According to a DoD press release, Army 1LT Rafael Lantigua of the Texas National Guard will soon be the Army National Guard’s first Muslim Chaplain.  Lantigua has fulfilled all requirements save some classes required by the Chaplain board.  Lantigua, who had a Roman Catholic father and a mother who converted from Baptist to Buddhist, converted to Islam as a teenager.  He says he looks forward to being a model for “other members of [his] faith:”

“I am humbled for this opportunity to be a role model for other members of my faith throughout the military,” he said.

While he is by no means the first Islamic Chaplain in the US military, they remain relatively few in number.