Reading: 8-1 Introduction to Chaplaincy in the Armed Forces

The Military Chaplaincy

In the ministry, we are often confronted with the challenges of spiritual warfare. This is a serious matter as we take up the full armor of God as we do battle with the spiritual forces of darkness which follow the orders of the world ruler of the air (See Paul's letter to the Ephesians) Evil manifests itself everywhere. And the calling of the pastor is to confront the darkness of that evil in all of its forms with the power of the light of the Good News of Jesus. Our Lord addressed the disciples, calling them the light of the world and insisting that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

That directive becomes very real when a servant of Jesus becomes a chaplain in the military forces of his/her country. (You would need to check to see if your country permits and/or hires pastoral personnel for their military services.) The light of the Christian faith is desperately needed in many situations in the military context. In the sections that follow, I will be elaborating on some thoughts provided to me by a chaplain who is serving with the United States Army.  His thoughts will be in bold print so that you can know which thoughts have come from an active practitioner of military chaplaincy.

Pastoral Identity

The place to begin is that each chaplain must realize that it is critical to have a pastoral identity...you represent Christ to your Soldiers/patients/clients/etc.

This is one of the central ideas I have been proposing to you throughout this course: you are the physical manifestation of Immanuel, God with us. It is your presence as a person who knows Christ and knows that "at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, both in heaven and on earth,” (Philippians 2) that will shape the encounters you have with members of the military. They all serve in a context where there is a carefully observed chain of command. The most important thing you have to offer to those around you is a personal relationship with the One who holds all authority in heaven and on earth. 

In your person you are to embody the mystery of God with us. How can it be that the one who made the sun and the moon, and who calls the stars by name, wants to know me? How can it be that he is interested in me> How can it be that God would know my name? Your presence is to be a model of one who knows Jesus and therefore knows what humility is, knows what a servant's heart is, knows what it means to reach out to the lost and lonely. Your presence is the way such knowledge which is so amazing will come about for those who are entrusted to your care in your military regiment.

Your pastoral identity needs to include a personal assimilation of the wonder of salvation. You have been redeemed. You are not a perfect specimen of humanity. You are a redeemed person who now is attempting to live a life worthy of the calling you have received in Christ Jesus. You know how to forget what lies behind and how to press on toward the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. You know that whatever is good in you is the result of the gift of God to you. The love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control which others may see in you are the result of the life of the Holy Spirit of God flowing into you as you abide in the true vine.

Your identity needs to be one of the fact of God's forgiveness made real in you. You will do no one any good by pretending that you yourself are one who needs no forgiveness. Your Lord taught his disciples to pray, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” The Church has handed that prayer down to us as a prayer which needs repeating daily. Forgiveness is part of your identity as a chaplain. You will come into contact with many who bear awful loads of guilt and shame over acts they have had to do as military personnel. These people need someone who can kneel with them and find forgiveness as a sinner saved by grace just surely as they themselves do. Jesus prayed for forgiveness for those who were crucifying him. If God can forgive the people involved in crucifying the Lord of all, then he can forgive whatever we discover amiss in our lives.

Your identity includes the fact of your calling to be a pastor to the hurting, wounded world of the military forces. Your identity arises from the fact that the Spirit of God has moved your heart to answer the call to serve the people who make up the military forces. Young people away from home for the first time in a strange environment that may scare them, challenge their preconceived ideas, and break down their own self-identity need a person who comes alongside and lets the light of Jesus shine from his/her own identity in Jesus. When taking up a position as a military chaplain you are responding to the call of God to go to a place where your identity as a child of God will be the best thing you can bring to the table. Others will bring more experience in war to their contribution to a conversation; others will bring more macho thinking about the prowess of the troops they command or train with;  still others will bring a contempt for the enemy to the table. Only you, as a part of your identity, will bring the idea that God is present. You are Immanuel in that moment, the physical embodiment of the spirit of Christ. That is your calling as you serve with the armed forces.

A deeper sense of your identity involves the idea that you have personally heard the Great Commission of Jesus, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the  Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. Look, I am with you to the very end of the age.”  You are sent by the Lord to the uttermost parts of the earth just as the soldiers are with whom you live and interact. You are called and sent. Since your "congregation” moves at the will of their commander, so do you. You are present with the soldiers no matter where they may be, no matter the danger that is involved. You are there because you heard the command of Jesus, "Go ...”

But let's not forget a central aspect to your pastoral identity: you are empowered to this task, not by a commission from the nation whose military personnel you minister to, you are empowered by the Holy Spirit of God who is in you. Military groups on parade march to the sound and rhythm of the drummer. It is your task to listen to the drumbeat of God and to march to that drum, even when it puts you at odds with the prevailing culture of the military personnel around you. Unless you maintain your identity as the person empowered, not by an official insignia on your shoulder, but by the Scripture hidden in your heart, you will find your position being often compromised because your loyalty to God is questioned. Your pastoral identity must demonstrate a recognition of the empowerment that God gives you. That does not mean you can "lord it” over others. It just means that you will be the most effective when you remain committed to the One whose power pervades your life.

Some US history re the role of Chaplain

The next important aspect of my understanding of chaplaincy comes from the history of our country in its earliest days.  It is known that George Washington refused to go into battle without his pastor by his side advising him and giving that spiritual blanket of comfort and blessing.

The following is excerpted from https://fgbt.org/Testimonies/president-george-washington-the-christian.html 

These passages show us that a person of genuine faith will demonstrate the fruit of good works from the Bible in his life. When we look at the life of Washington, we see a man whose life exemplified a close adherence to the commands of Scripture.

We could speak of his church attendance, his participation in communion, his donations, his prayers, his self-sacrifice, his steadfastness, his treatment of his slaves, or his faithfulness in paying his debts. We could cite how he applied the Law of God as the General of the Continental Army, forbidding profanity, drunkenness, adultery, and sodomy. We could reference his many writings of humility and thanksgiving to God for his blessing. We could observe his submission to authority and his lack of greed for power particularly at the end of the war with Britain.

If I had a book, I probably would cite all of those marks of Washington's behavior as evidences of the Spirit of God in his life. However, here are a few special examples that are worth highlighting.

• Bringing Chaplains into the Continental Army

Today we take the practice of having chaplains in the military for granted. But in the War for American Independence, Washington was not just following the crowd when he executed the practice of chaplains in his army. He and the Continental Congress set the precedent.

In his orders, requiring chaplains to serve the army, Washington wrote:

The Hon. Continental Congress having been pleased to allow a Chaplain to each Regiment, with the pay of Thirty-three Dollars and one third per month--The Colonels or commanding officers of each regiment are directed to procure Chaplains accordingly; persons of good Characters and exemplary lives--To see that all inferior officers and soldiers pay them a suitable respect and attend carefully upon religious exercises. The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger--The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.

• Leading in Scripture Reading and Prayer

At times, when Chaplains were not available in the army, Washington was known to fill in the gap. "I have often been informed by Colonel B. Temple, of King William County, Virginia, who was one of his aides in the French and Indian War, that he had 'frequently known Washington, on the Sabbath, [to] read the Scriptures and pray with his regiment, in the absence of a chaplain;' and also that, on sudden and unexpected visits to his marque, he has 'more than once, found him on his knees at his devotions.'”

And the following from an on line source called continentalline.org   see https://www.continentalline.org/CL/article-960102/

Official actions pertaining to the chaplaincy.

After Lexington and Concord, great numbers of the parishioners remembered their Pastors' teachings and rallied to the cause. Others saw their Pastors enlist to shame or encourage their flocks to do likewise. At first, however, the chaplaincy was a totally unorganized system. Some clergy were commissioned by governors, some were part of various militias, and some were commissioned by authorities in the national army. These men were officers of a regiment in the standard British system rather than members of a Chaplain's Corps per se. Their function rather than their rank justified their presence, and "they were motivated with the courage of a crusade and the unconventionality of a mission" (Williams, 76).

On April 6, 1775, the Connecticut Assembly appointed a chaplain to each of the six regiments of colonial militia at a salary of six pounds sterling. In July, they added additional chaplains, and in December, they raised the salary to twenty dollars a month plus a monthly grant of forty shillings for a supply pastor to cover their home churches. In Pennsylvania, many clergymen had been serving as temporary chaplains in local militia companies. When the war began, the militia was reorganized and the chaplains were given permanent status. In early 1776, the Pennsylvania Assembly authorized appointment of one chaplain for each battalion of riflemen and musketmen. These chaplains were to be selected by the field officers with the approval of the Assembly and were to receive twenty dollars per month (ibid., 80). New Jersey never developed a system for giving official approval to chaplains with the result that many clergy crossed over to Pennsylvania to serve.

On May 25th, 1775, a committee of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts resolved to permit thirteen chaplains to be stationed with the encampment around Boston (Headley, 61).

July 29, 1775 - On this date, which is considered the official birthday of the American Chaplaincy Corps, the Congress recognized chaplains in the national army with a rank equal to that of a Captain and a monthly pay of twenty dollars (Thompson, 107).

August 15, 1775 - Washington reported that fifteen chaplains were in service for twenty-three regiments and that twenty-nine regiments were without any. In September, there were twenty regiments supplied and twenty vacancies. The situation worsened over the Fall and by January 9, 1776, there were only nine chaplains and eighteen vacancies (Headley, 62). Washington thought that the pay was not enough and suggested a chaplain for each two regiments as a means of doubling the salary.

January 16, 1776 - Congress passed the "Chaplaincy Act" authorizing one chaplain for every two regiments for the "army at Cambridge." The pay was set at thirty three and one third dollars (Williams, 82).

September 20, 1776 - Congress passed the "Articles of War" which was highly moralistic in tone, and while they didn't establish an organized chaplaincy, they did recommend diligence in services and established their authority over the chaplains in locations other than "the Army at Cambridge" (see January 16th). The articles also provided for fines or confinement for soldiers not attending services and for AWOL chaplains to be court martialed and fined a maximum of one month's pay (Williams, 83). Washington was now of the opinion that one chaplain should not be expected to serve more than one regiment to prevent the possibility that some of the men would have a chaplain of a faith other than their own. Apparently most of the units were fairly homogeneous as far as religion is concerned.

November 15, 1776 - Congress established the Navy Chaplaincy at a base pay of twenty dollars a month (Drury, 3).

November 28, 1776 - Congress approved the Navy regulations, the second article of which reads:

"The Commanders of ships of the thirteen United Colonies are to take care that divine service be performed twice a day on board, and a sermon (implying an ordained clergyman) preached on Sundays unless bad weather or other extraordinary accidents prevent."

These are much stronger provisions than for the Army. They also had much stronger designated punishments. Article three reads:

"If any shall be heard to swear, curse, or blaspheme the name of God, the Commander is strictly enjoined to punish them for every offense, by causing them to wear a wooden collar, or some other shameful badge of distinction ... Commissioned officers forfeit one shilling for each offense, a warrant or inferior officer, six pence. For drunkenness, a seaman shall be put in irons until sober - if an officer he shall forfeit two days pay" (ibid.).

February 1777 - Congress reorganized the Army Chaplaincy service, requiring all chaplains to be commissioned by Congress. Also they extended services to garrisons, forts, hospitals, and to rifle and cavalry brigades. Prior to this only infantry and artillery units received chaplains. Several chaplains were assigned to linguistic service with the Indians, and Washington's desire was recognized with one chaplain authorized per unit (Williams, 83).

April 1777 - Pay was increased to forty dollars per month (ibid.).

May 27, 1777 - Congress decided upon only one chaplain per Brigade, to be appointed by Congress and with the same pay, rations and forage allotment as a Colonel. Nominations were to be made by each Brigadier-General and Washington was directed to send in a list of all chaplains so that Congress could recommission the good ones and eliminate the bad ones (Williams, 84).

September 11, 1777 - Congress ordered 20,000 Bibles imported for use by the Army (Bolton, 159).

September 18, 1777 - Congress created the Hospital Chaplaincy Corps with one chaplain for each of the four medical districts. The pay was to be sixty dollars per month, three food rations and one forage ration (Williams, 84).

1778 - New Commissions were issued to some and not others in completion of the orders of May 27,1777 (ibid.).

1780 - Congress abolished the Hospital Chaplaincy for economy reasons and turned the responsibility for the hospitals over to the Brigade Chaplains (ibid.).

May 8, 1781 - Washington was directed to re-arrange assignments to one chaplain per brigade. The dismissed were to receive a pension of one half a Captain's pay for life. No new chaplains were commissioned after this point (ibid.). Since they were rarely in one place for services, it was decided that light dragoon units did not need a chaplain (Thompson, 205).

1782 - Congress determined that "Chaplains, Surgeons, or Hospital Officers who shall be captured in the future may not be considered prisoners of war" (ibid.).

1783 - Congress granted five years full Captain's pay to all retired chaplains previously entitled to half pay for life (Williams, 84).

Military duties and appearance of the clergy.

The normal term of service for a chaplain at the start of the war was six months. Like the men who couldn't spare any more time away from their farms, the clergy were not paid by their home churches and were usually responsible for paying for their temporary replacements back home. A few served only during the week and returned home each weekend (Williams, 38).

Throughout the Revolution, chaplains, although officers without rank, had no specified uniform. David Jones apparently wore an officer's uniform but without epaulets, changing to rougher clothes when serving as a surgeon (Rogers, 86). Most wore their usual civilian dress and there is one record of black material being issued to a chaplain for the purpose of making a replacement set of clothes (Thompson, 95). On May 19, 1780, the Supreme Executive Council at Philadelphia "ordered that a suit of cloaths of Black be furnished by the State Clothier to the Reverend Mr Samuel Blair, Chaplain to the Brigade of artillery, in the same manner as has been furnished to other Clergymen" (PA. Archives, 358).

Universally in this era, chaplains bore arms, at least the sword of an officer and a gentleman, and occasionally a firearm as well. Jones carried a pistol and used it frequently (Rogers, 101). Many other Chaplains also used weapons upon occasion although it would seem that their normal post during and after a battle was with the wounded. "My station in time of action I knew to be among the surgeons" - John Gano (Headly, 255). Ebenezer David died of sickness while working at a Hospital on March 19, 1778. Thompson notes that many chaplains served also as surgeons (Thompson, 185), and in fact, Robert Blackwell, James Sproat, David Jones and David Avery had each been trained as professional medical men as well as Clergy before joining the Army. Avery brought his own medical chest because of the lack of supplies in the Army (Williams, 87).

The duties of a chaplain were not officially stated but, in broad terms, amounted to these: (1) Conduct divine services, (2) Obey superior officers and Congress, and (3) Act as a representative of God (Williams, 85). Practically, they uttered prayers, usually before the reading of the orders in the morning, before a march and before role call at night (Bolton, 158). They held Sunday services and officiated at funerals (Williams, 85-86). They performed marriages, both within the camp and for nearby civilian church members who were without pastors (ibid., 87). Evidently, American Protestant soldiers received Holy Communion in local churches, if at all, since the only record of a Protestant service of Holy Communion is in the diary of Philip Waldeck, a "Hessian" (Thompson, 210). Roman Catholic soldiers were visited by French Catholic Chaplains who administered the Eucharist (Williams, 87).

Daily life through selected personal accounts of Revolutionary War chaplains.

It is said of David Avery of Gaysboro Vermont, that he was "everything Washington wanted in a chaplain" (Headly, 298). Avery had served as Captain of a group of his parishioners, bringing them to Cambridge at which time they were assigned to Col. Sherburn's Rgt. and Avery became a full time chaplain. He was reported to be: "Intrepid and fearless in battle, Unwearied in his attentions to the sick and wounded; nursing them with care and faithful to their souls as if they were of his own Parish." He had a "Love of Country so strong that it became a passion, was cheerful under privations, ready for any hardship, and never lost, in the turmoil of camp, that warmth and glowing piety which characterized the devoted minister of God" (ibid.).

He frequently rode beside Washington and often ate with him. At the attack on Trenton, he picked up a fallen musket and fired upon the Hessians (ibid., 296-297).

Although the Navy regulations were more detailed than those of the Army, they also gave little guidance beyond the Sabbath sermon and daily services. The ship's captains were given a lot of latitude to draw up their own job descriptions for their chaplain. John Paul Jones sought a man with a set of qualifications that indicated that the chaplain would also be Jones' private secretary. The position was never filled because one of the qualifications was that the chaplain be Protestant and they were anchored in a French port at the time (Drury, 4).

The most important function of the chaplains was, however, to conduct Sunday services including a Sermon of a practical nature that would meet the needs of the men (or of the Army) at the time. Services were usually held at 11:00 in the morning (Bolton, 159). The Reverend A.R. Robbins reports in his journal that:

"The music march up and the drummers lay their drums in a very neat style into rows one above the other; it often takes five and often the rows are very long, Occasionally they make a platform for me to stand on and raise their drums a number of tiers" (ibid.).

Normally services were held in the open. Rev. Gano was not in camp at Valley Forge during the Winter, because he realized that the men could not be expected to stand in the open for services (Bolton, 162). Having services was considered of great importance, however, and at Newbury at the Winter Encampment of 1780-1781, the army erected the usual huts "and one larger than the rest for a place of public worship on the Sabbath. Here three services a day were held, the chaplains from each Brigade preaching in rotation" (Headly, 271).

Occasionally, services were held in a nearby church building. Lt. William Feltman of the First Pennsylvania Rgt. noted in his Journal of 1781-1782, that on August 19th "... from the parade we marched to a church close by our encampment, where Doct. Jones (the chaplain) preached us a sermon" (Feltman, 10).

A penalty was imposed for missing services; a few hours spent in digging out stumps (ibid., 161). The matter of the lack of interest in services had been treated differently in previous years. In 1755, Chaplain Charles Beaty served a force led by Benjamin Franklin to guard the Northwestern frontier of Pennsylvania. At Franklin's suggestion, the chaplain served the daily rum ration to those who were in formation for prayers (Williams, 34-35).

The sermon, itself, was usually of a practical nature in which the Chaplain would urge upon the men temperance, vigilance, cleanness, and honesty (Bolton, 159). Several typical sermon topics are as follows:

"He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." - Rev. Kirkland, 9/15/1776 (ibid., 160).

"This day shall be a memorial unto you throughout your generations." - Rev. Gano, 7/4/1776 (ibid.).

"Defensive War in a Just Cause Sinless" - Rev. David Jones to Col.Dewee's Regt., Tredyffrin, PA, 7/20/1775 (Baldwin, 112). [This, apparently, was the sermon mentioned above by Lt. Feltman.]

Told to dwell a little more on politics than usual, Gano, in 1779 at Canajoharie, preached on "Come go thou with us and we will do thee good, for he that seeketh my life, seeketh thy life but with us thou shalt be in safeguard" - 1st Samuel 22:23 (Bolton, 160). On another occasion, Gano was told that it would be a disaster if the six and nine months men did not reinlist. Gano told them that "he could aver to the truth that our Lord and Savior approved of all those who had engaged in His service for the whole warfare." The troops were amused by this stretching of the Word of the Bible but kidded each other into reinlisting anyway (ibid., 161).

Reverend Gano, true to his own injunction, served the entire war and on April 19, 1783, under orders from George Washington, had the honor of announcing that the war was officially over and that the United States of America was free and independent. Afterwards, Gano assembled the officers and men who had survived the entire war and led them in a prayer of thanksgiving and peace (Thompson, 208).

Responsibilities of the Practicing Chaplain

A major part of what I do is advising the Commander on morality, ethics, morale, and health.

In military protocol it is required that the officer corps and the enlisted men maintain separate social lives. The term used to describe these relationships which are prohibited is "fraternization.” Here is an excerpt from a website that discusses the legal issues which may arise if the policy re fraternization is disobeyed.

What Is Fraternization in the Military?

Each branch of the military used to have its own set of rules governing fraternization, but this changed in 1999 when the Department of Defense issued a issued a uniform policy for all branches to follow. The policy specified certain relationships that are always improper such as relationships between officers and enlisted service members that are personal, involve ongoing business, or involve gambling. However, any other type of relationship can also be prohibited if it has an adverse effect on a unit or chain of command, which can include just the appearance of impropriety.

That being said, a certain level of fraternization among service members of different ranks and positions is often encouraged in the military, such as softball games or other team building events. However, even this can cross the line if, for example, an officer goes out for drinks with an enlisted person after the game. This relationship could undermine the impartiality (or the perception of impartiality) of that officer or enlisted service member. Since military superiors have the authority to send troops into battle and can make or break an enlisted person's career, this specific type of fraternization is strictly prohibited. The key here in this example is whether you're building a team or building a personal relationship.

Some exceptions do apply to the per se rules. If an officer and enlisted service member were married before joining the service or before the policy was enacted, that relationship would not violate the fraternization policy. Also, officers and enlisted service members in the Reserves or National Guard may have an ongoing business relationship based on their civilian jobs. They may also be able to have personal relationships if the relationship is due primarily to a civilian acquaintanceship. However, keep in mind that even if an exception to the policy applies, the relationship can still be prohibited if it has an adverse effect on the unit or chain of command. Retrieved from http://military.findlaw.com/criminal-law/fraternization-in-the-military-legal-issues.html

What that means is that there are times when the commander is not personally aware of how morale is doing in the unit. This is where the chaplain, who although a member of the officer corps, is generally expected to have spent time simply fraternizing with the enlisted men. His/her insights into the cohesiveness of the unit, its illnesses, its distress over an ethical issue can be very useful to the commander.  It is the chaplain's privilege to be present in the commander's presence with his/her insights into the morale of the troops.

Advising the commander on an ethical issue is more often a problematic area. The job of the military has been described as this: "To kill people and to break things.” The letter of Paul to the Romans reminds us that the state has been entrusted with the power of the sword. As instruments of the state, military personnel are given the authority to wield the sword. The ethical issues arise when one considers that there are limits on the authority of the state. By that I mean that God expects us all, even those who are entrusted with the authority of the state, to live in submission to him and to his moral code. As the apostles put it in the Book of Acts, "We must obey God rather than men.” There will always be people who simply obey orders from up the chain of command with no questions asked. But at other times there are personnel who believe that an order pushes them in the realm of evil and that they are responsible, then, for that evil deed. A commander might ask the chaplain to help him/her discern the level of ethical responsibility of some particular order that has come to them to, in turn, order their troops to carry out. These are moments when the chaplain must have a clear sense of right and wrong in order to give proper advice.

For the Troops

The other major thing I do is rapport building by ministry of presence--just going where the Soldiers are and jawing about family and life and whatever. The more I enter their world, the more they turn to me for guidance in private. I also do a lot of pastoral counseling: crisis, pre-marriage and marriage counseling, worship services, hospital visits, and weekend seminars on "Moral Leadership", "Five Love Languages", "Marriage LINKS" and others.

Once again, as we make our way through this course, we come face to face with the concept of a ministry of presence, or as I have been calling it, the ministry of being Immanuel, God with us. The chaplain goes where the troops go, the chaplain lives with them in their everyday lives. The chaplain is a presence which reflects the reality of the presence of the sacred in the midst of a life that at times is very difficult.  When on deployment away from home, the soldiers face the uncertainty of the faithfulness of their spouse back home. They face the quandary of knowing that a fellow soldier has done something very immoral, while remaining dependent on that fellow soldier to be reliable in a combat situation. The chaplain is a person who can show up at just the right time for a soldier to find support when dealing with trauma from a previous deployment.  The problems of a military person can be unusual as they deal with the disruption to families caused by deployments with one of the adults gone for an extended period of time. The children find that their home life is tense in the months leading up to deployment, and while the soldier readjusts to life at home after deployment. The chaplain can help with the tensions and how to alleviate the very real problems.

A Personal Level of Maturity

Chaplains need higher EQ, even more SQ (spiritual quotient!).

In recent decades there has been a growing awareness that it is just not so that one's IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is a determining factor in our ability to live a "successful” life. Also very important is what is called "emotional intelligence” or one's EQ.  Beyond that, when we are speaking of someone who is a person people turn to in times of crisis, the concept of SQ or "spiritual intelligence” is very significant.  So as my friend puts it, a chaplain needs to have a high spiritual quotient.  When one considers that idea, what one discovers is that the SQ has to do with how well one can deal with a crisis when under pressure. It is the core of our being that cries out for meaning and an understanding of that which is infinite and sacred. The spiritual quotient in a person who is a chaplain needs to be very high so that when others turn to him/her in the moment of dying on the battlefield, the chaplain brings Immanuel in to reality. (For more on "spiritual quotient” see the article in this module.)

The chaplain brings to the table a personal sense of the presence of God. That sense becomes a lodestar for the others around the chaplain. That sense of the sacred presence of a Diving Being who is Wholly Others and yet profoundly near is the gift the chaplain can give to the people he/she serves.

Offering Opinions

Even when the Boss isn't a Christian or a Church goer or even someone who cares about religion, they still see the influence and value of their Chaplain and will rarely make a major decision without seeking your opinion, if you're any good.

One of the privileges of the military chaplain is the access to those who make tough decisions. The commanders of a unit need to understand the spiritual implications of what they are doing, even if they do not believe in such a thing! The more one is involved in military exercises and actual combat, the more one becomes aware of the physical toughness needed by the soldier, the mental toughness requisite in a great soldier, AND the need for a soldier to have some kind of spiritual center which guides the soldier's performance under duress. For a soldier to perform to the best of his/her ability, that soldier needs a confidence that what is going on is promoting the good of humanity. If the soldier acts only out of a sense of duty to obey the one who is writing the paychecks, the efficiency of their work will be hindered.  So the chaplain comes into the presence of the commander, at the commander's request, and gives an opinion based on the chaplain's personal spiritual beliefs. It is vital to be aware of what you believe concerning the role of the military force and what it means for the soldiers who carry out orders. That is the sense of the sacred which you bring to the conversation.

Scattered Thoughts

The following are thoughts from my chaplain friend. They are in no particular order, but I do think they give us all some grist for our thinking through the role of a chaplain no matter where we are.

  NEVER give an opinion unless its researched.

NEVER get angry or lose your cool.

NEVER cuss or get triangulated into a nasty fight.

 You are paid by the organization but it is commonly understood that you are called by God FIRST.

ALWAYS pray and seek Jesus face and counsel.

ALWAYS be prepared for possible questions the Commander/Boss might ask you on your organizational ethics, religious assessments, health and morale of the force.

ALWAYS spend a lot of time getting your public invocations and editorials or opinions exactly right....NEVER wing it if you're a new Chaplain...get someone you respect to review your public invocations and opinions until you get some experience.

IF you screw up, they probably won't tell you, but they won't ask you again and the rest of us have to work double hard to make up for your knuckle headed stupidity.

IF you do well, you'll get invited to sit in the Bosses inner sanctum and represent Christ where the world turns--only a few get there!

Know your lane and stay in it.

Be brief, be brilliant, be gone...and they'll ask for more! For example, spend 5 hours crafting a grand-opening prayer that takes 30 seconds and then 5 more hours after you've had it reviewed by 3 people, then see if they invite you to give another prayer a week later at some retirement party or whatever! Then as a first time, part-time Chaplain volunteer try and wing it and ramble pray for 2 minutes and see if they ask you to do another. 

Here's just a pet peeve, not a biggie but a little thing...Please don't say you are a Chaplain and then turn down requests for worship services or prayers or prayer meetings or bible studies. You are a pastor first, Christ-lover first. That's where the power is. That's being professional. They'll overlook your small mistakes if you do your main job well...even if your main job isn't the one you get paid for. 

Basic "How To" stuff in every Chaplain toolkit:

· hospital visit for sick,

·words for the grieving (and what not to say),

· pre-made strategies dealing with domestic violence/sexual assault/suicide attempt/victim of crime/ etc,

·pre-made 30 second public invocations for various events,

· 20 minute worship service templates pre-made so you can pull one off in the staircase with 5 people if you are asked,

· pre-marriage/marriage counseling strategies pre-thought through,

·in my world it also includes just war theory, PTSD, moral injury, etc.