News

Iraq experience proved pivotal moment

By Tony Staley
Compass Correspondent

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GREEN BAY -- Aaron Couillard had to see, do and deal with many things during his two year-long deployments as a soldier in Iraq.

Those experiences helped him solidify his beliefs as a Catholic after a search that also included Protestantism.

E a s t e r

On March 22, during the Easter vigil, Couillard will receive the sacrament of Confirmation as an RCIA candidate at St. Bernard Church.

Couillard, 25, was born and raised in Green Bay. He had been baptized Catholic as a baby at St. Patrick Church, Green Bay, but grew up in a family that didn't always practice the faith.

He joined the Army immediately after graduating from East High School and served for six years in Korea, Iraq, Kuwait and various states. He returned last April from his second deployment to Iraq. He and his wife Tracy were married while he was in the Army. They are expecting their first child on Sept. 25.

Been on 'wrong track'

Couillard said he had been on "the wrong track" for much of his life. "There had been a calling throughout my whole life, coming in and out of the church, whether it be Protestant churches or Catholic churches, all focusing on Jesus Christ," he said.

But it was Iraq that proved pivotal, Couillard said.

"Some of the things I'd seen and some of the things I got to participate in, I kinda had to make sense out of some of it. It was kind of a reckoning with my own mortality," he said. "I had friends who passed away over there and I had to prepare myself for the possibly that it could be me."

Couillard said he has always believed in God, but he wanted to be more prepared just in case something happened to him.

That led him to find parallels between religion and making sense out of what he'd seen and experienced.

"There isn't always a clear answer for it," Couillard said. "With religion, you've got to believe, you've got to have faith. With some of the tragedies you've got to believe that it was part of the plan, that things were supposed to be that way or that it happened that way for a reason."

A close friend he made in Iraq is "the one who pulled me into the church, more or less," Couillard said. "I came to him with a lot of my questions. He told me, 'I can't answer all your questions,' but he referred me to a Catholic priest and said, 'Maybe he can make sense out of some of the things that I really don't know much about.'"

Army chaplain offers help

Couillard said he found the answers to some of his questions from that chaplain and to others in the RCIA. "I've learned so much I didn't really know before," he said.

The most important thing Couillard said he has gained through the RCIA is a new understanding of the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ.

"I think I have a deeper respect for what the Eucharist means and what it is now," Couillard said. "When I go to receive Communion it's different. I don't look at it the same way and I feel differently about it. Inside and outwardly, I feel very humble in receiving it. I go confession and do reconciliation, and I feel very humble about it and thankful that the sacrament exists because of the meaning."

Couillard received his first Communion in Iraq. He wanted to be confirmed while in the military, but couldn't fit the preparations into his schedule, he said.

"Now I finally get the time and it's been a blast," Couillard said of the RCIA process. He said he particularly enjoys the different ideas and perspectives of the others in the group, as well as what he learns from Joanne Griesbach, director of adult education/RCIA, and the handouts.

"One of the neatest things about RCIA is that everyone is there because they want to be and not because they're being forced to be there," Couillard said. "It seems that everyone there has had a few bumps in the road and they turned to faith to find that support and security, where some people would just give up or quit."

Hopes to put faith in action

One personal change Couillard foresees because of the RCIA is becoming more involved in the community.

"I think with the understanding that I've come to develop about the faith will help support what I believe," Couillard said.

He plans to help at a homeless shelter or somewhere else where he is needed. "I grew up in more rugged circumstances so my heart goes out to the people in those circumstances because I was there at one time too. My heart bleeds for those people."

Couillard works full time as a metal fabricator at Robinson Metal in De Pere while taking general studies classes part-time NWTC so he can transfer eventually to UWGB. He said he hasn't volunteered before because he's been too busy, but that is going to change.

For anyone considering the RCIA, Couillard advised, "Give it a shot. It's a great learning experience."