US Army Chaplain Khallid Shabazz was promoted last week to full Colonel, making him the US military’s highest ranking Muslim chaplain:

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Michael T. Morrissey, Commander of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, presided over the ceremony.

Morrissey had the opportunity to share some kind words about the newly promoted Col. Khallid M. Shabazz.

“For those of us who know Khallid, he is a force of nature, a force of personality, one of those unique types that I like to describe as someone you meet and you feel like you’ve known them your whole life,” said Morrissey. “Troops naturally gravitate towards him.”

Just last year Chaplain (then-LtCol) Shabazz had been installed as the first division-level Muslim chaplain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. Chaplain Shabazz now finds himself at the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Hawaii.

More interesting, perhaps, is the photograph of a “prayer circle” as his promotion ceremony closed: Read more