The Washington Post‘s “On Faith” section contains an article entitled “Chaplains hear call to serve God while serving country.”  The article covers the stories of several chaplains in the US military who were first serving as regular sailors or soldiers until they “heard the call.”

• Asif Balbale, former sailor, now Navy Islamic Chaplain
• Joseph Odell, West Point grad, now Christian Army Chaplain
• Aaron Kleinman, Naval Academy grad, now Navy Jewish Chaplain
• Brian Wood, former enlisted airmen, in training to be Air Force Chaplain

With their sacrificial lifestyle, selfless service of others, and the submission to a higher purpose, the military and the ministry are, in many respects, parallel professions — or “callings.”  It is not unusual, then, to see people cross from one to the other, or combine the two altogether.