The Alabama National Guard is a prime example of the shortage of military Chaplains (though the Air Force is currently reducing its Chaplaincy ranks).  With 5 Chaplains deployed, the 11,000 member state guard has 12 available Chaplains, or 1 Chaplain for every 900 troops.  It has no Roman Catholic priests or Jewish Rabbis.  A local newspaper article has a good discussion on how Chaplains can deal with the shortage of faith-specific leaders, and it demonstrates the pluralistic support of the military:  Read more