A group of US Army Africa chaplains have been engaging with the Liberian Armed Forces to help their chaplaincy:
Chaplain (Maj.) Allen Staley, and Command Chap. (Col.) Gary Brown …worked with more than 20 Liberian Armed Forces chaplains during a Chaplain Professionalization Seminar in Monrovia, Liberia.
The US military is helping Liberia develop its own chaplaincy, and they’re Read more
US Army Chaplain (Capt) Thomas Dyer was once a Marine. He was also once a Southern Baptist preacher.
Dyer has served for several years, including a deployment to Iraq. While he’s the first Army Buddhist chaplain, several Buddhists have recently become chaplain candidates.
The TV station local to Fort Benning recently did a short segment on the Chaplain, and the military’s support to religious freedom his service demonstrates:
The US military continues to face a shortage of Catholic priests, while the Catholic church itself has a shortage of church leaders:
Catholics make up the largest single religious denomination in the military…There is one chaplain for every 1,300 Catholic servicemen and servicewomen.
One way they’re attempting to alleviate the strain is with a joint scholarship Read more
A US Army article details the support of Army chaplains to families and Soldiers as they deploy and return home. Check out the name of the chaplain:
“We help strengthen family relationships,” said Maj. Billy Graham, 101st CAB chaplain. “We conduct the ‘Strong Bonds’ retreats for married soldiers and hold events for single Read more
Chaplains in the US Marine Corps are actually officers in the US Navy. Chaplain (LtCmdr) Mark Tews comments on the importance of chaplains to his Marines:
“If a Marine is having a bad day and needs a place to go and to feel safe and talk about any issues, the chaplain is always there for them,” he explained. “For Marines, this is a place of sanctuary where they don’t have to worry about anything and can talk with the chaplain about anything.”
Two US Army chaplains, Chaplain (Col) John McGraw and Chaplain (Col) Jerry Lewis, recently took the Army’s resiliency mantra to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their African hosts seemed to welcome the opportunity:
Chief of DRC Chaplains Col. Jeanne Paul Keela sees the emerging relationship between his organization and U.S. Army chaplains as Read more
The Jewish online magazine Tablet covers the story of US Army Chaplain (LtCol) Larry Bazer, who recently returned from a deployment as the “only Jewish chaplain in Afghanistan.”
The article contains some interesting commentaries on the chaplaincy in general, as well as some specifics related to life as a Jewish chaplain:
The [Camp Phoenix] chapel, said Bazer, “was a cozy little place”: a small, nondescript room built of plywood. During the day it was devoid of any religious symbols, but during the evenings a few crosses would turn it into a Protestant chapel, or some icons into a Catholic church. On Friday nights, candles and challah—sent each month by the “challah lady,” a Long Island Jewish woman—made it a synagogue.
Chaplain Bazer’s congregations varied from none to nearly 20 as he traveled Afghanistan as the only Jewish Read more
Zhen Guan, a monk originally from China, was recently sworn in as the US Army’s latest Second Lieutenant and Buddhist chaplain candidate. He gave his oath with his hand on the Vimalakirti Sutra, which is a Buddhist text.
Guan’s oath was administered by Chaplain Read more