New Army padre carries out dual baptism during major Nato exercise in Romania
One of the Army's newest padres has carried out two baptisms during a field service in Romania.
The soldiers were baptised while taking part in Exercise Steadfast Dart 25, Nato's major training mission designed to test and enhance the Alliance's rapid response capabilities.
The service was led by Padre Daniel Alcock of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, marking his first baptisms on an overseas exercise and only his second field service since deploying to Romania.
"Baptism is a public declaration of a Christian faith and normally done in front of friends and family," said Padre Alcock, who commissioned into the British Army in May last year.
"But for many people in the Armed Forces, their friends and family are the people that they live and work alongside.
"There is no reason why someone couldn't be baptised here in Romania, and I am thankful that we have been able to facilitate that."
The padre added that while many elements of civilian life are put on hold during deployments, the military continues to support the spiritual needs of its personnel.
"We ask so much of service personnel and what they suspend in life – be it their favourite coffee in the morning, their gym membership or meeting friends and family," he said.
"But one of things that doesn't need to be put on pause is that commitment of faith, and I am really proud we offer service personnel of all faiths on exercise that sense of continuation that helps with identity."
Keeping faith in the field
The soldiers baptised were Colour Sergeant Ryan Grant of 4 Scots and Corporal Lindsay Clarke of 21 Multi-Role Medical Regiment.
CSgt Grant explained that the decision stemmed from a family discovery after his grandfather passed away.
"I have always believed throughout my childhood, I used to go to church all the time when I was at school," he explained.
"Then when my grandfather passed last Easter and we were going through his things that's when I found out he had been christened when he was a child and that I hadn't.
"I had thought all through my childhood that I had been christened but my mum thought I could make my own choice. She did get a bit upset when she found out this mattered to me but something that could easily be sorted. That's when I linked in with the padre."
Cpl Clarke said she was ready to return to her faith after stepping away from it as a teenager.
"I come from Northern Ireland, and I grew up in a Christian faith in a Presbyterian church. I left the church when I was age 16, I suppose I stepped away from the church for personal reasons.
"Having served in Afghanistan and on other deployments, I guess one person kept me alive, and I am now at the point in my life that I am ready to reconnect and come back to the church."
Exercise Steadfast Dart 25 is one of several Nato training operations aimed at increasing coordination and interoperability between Allied forces.
The exercise brings together troops from multiple nations to rehearse rapid deployment, operational planning, and field execution in a simulated high-pressure environment.
The Royal Army Chaplains' Department can trace its roots back to September 1796. Its main role is to care for the Army's people by offering pastoral Care, spiritual support and moral guidance.
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