Army Chaplain Corps

Hans Zeiger says, “The chaplain serves soldiers, sailors and airmen in a way that civilian clergy cannot.” As military chaplains live with the soldiers while on deployment and on bases, the chaplain corps has a unique opportunity to minister to the men and women of the service branches. Chaplains assist soldiers with counseling, leading religious services and keeping morale up. Since the conception of the Army Chaplain Corps certain times of struggle have brought controversy, however, the chaplains continue to lead others in their spiritual walk. With the stresses of war come great obstacles for chaplains to deal with, on the other hand, great rewards also come with chaplaincy. Throughout history, chaplains have served a vital role in the service
Interestingly, a multitude of controversies began closer to the Civil War. A disputed act Congress passed in August of 1861, with the name of, An Act providing for better Organization of the Military Establishment, required all chaplains to have Christian beliefs. In Section Seven it states, “Provided, That none but regularly ordained ministers of some Christian denomination shall be eligible to selection or appointment.” During that time, Christianity made up the major religion in the United States. However, as time moved onward, more diverse groups of people populated the United States and joined the military; therefore requiring a change in the chaplain corps. Fortunately, the law of 1861 that demanded that chaplains have Christian faith, changed. A revision of the necessary qualifications passed in Congress in July of 1862, stating, “That no person shall be appointed a chaplain in the United States army who is not a regularly ordained minister of some religious denomination. . .” Just a few months after the revision, “. . . in September 1862, the first Jewish chaplain was legally commissioned by President Lincoln.” states Chris Rodda. Diversity has clearly spread throughout the branches, as the Air Force Chaplain Corps currently has chaplains for four religions, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and
In an interview with Commander David Stroud, a Chaplain in the Navy, he gives a perspective on one way to complete the chaplain training. “I was a chaplain candidate, which is a program we have for seminary students. Basically, while you are in seminary, you go through chaplain indoctrination (learning to wear the uniform and military courtesy and custom, etc.) and then spend about three weeks each year working alongside active duty chaplains to see if it is something you want to pursue when you complete seminary.” Once he graduated from seminary in 1996, he applied to serve as a chaplain. As mentioned before, he had to serve in a civilian church setting for two years before going active duty, so he served as an associate pastor at his home church until he could become an active duty chaplain. Another way to become a chaplain in the Navy includes completing ODS or Officer Development School. ODS aims to transform civilians into Naval Officers. It takes place over five weeks at Newport, Rhode Island. It teaches men and women aiming to join the navy as a Staff Corps Officers in areas such as, Naval Leadership, Naval Administration, Military Law and more. Physical training and tests also train the officers for life in the