234th Army Chaplain Corps Birthday

What is it?

On July 29, Army Chaplain Corps turns 234 years old. This week, the Chaplains Corps will be celebrating its anniversary at locations around the world.

What has the Army done?

Since 1775, approximately 25,000 Army chaplains have served as religious and spiritual leaders for 25 million Soldiers and their families. From military installations to deployed combat units and from service schools to military hospitals, Army chaplains and chaplain assistants have performed their ministries in the most religiously diverse organization in the world. Always present with their Soldiers in war and in peace, Army chaplains have served in more than 270 major wars and combat engagements. Some 400 Army chaplains have laid down their lives in battle. Six have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Their love of God, country and the American Soldier has been a beacon of light and a message of hope for all those who have served our nation. Currently, over 2,700 chaplains are serving the total Army representing over 130 different religious organizations. Over 1,000 chaplains and chaplain assistants are mobilized or deployed in support of contingency operations throughout the world.

What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?

Chaplains will continue be a safe, confidential source of help and council immediately available within a Soldier’s own unit. Chapel programs will provide religious support for Soldiers and families through all phases of the deployment cycle. The chaplain-led Strong Bonds program for commanders will continue to experience increased demand. This skills-based relationship training is shown to increase resilience in important relationships. The “Fallen Eagle” Chaplain Battlefield Ethics Trainer, an interactive, scenario based program that trains Soldiers on proper ethical decisions under battlefield conditions will be soon fielded through your chaplains. Finally, the Chaplain Corps is working with the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program to provide products designed to increase the spiritual fitness of your Soldiers.

Why is this important to the Army?

Nearly eight years of combat have stressed our Soldiers and families. Your Chaplain Corps will continue to stand with you every step of the way for religious support, council and programs to benefit your Soldiers and families.

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Colorado Springs, Colorado – July 24, 2009

TalkingwithHeroes.Com Talk Show is privileged to interview Patti Katter, Military Wife and Founder of Christian Military Wives www.christianmilitarywives.com on July 27, 2009 9:00pm EST

Location: On the Internet

In March of 2007, Patti Katter began having small group meetings at her church for military wives while her husband served on a deployment to Iraq. Her husbands unit was hit very hard in Iraq, facing many casualties and fatalities. Patti’s husband lost many battle buddies in the war. In April of 2007, nine soldiers from her husbands troop had been killed.

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Barely six weeks after the Continental Congress established the Army and the first branch of the Army, the infantry, a second branch was established upon orders by General George Washington, according to Chaplain (Col.) Gary Moore, Fort Stewart’s installation chaplain.

The Army Chaplains Corps was established July 29, 1775 and for 234 years, approximately 25,000 Army Chaplains have served more than 25 million Soldiers and Family Members, living up to the motto on its branch insignia, “Pro Deo et Patria,” which means, “For God and Country.”

“George Washington said, ‘We need chaplains,’” said Chap. Moore, who hails from the mountain country of eastern Tennessee. “Washington was concerned about both the morale and morals of the Soldiers and believed the Army should provide paid religious leaders to meet Soldiers’ spiritual needs.”

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ARLINGTON, Va. – Chaplains have a myriad of reasons for serving their country, but recognition is usually not one of them.

“Chaplains are often in the position where we love to serve so much, it’s always a surprise to be rewarded for it,” said Army Capt. Rebekah Montgomery, who will receive the “Chaplain of the Year” award from the Military Chaplains’ Association July 17.

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When patriotism inspired the Rev. Jerry Fehn a decade ago to serve soldiers in combat zones abroad, the 45-year-old was afraid he had waited too long.

He needn’t have worried. The National Guard, wrestling with a chronic shortage of priests, cleared the roadblocks that might have kept Fehn out.

“They didn’t really want to take someone over 40,” Fehn said. “But because there’s such a shortage of Catholic priests in the military, they said they would grant me a waiver if I could pass the physical.”

Fehn went on to serve in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. Meanwhile, the guard has made significant strides in adding chaplains to its ranks, though many units still struggle to recruit for a position seen as crucial to morale. About 200 positions are open in the Army National Guard and 45 in the Air National Guard.

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SPRING HILL, Tenn. (BP)–In 2003, I was given the opportunity to travel to the Middle East twice to report for Baptist Press about the faith of sailors and soldiers that I came into contact with. It was a life-changing experience, putting me on a new course I could never have designed for myself.

Something I’ve never forgotten was a conversation I had with Army Chaplain Jim Murphy, who at the time was stationed with the 325th Regiment 82nd Airborne just south of Baghdad. It was November of that year when photographer Jim Veneman and I sat down with him there and he told us how his men had seen an incredible difference between the summer and fall of that year in terms of casualties.

“We could tell a difference when the people back home were praying for us and when they weren’t,” Chaplain Murphy told us. “It was like night and day.”

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SEOUL, South Korea (BP)–Chaplain (Major) Ed Choi understands the reality of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Deployed as a U.S. Army chaplain in Iraq for tours of duty in 2004-05 and 2006-07, Choi lost more than 30 soldiers and conducted 18 memorial services. He returned from combat burnt out, angry and frustrated.

“I was on my knees in my living room, crying out to God,” Choi said. “I read Matthew 12:18-21, and verse 20 spoke to me — ‘a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.’ I knew I needed help, but then my wife also told me I needed help. When she speaks, I listen.”

Choi attended the Advanced School for Chaplains at Fort Jackson, S.C., also known as the Captain Chaplain’s Career Course or C4. At the Advanced School, he realized that he was suffering from compassion fatigue, and he was diagnosed with PTSD.

“At C4,” Choi said, “I realized I was not alone.”

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