Priest chaplain shares lessons from his decade on active duty
God is present in everyday encounters, providing opportunities for learning and spiritual growth.
Father Nicholas Reid, a priest of the Jefferson City diocese and U.S. Air Force chaplain, shared this and other bits of wisdom with the members and wives of Knights of Columbus Dan C. Coppin Fourth Degree Assembly 573 in Jefferson City.
He was the speaker at their Nov. 24 meeting. About 70 people attended.
Fr. Reid, who was raised in Waynesville near Fort Leonard Wood, spent 10 years on active duty before returning to the diocese this summer. He is now pastor of St. Martin Parish in St. Martins and St. Michael Parish in Russellville.
He was selected for promotion to the rank of Major in the Air Force this past spring.
He has permission to continue his service in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) Program chaplain, beginning in Canon Air Force Base, New Mexico.
He broke his talk to the Knights into four parts, one for each geographical assignment he had received over the past decade.
Each part included a Scripture verse, a story, a leadership lesson, a spiritual lesson and a question or takeaway.
Service and surprise
At Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, Fr. Reid learned to embrace each and every assignment with servant leadership.
Meditating on John 13, in which Jesus washes his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, the priest talked to the Knights about how St. Peter at first resisted having Jesus demean himself in such a manner.
“This servant-hearted action on Jesus’s part teaches surrendering to God’s sovereignty, seeing ‘bad’ assignments as refining fires that build character,” said Fr. Reid.
He noted that modeling servant leadership — prioritizing team needs, mentoring junior officers and fostering a positive environment — sets everyone up for success.
“In military or professional settings, effective leaders view every posting as an opportunity to serve their team, regardless of challenges from above or below,” he stated.
Asserting that there are no bad assignments, “only bad bosses,” Fr. Reid asked the Knights to consider what it would look like to emulate the best leader they’ve ever had.
While serving at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Fr. Reid discovered purpose in unexpected encounters.
He called to mind Matthew 25:40, part of Jesus’s discourse on the Last Judgement: “And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
“This verse demands that we don’t rank the importance of those we encounter,” the priest asserted. “Each and every one of us has tasks that we do that are more enjoyable than others.”
No one wakes up wanting more work to do, but God wants everyone to trust him enough to take care of the people he puts in their path.
Fr. Reid noted that leaders often focus on high-profile tasks, such as ministering to U.S. Service members or embassy staff, “but true impact comes from recognizing the unseen team members.”
“I thought I was there to serve U.S. Service members in uniform, but the most beautiful moment I encountered was with nine other Catholics in the Diwan room,” he said, referring to a gathering space for civilians on the base.
He asked the Knights to consider: “Who are those on the margines you are being called to serve in your life?”
Unity and humility
On assignment at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, Fr. Reid learned about complementary strengths.
Elmendorf-Richardson is home to a U.S. Army Airborne division and a fleet of U.S. Air Force C-17s/C-130s.
The joint operation works well because of collaborative synergy: “Our strengths complimented each other because the Air Force loves flying planes and the Army paratrooper loves jumping out of them!” said Fr. Reid.
He referred to verses 12:12 and 12:21 of St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians: “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. ... The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I do not need you.’”
“In joint operations, success isn’t about uniformity but combining complementary skills,” the priest noted.
As a chaplain, he went out of his way to facilitate this success by promoting mutual respect and shared goals.
Joint base situations that fail often do so because of “silos” — with members of each branch of the service keeping to themselves and protecting their “turf.”
“But thriving ones teach leaders to identify and integrate strengths, fostering innovation and resilience — like how the Airborne and C-17s amplified each other’s capabilities,” he said.
Fr. Reid asked the Knights to consider whether they have silos that they tend to protect in their own life or work.
He cautioned the Knights against comparing themselves to other people.
“Compare yourself to who you were yesterday,” he suggested.
Most recently, at Joint Base San Antonio at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, Fr. Reid picked up lessons in perseverance and growth through failure.
He advised the Knights to keep James 1:2-4 in mind: “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
“As the Letter to James tells us, God uses mistakes for refinement, much like sanctification,” said Fr. Reid.
He called to mind a pep talk he had given to a group of homesick airmen upon their arrival. To them he would offer three pieces of advice: “Don’t quit on yourself, don’t quit on your team, learn from your mistakes.”
Often, it is only through persevering through difficulty, such as homesickness, that people are able to learn our ability to overcome and what it means to depend on a team and to be part of a team.
“Effective leaders own mistakes, learning from them, and in doing so rallying the team forward,” the priest stated.
He pointed out that faith involves “failing forward” under God’s grace, while humility recognizes failure as an inevitable part of life.
“Humility also serves as a reminder not to abandon our calling amid setbacks,” said Fr. Reid. “God is also in the struggle — and we can be thankful for that, too!”
Major milestone
Fr. Reid recently completed the requirements for Air Command and Staff College, a Major’s-level professional military education.
He began the coursework during vacation time he had earlier this year.
Since arriving back in the diocese and taking up his current parish assignment in July, he spent most of his Monday “days off” completing the remainder of the coursework, finishing in late November.
Fr. Reid said he is grateful for the opportunity to continue to minister as a priest in the USAF Reserve and enjoys discussing his military service with the many veterans in the Central Missouri area.
