Friday was a very busy day at the conference. We were divided up into 4 groups and each group got to tour one of the military bases. We were in the group that visited Fort Eustis Army Base. We met in the base chapel and heard how the chaplains meet the needs of the soldiers and their families.

We visited the base museum and got to see how the army vehicles have changed over the years. Lots of pictures here. Then we ate lunch at the base commisary and visited several buildings on the base. But, the end of the afternoon was the best part.

We got to see a demonstration of the MWDs (Military Working Dogs), which was pretty amazing! They demonstrated obedience training, aggression training, and explosive detection. The most amazing part was watching the explosive detection demonstration. One of the handlers planted the explosive material in the far right section of the training yard, then another handler brought the dog out on the opposite end of the yard. The dog received the command and was at the explosive material within 5-8 seconds. (Pictures Here)

We also got to visit the Apache Helocopter Training Center, which was very interesting. We got to sit in an Apache Long Bow and look at all the instruments. The best part, though, was at the end, when Sgt. Major Smith told us about his recent deployment to Iraq. His word-pictures were so vivid, you could almost see what he saw as he told his story. He was a believer. He said that faith in God was the only thing that gets you through times and situations like that.

At the end of the tour, we saw some of the Army ships docked in the water. The word is that the Army has more boats than the Navy and possibly more planes than the Air Force...if I'm remembering what they said correctly.