The Air Force recently announced that it was beginning to accept voluntary separations (and might ultimately begin involuntary ones) in order to reduce its manning to meets its authorized end strength.

Among the career fields being downsized: AFSC 52R, Chaplains.  Catholic Chaplains are not included. 

It would be interesting to see what the logic was behind such a decision, particularly when it seems there are frequent shortages of Chaplains.

Notably, it seems the Air Force has only ever officially discussed a shortage of Catholic Chaplains.  Anecdotal evidence of other faiths’ shortages, particularly for minority faiths like Judaism and Islam, may be less reflective of the numbers of Chaplains and more of the relative number of Chaplains to faith adherents.