A writer with Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa had a witty beginning to his story on the work of chaplains with their counterparts in the Kenyan military:

A Kenyan catholic priest, Anglican priest, and Muslim imam walk into a chapel.

This is not the start of a joke, but the beginning of a new partnership between Kenyan and U.S. military chaplains…Kenyan army Lt. Col. Alfayo Lelei, Kenyan air force Lt. Col. Lucas Gatobu and Kenyan army Maj. Mohamed Shukry [joined American chaplains] to discuss ways to better serve U.S. and Kenyan service members’ spiritual needs.

While chaplains protect the religious rights of those in the US military, some also serve “strategic” goals of the US military, engaging local religious leaders during conflicts and, as here, helping other nations in the development of their chaplaincies.

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