Wanted: Military
chaplains
to minister to people in uniform
By Craig M.
Kibler
The Layman
Online
Wednesday, June 21,
2006
BIRMINGHAM -- "Please pray for our chaplains as they
minister to persons in uniform."
This simple phrase was written on a handout displayed in the booth of
the Presbyterian Council for Chaplains and Military Personnel in the
Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex during the 217th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It eloquently expresses the
need chaplains feel in a culture living through the worldwide war on
terror, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the deployment of American
troops worldwide and at home, and a host of other issues.
Presbyterian chaplains, like those of their counterparts in other
denominations, are feeling the crunch of budget cuts and the inevitable
downsizing -- and some feel more reductions are ahead. In 1988, the
Presbyterian Council for Chaplains and Military Personnel endorsed about
220 chaplains for active duty, according to Thomas K. Chadwick, the
council's associate director. Today, not counting Reserve and National
Guard chaplains, the council endorses about 140 chaplains.
A chaplain in the booth said only about 80 percent of the chaplain slots
authorized in the National Guard are filled, and that some chaplains "are
on their second tours" in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.
The chaplains in the booth said that, in short, more chaplains are
needed to handle the multitudinous challenges they face in ministering
to people in uniform. They provided a handout with composites of some of
the real-life stories they face in ministering to people in often
difficult conditions:
- My name is Jessica. I am 23 years old. I joined the National
Guard to provide Christmas money for my family, now I am in Iraq. I
just found out my husband has moved his old girlfriend into our
apartment and she hates my baby. I am scared and I have to the drive
the commander on a convoy to Camp Anaconda. God help me. God protect
my baby. God help me. Please pray for me.
- My name is First Sergeant Mix. I am 44 years old and a
professional soldier. I have served in Panama, Desert Storm, Bosnia
and now Iraq. This is my last tour of duty. I have tagged and bagged
too many young people over the years and I have seen religion used
as a weapon to motivate killing. I come to chapel because I still
have hope that God can forgive me for all I have done. My Dad and
Mother still pray on their knees for me. Now, I have this last tour
and I go home. Now, I am learning to pray on my knees that I can get
these kids home to their parents and children. They are all my kids
and I want to protect them all. I am grieving I am I am leaving the
Army and it's all I have known. Please pray for me.
- My name is Sergeant Sharon. I am 25. I have a reputation as
being a very good non-com "who can get the job done," but
I have never ever been so confused in my personal life. My kids miss
me so much. My mother is watching the first steps of my daughter and
my son is playing soccer like a big boy. I am worried because he
keeps getting into fights at kindergarten. The teacher says it's
stress about me being here. I am in Supply, so I am safe most of the
time. How do you tell a 5-year-old that? I came in the Army to make
a life for my son and I. Now, I have a little girl and her father is
over here, too. We want to get married but, so far in the last year,
we have seen each other twice. I hear rumors he has a girlfriend at
another camp. Do I stay with him or do I move on? I have options.
The chaplain says relationships here often don't last, something
about an artificial environment. Well, at least my boyfriend is
paying child support. I know we can stay friends. I can take care of
millions of dollars of equipment and I am so confused in taking care
of me. Please pray for me.
- My name is Staff Sergeant Tex. I am 38 years old. I am a
Reservist activated and deployed to Iraq because the Army doesn't
have many people with my skills - I run water treatment plants. I
have been married for 15 years and have a beautiful family. I am
blessed. God has been very good to me. Last night, I got an e-mail
from my wife. She found a bag of crack that apparently fell out of
my 13-year-old son's backpack. They had a fight. My son left home in
the middle of the night and we don't know where he is. I am here
helping the Iraqis. I want to be home and be with my wife and my
boys. I am scared to death. I was on drugs as a boy and, if God
hadn't given me a born-again experience, I would be dead now. I am
worried. Please pray for me. These composite stories illustrate the
multitude of demands on those chaplains who are ministering to
people in uniform. There is, however, a slight note of hope. One
chaplain who teaches at the Air Force Chaplain School at Maxwell Air
Force Base said he was encouraged to see five Presbyterian
candidates coming through the school, "the most I've seen in
years. It was refreshing to see."
More, though, are needed. The qualifications vary as to the
category in which an individual seeks to serve as a chaplain, as well as
among the branches of the service. More detailed information can be
obtained by contacting the numbers below. In general, though, the
qualifications usually require that candidates:
- Be a United States citizen.
- Have an ecclesiastical endorsement from a Department of
Defense-recognized endorse.
- Have a bachelor's degree and a Master of Divinity degree in a
three-year in-residence program, or the equivalent.
- Pass a commissioning physical and background security
investigation.
- Be commissioned prior to age 40 or less than 42 if the candidate
has two years of prior honorable military service.
For more information on the various chaplain programs, contact the
following: Air Force: Call 1-800-803-2452; Navy: Call 1-800-872-6289;
Army: Call 1-800-872-2769. |