After all the stories about “firsts” with regard to female and African-American chaplains, the Georgia Army National Guard had its own first, with a chaplain who was a first in his faith:
[Paul] McCabe became the first Episcopal Chaplain the history of the Georgia Army National Guard.
On one hand, this seems Read more
Dobbins Air Reserve Base, located in Marietta, Georgia, needed to modify its entry gate to comply with increased security measures. As a result, the 60-year-old base chapel was slated to be demolished.
The chapel played an important role for more than 60 years as a spiritual home to airmen and their families. It was deployed to Europe during World War II. After the war, it was acquired by the Georgia Air National Guard through private donation. Placed on then active-duty Dobbins Air Force Base, it was dedicated to veterans who served their country in World War II by Army Brig. Gen. J.H. O’Neil, Third Army chaplain.
O’Neil is known for writing Army Gen. George Patton’s prayer for Read more
A Department of Defense article highlights the unique story of Daniel J. Houten, an enlistee with the Georgia National Guard. He’s now in basic training — but he hardly took the traditional route to get there:
Houten…wanted to join the U.S. Army — but without a GED and 15 hours of college credit, he was ineligible.
An acquaintance told Houten the Israeli Army recruited new soldiers simply because they were Jewish…
Although his religious faith had diminished somewhat, he still identified himself as a Jew and felt strong connections to Israel, the homeland of his people, culture and religion. He decided this should be his next step in life.
Houten learned Hebrew and was Read more
Chaplain (Capt) Andy Shepherd and his assistant, Sgt Desmond Manning, deployed to Uganda with the Georgia National Guard in support of ATLAS DROP 11. While their primary purpose was to serve the spiritual and morale needs of the Soldiers in their unit,
Their job didn’t end at the edge of the Drop Zone, both Shepherd and Manning reached out to the surrounding communities.
The locals seemed to be keen on the American forces, and even more so on the Chaplain:
“The locals were really glad to see us, and that really just touched my heart,” said Shepherd. “That really just put a drive in me to go visit more people out in the community to let them know we’re here and that we care and as a chaplain — as a Christian — just to show the love of God and that I do care, that I am concerned.”
As a result, the Chaplain team’s ministry expanded: Read more