FORT STEWART, GA - Twenty-one couples from 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division, renewed their wedding vows during a "Coin and Covenant" ceremony, Feb. 7, at the Fort Stewart Main Post Chapel.
The couples in attendance ranged from newlyweds married for four months, to a couple married for 32 years, and spanned the ranks of private to field grade officer.
Maj. David K. Trogdon, the 4IBCT chaplain, put together the event with the assistance of the chaplains and chaplain's assistants throughout the Vanguard Brigade.
During the ceremony, couples received a coin that is split in half, with a message of strength and support on both halves. One half was meant for the husband and the other side for the wife. The covenant portion of the ceremony is the renewal of the couple's wedding vows, to reinforce the promise that both soldier and spouse will be faithful, supportive, and strong during the brigade's upcoming deployment.
Chaplain Trogdon said, "The Coin and Covenant ceremony provides couples a pre-deployment opportunity to say I love you, no matter what. The idea is to help strengthen military families by taking the time to say our marriage and our family are important, and remind us that we have each other."
The chaplain also said renewing wedding vows is important all the time. "We should renew our vows every day," he said. The 4IBCT chaplains held one previous ceremony, helping 22 other 'Vanguard' couples renew their vows. The brigade will have another ceremony this weekend at their Strong Bonds marriage retreat, the last one planned prior to the brigade's deployment to Afghanistan.
