There are 1,650 chaplains in the active-duty Army. Each brigade and battalion on Fort Polk is assigned a chaplain. The role of the chaplain is as crucial as it is unique. According to Chap. (Col.) David Darbyshire, command chaplain, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, “chaplains ensure the free exercise of religion for Soldiers and serve as advisors to the commander on issues of religion, morals and morale.”
While those tasks sound simple enough, Army chaplains juggle a multitude of responsibilities. Chaplains provide marriage and career counseling for Soldiers in their units, marriage retreats and outings for single Soldiers. They perform marriages, baptisms and are the primary instructors for unit-level suicide prevention and intervention. Chaplains deploy with their units and provide comprehensive religious support to Soldiers and their Families during deployment. They conduct Sunday morning services in garrison and worship services in the field while the unit is training. They assist in next-of-kin notification, accompanying the casualty notification officer to provide pastoral care to the Family and help them deal with tragic news.
[...] the Army Chaplaincy blog. Categories: Chaplain Tags: army, Chaplain, Church and State, Constitution, Military, Religion [...]