As frequently noted, US military Chaplains serve as far more than mere spiritual advisors.  They are counselors, marriage consultants, morale officers, and representatives to their command on issues of culture and religion that affect the mission.  They’re also sometimes just a voice of reassurance.

A Chaplain currently stationed in Iraq recounts a story of how his faith helped a soldier at Fort Benning, where paratroopers at the Airborne School learn to jump out of airplanes: 

One day a Soldier came up to me and told me he was really afraid to jump. I gave him a book of Psalms and said, ‘here jump with this.’ He did and of course he was fine. Well, a Soldier came up to me in the dining facility while I was in Afghanistan and he said, ‘remember me?’ I had no clue who he was. He pulled out a book of Psalms from his pocket and said, ‘you gave this to me.’ He told me he takes it with him on all his missions. It was great to see that God was still with him.

In this day of secular solutions and hypersensitivity toward religion in the military, the Chaplain may have run the risk of accusations of proselytizing or of coercing others with his faith when he provided the unsolicited religious text to the subordinate soldier.  Indeed, Christians in the military have been villified for far less–even when the troops they were addressing were willing participants in a sectarian religious ceremony.

Except in this case, the Chaplain isn’t Christian.  He’s Jewish.

Photo credit Pvt. Karin Leach

Chaplain (Maj.) Avroham Horovitz has been assisting Jewish servicemembers with the tenets of their faith in Iraq, and as his story demonstrates, the contribution he makes goes beyond his immediate congregation.

Horovitz enjoys being able to help service members with whatever their problems are, whether they are spiritual or a simple fear of heights.

And that’s what Chaplains are to the average servicemember: a source of support, whether spiritual, emotional, or even sometimes physical–regardless of the specifics of any one religious faith.  Like Chaplain Horovitz, they go where the soldiers go, taking many of the same risks–sometimes with fewer protections.

Their goal isn’t to convert.  Their goal is to serve–and that they do exceedingly well.