whats a chaplain

Whats A Chaplain - By Sergeant 1st Class Timothy F. Seppala, Senior Religious Affairs Petty Officer, 94th Air and Missile Defense Command August 17, 2016

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii - I'm choosing to write about some of the lesser known aspects of the chaplain corps, things that chaplains and religious affairs specialists (assistant chaplains) are very familiar with, but seem to escape they from the knowledge and experience of the Soldiers we work with on a daily basis.

Whats A Chaplain

The US Chaplain Corps has a rich history that begins with the Continental Congress officially recognizing chaplains on July 29, 1775, adding chaplains to the ranks a month after its creation and almost a year before the birth of our nation in 1776 Since then, chaplains have been involved in every US campaign. The body has grown and changed a lot over the years. One of the biggest changes was the introduction of an "official" assistant chaplain on December 28, 1909. Before this time, however, soldiers had been aiding and abetting the chaplains in their many duties and conducting services. Many of these soldiers were non-commissioned soldiers and officers who had musical ability or a certain inclination towards religion. The chaplain corps has evolved from those early days to what you see today, with chaplains and assistant chaplains serving at all staff levels, from battalion to division.

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Now that we have a brief history of the choir out of the way, we can begin to focus on some of the lesser known facts about the chaplain choir. To make it a little easier to follow, I'm going to break it down into things about chaplains, things about assistant chaplains, and things about both.

Chaplains are unique officers within their unit, early in their careers they are assigned to battalion staff and are often given the rank of captain when they go on active duty or soon after. The reason for this is the education required to serve as chaplains. All chaplains must have a Master of Divinity degree and have the ecclesiastical endorsement of a religious group. What this means is that before chaplains are allowed into active service, they must first be trained, and recognized as religious leaders of some type of church or religious group. Different groups have different requirements to endorse a chaplain, some experience working in a civilian environment is required before endorsement is granted. This means that the chaplain is often the oldest and most experienced officer in battle, but the chaplain is not necessarily the officer with the most experience in military affairs.

Another aspect that sets chaplains apart is that they will never be leaders. They keep the rank and the authority that rank confers on them, but they will never have commanding authority. This goes back to the separation of church and state and is spelled out in Title X of the US Code. The highest ranking chaplain is a major general, but even using two stars does not give him the authority to authorize leave or enforce UCMJ. This brings me to another point, the proper title for any chaplain, regardless of rank, is "Chaplain". Not a captain, a major, a colonel or a general, but a chaplain. If written, it is shown as CH followed by the degree in brackets. For example, if the chaplain's rank is colonel, write CH (Col.).

The last thing I will mention about chaplains is their non-combatant status. Most of them already know that chaplains don't carry weapons, but you'd be surprised how many times in my career I've been told "make sure the chaplain is in the booth, we don't have the qualifications for him". The chaplain's non-combatant status is not limited to his direct boat arm, chaplains are not allowed to direct combat operations. This means that a chaplain is not allowed to order soldiers to attack objective operations or conduct defensive operations, even if he/she is the only remaining commissioned officer.

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Like our fellow officers, auxiliary chaplains are most understood within the more enlisted structure. The name "assistant chaplain" very well leads to misunderstanding, which is why it is being changed to Religious Affairs Specialist. I say the name is currently being changed because, although the name was updated in AR 165-1 (Chaplain Corps Activities), other regulations and doctrine must be updated before the change can be fully implemented. . For the purposes of this article, I will continue to use our ambiguous but recognizable name, Assistant Chaplain.

I think the best way to explain some of the qualities that make the assistant chaplain unique is to dispel some of the most prevalent myths. First of all, we are not the chaplain's bodyguard. I know this might hurt the ego of some of my more insecure peers, but it's true. To be more precise, we coordinate the security of the staff, including the assistant chaplain, but in most cases it is not just the assistant chaplain. Then comes one of my favorite misconceptions - we are the chaplain's secretary or assistant. Not true. I can honestly say that in my sixteen years as an assistant chaplain, I have never managed a chaplain's schedule or calendar. It is true that most assistant chaplains will spend time writing memos, standard operating procedures, and the division's contribution to military orders, but that does not make the assistant chaplain a secretary or platoon sergeant. The last myth I will mention is that assistant chaplains are "assistant chaplains". This is simply not true. Of course, some assistant chaplains want to be chaplains, but the truth is that the enlisted military members of the chaplain corps join for a wide variety of reasons and there is no requirement to have any particular religious background. the assistant chaplain or. religion.

Since I think I've successfully debunked some of the myths surrounding the assistant chaplain, it's time to answer the question I've been asked more times than I can count - "What do you do ?" My answer to this question is usually something like "a little bit of everything and a lot of nothing", a comical statement, but not completely false. Chaplain assistants manage all aspects of church support work in a unit and garrison. Chaplain's assistants are a jack of all trades. We manage equipment and facilities, account for all financial income and expenses of the meetinghouse community, and manage personnel. Assistant chaplains are the only soldiers who begin their careers as noncommissioned officers in charge of the battalion staff section (NCOIC). You read that right, the bona fide section NCOIC is the new assistant chaplain in your battalion with the rank of private. As we rise through the ranks, our responsibilities, as well as our sphere of influence, expand exponentially. At brigade level, our main objective is to train and manage ministerial teams in battalion units. Note that I did not say only auxiliary battalion chaplains. However, the main job of the assistant chaplain is reflected in the new name Religious Affairs Specialist. You see, matters of faith are a joint mandate that can be fully explained in Joint Publication 1-05. Religious affairs specialists analyze the multiple aspects of religion and its effects on military operations. We also assist the chaplain with religious support for the unit. I could talk about the nuances and small responsibilities of an assistant chaplain, but for the sake of the article, I think I'll leave things at that.

The chaplain's section is commonly known as the Unit Ministry Team or UMT. This designation is only accurate at brigade and battalion level, at levels above brigade it is called a chaplain section. One of the unique things about the chaplain's department is the structure. The first active duty assignment for both chaplains and assistant chaplains is at the battalion level, which puts two inexperienced people together and tells them to work with him. Most commissioned officers are paired with senior non-commissioned officers early in their careers, allowing them to learn from and be mentored by an experienced non-commissioned officer, but this new chaplain (capt. ) to learn from and guide from.

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The chaplaincy section is a full-fledged staff section that is not subordinate to any other staff section and is responsible and bound to produce its own operational orders, tactical and garrison standard operating procedures of the unit and participate in work meetings and various activities. . groups together with the staff. Often this does not happen for a number of reasons. Sometimes the reason is a commander who wants his chaplain to "go to the troops" or an executive officer who doesn't.