “Camouflage Practice at 0500 hrs. Breakfast at 0600 hrs.”

I thought to myself “They want me to get up out of my bassinet at 5am and crawl around in the dirt wearing camouflage clothing in order to hide myself? 

I thought priests wore black priest clothes so people can always find us? 

Nah, they don’t expect me as a chaplain to turn up for camouflage practice!” 

So I had a little sleep-in but made sure I was at breakfast at 0600 sharp. 

As I’m obediently eating breakfast, the sergeant bursts into the mess hall and starts shouting out at the top of his voice in front of all the other soldiers: “Private Lee! Where’s Private Lee?” 

So as he comes over towards my table I whispered to him “Pssst.. Sir, if you keep shouting out my name around the place it’s not going to stay private for long.” 

He blared “Why weren’t you at camouflage practice this morning?” I had to think fast. 

So I replied “How do you know I wasn’t?” He screamed back “I didn’t see you!” 

So I answered him “Well Sir, wasn’t that the purpose of the exercise?” 

Okay, a little of the above didn’t really happen; they didn’t put me in a bassinet,… it was more like a cot for toddlers.

Seriously, the role of the modern soldier, indeed, of any member of the Australian Defence Force, is about to become even more important than it already is. 

Australia's terror alert level is currently at "probable" after the recent Manchester terrorist attacks. 

Last month NSW Coroner Michael Barnes recommended the Turnbull government make it easier for the Australian Defence Force to take charge during terror incidents.

This is even more important given the evolving and complex nature of terrorism and is one that governments across the nation will need to consider going forward.

I guess the hippy deep down in all of us can feel a little uncomfortable about war and weapons.

There’s no doubt we would much rather think about peace and love, but let’s face it; a country without an army is not a country at all. 

When there is a country without an army it is always a country being occupied by another country with one.

Why today do so many people not pray? 

There are so many reasons, but one reason is that many of us do not believe we have anything to pray for. 

More often than not, the attitude is that life is pretty good, so why should I?  

Perhaps if this is your story you could try praying for soldiers, good and bad, all around the world. 

Most of us never think of soldiers in our prayers, but he or she has the weight of more than a gun on their shoulders. 

Pray that they make the right decisions. 

FATHER BRENDAN LEE