Editor’s note: Jim Veneman, director of visual communication, spent 10 days covering Operation Iraqi Freedom for Baptist Press, the national news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Veneman, and former Union staff member Sara Horn, were embedded with troops aboard the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean. His photographs appeared in Baptist Press as well as Union Today. Following, are excerpts from an article Veneman penned for The Cardinal and Cream.

"No sir, we’ll just get a little wet,” was the response when I asked the airman if the stormy conditions would impact flight operations that night. He could easily have been a student at Union, but his career path had taken him a different direction. He was a member of the crew aboard the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean.

While still on dry land just hours before heading for the ship, we were given a hint of the demands we would encounter during this experience. During a final press briefing with Navy personnel we were asked to fill out and sign several documents. The first was related to our physical condition. Basically, if we had anything much worse than a hangnail we could forget about setting foot on that ship. Later that day we found out why.

Although the Truman is quite large, it is still fairly compact when 5,000 men and women are placed there to live and work. We witnessed a whirl of activity operating with precision, each person playing a vital part in accomplishing the ship’s assignments.

Shortly after we arrived we were taken to the room that would become our newsroom. It was quite a distance from our starting point and the public affairs officer leading the way moved like a frightened deer in a Tennessee forest. The ladders up, the ladders down, the small hatchways, and the similarities around every turn began to add up. We were not only exhausted by the time we arrived, but we were totally lost.

By the time we departed the ship we had learned how to use the major thoroughfares but were still asking for directions to many of our destinations. We found out early that the question would always bring the same response, “Sir, please follow me.” This was typical of our acceptance aboard this ship. In a place where we could easily have been seen as a nuisance, we were treated royally.

In an unexpected way, I was given the chance to enter into a daily relationship with a part of the ship’s personnel. The bag carrying the equipment I was to use for downloading and editing photographs did not make the journey to the ship. It had taken a detour in Detroit. In order to meet the planned deadlines, I went to the ship’s photography department and asked for help. By the time we left the ship, I felt almost like a part of their team. I was given the opportunity to see a part of the Navy from the inside. It was like attending a workshop with twenty-four instructors and one student, me.

The stories we attempted to capture ran a little deeper than most of the fact-driven headlines of the day. We looked not only at the work being done on this vessel, but at the lives behind the operation. Within this floating community were people no different than anywhere else, even at Union. They had great days and some not so great. They had friends on the ship, but missed home so much. Some had joined the Navy to get away from something, only to find it had followed them there. Many were looking toward bright futures, while some still wondered where life would lead. Most were on a search.

Just like here in Jackson, if one wants to be involved in faith-based activities, there is always something happening. On this ship are Bible studies, prayer groups, praise teams, choirs, an “Experiencing God” class, Sunday school, three services on Sunday, and a chapel left seldom empty.

Aside from scheduled opportunities, we found within this naval island a growing number whose Christianity was having an impact. Their faith is not flamboyant or for show but very real. It was through them that we discovered our true story.

View More Photos