As a chaplain candidate, will the Army pay me while I’m in seminary?

The short answer is “no”.

Chaplain candidates belong to either USAR or USARNG. No Reserve or Guard Soldiers are paid except when they train. USARNG chaplain candidates are paid when they drill, attend CHBOLC, or participate in candidate training practicums. USAR candidates are paid when they attend CHBOLC or participate in candidate training practicums.

Chaplain candidates are not members of the AC. Even if a candidate intends to go RA after completing seminary and being accessioned as a chaplain, he will not be paid by the Army while in seminary, while completing ministry experience, or at any point other than while on active duty for training.

My chaplain assistant made weekly visits to the barracks on our FOB to distribute toiletries. This allowed him to serve other Soldiers as well as to build better relationships with them. Sometimes, his visit would spark an idea in someone’s mind that they should talk with me about something; so, he often referred them for counselling appointments.

Often, as my Soldiers were lining up their vehicles to depart the FOB on a mission, I would walk the line to greet each Soldier. I had prepared goodie bags to hand out, also. If the Soldiers were headed to an outpost for several days, these bags might include toiletry items. Otherwise, the bags contained snacks and morale items like CDs or movies. In every bag was a prayer or Scripture card. Soldiers were always appreciative of these items, and I distributed a great deal of support items in this manner and through other methods. Every engagement involved direct ministry to Soldiers.

I have been asked for suggestions of items to include in care packages. The attached list offers ideas of snacks, toiletries, and other items that are useful for Soldiers. This list is specific to Afghanistan. While it offers some suggestions, keep in mind that circumstances may be different for the Soldier you wish to support, and consult him when selecting your items. For example, while I suggest not sending microwaveable foods, some Soldiers may have ready access to microwaves and would appreciate such items.

Thank you for your support of U.S. Soldiers. Those who show their support for Soldiers in tangible ways make a valuable contribution to the welfare and morale of those Soldiers in harm’s way.

Suggested Care Package Items for Soldiers Deployed to Afghanistan (.PDF file)

After a great deal of trial and error during field training exercises and during my last deployment in Iraq, I have developed my own field altar arrangement. The standard Army issue Protestant chaplain kit requires some modifications to meet my needs, but I’ll share about that in another article. Here I offer a look at my field altar setup.

I hope this example will spark ideas in the minds of new chaplains about how to prepare for combat ministry. Garrison chapels are generally well-equipped with the necessary tools for conducting Sunday services. In the field, the chaplain must be prepared to carry everything needed for his services when he hits the road. One of the most important lessons I learned from my previous deployment is to be flexible and portable. This field altar set and my modified chaplain kit allow me to be prepared for dignified services of Holy Communion almost anywhere. If time and space allow, this field altar can be set up quickly and easily; setup requires five minutes or less, and, when set up, the altar takes up no more room than a couple of TV dinner tray tables.

The picture below shows my field altar ready for service. Missing from this photo are the people’s wafers, wine, and water. At my services, I hand out to Soldiers a laminated bi-fold pamphlet of the liturgy, which is not shown here.

Below the photo, I have listed each item and its origin.

1. Field Altar. I purchased this collapsible aluminum camp table from Amazon.com for approximately $45 (28″ x 28″ x 27″). The table disassembles and can be packed in its own carrying case. I recommend this table as a lighter and less bulky alternative to the Army’s folding wooden field table.
2. Fair Linen. I had this item custom made by a seamstress. The material is some sort of synthetic blend, almost like parachute material.
3. Corporal. From the Army issue Protestant chaplain kit.
4. Chalice. From the Army issue Protestant chaplain kit.
5. Pall. I had this item custom made by a seamstress. The material came from an Army issue corporal. I cut the stiffener from a larger one found inside a standard-size white pall sold commercially.
6. Paten. From the Army issue Protestant chaplain kit.
7. Priest’s Wafer. From Army stock.
8. Purificator. From the Army issue Protestant chaplain kit.
9. Prayer Book. My personal copy.
10. Stole. I had this item custom made by a seamstress. It was made from one of my old uniforms.
11. Cross. From the Army issue Protestant chaplain kit.

My field altar is currently in a shipping container on its way to Afghanistan. When I retrieve it, I’ll add more photos and information in a second part to this article.

Homosexual conduct contradicts the laws of nature and of nature’s God. It, like other aberrant forms of sexuality, condones unbridled passions that lead to mistrust, failed relationships, the spread of disease, lack of discipline, and other irresponsible personal behavior. Men can only thrive under liberty ordered by moral law. The moral law of Western civilization clearly tells us that sexual immorality is offensive to God, to our fellow man, and repugnant to the survival of our culture.

Before we lay aside the longstanding laws and policies of our nation, we should take a long, hard look at the reasons that such laws and policies were codified. Every culture known to man has affirmed the intrinsic value of sex within heterosexual marriage. In fact, history has proven, time and again, that a society that approves of immorality and sexual permissiveness is doomed to failure—perhaps slow and treacherous failure, but failure to be sure.

At this moment, leaders in the White House, the United States Congress, and the military are considering repealing the law that prohibits homosexual conduct in our military. We face one of the most critical decisions affecting the good order and discipline of our nation’s military and its military readiness. Will our elected and appointed officials make the right decision? I encourage all citizens of the United States to contact their Congressional representatives and other government leaders about this matter. We cannot afford to have a military in which discipline and national security are compromised by authorized homosexual activity.

[The views expressed herein are my own and are not those of the Department of Defense.]

When my unit left for Iraq in October 2006, I brought along 100 pounds of Jolly Ranchers. They survived the trip with no problems. These Jolly Ranchers lasted throughout the deployment as I obtained hundreds of pounds of other candy to supplement my supply during the deployment.

Thanks for your visits to ArmyChaplaincy.com. Almost every month, we set a new record for visits. This website continues to reach hundreds of chaplains and potential chaplains every year. Over 100,000 unique visitors read articles on this site last year. And they aren’t just visiting–they are actually spending time viewing the articles.

This is a testament to the unique role of the Army chaplain and the valuable ministry he is performing every day. It seems that each day brings more people in search of information about Army chaplains. In my estimation, public awareness of the chaplaincy has increased steadily over the past several years.

The public interest in chaplaincy provides an opportunity for those within the Chaplain Corps to educate others on the critical ministry we perform. ArmyChaplaincy.com is one attempt to share this type of information. In July 2004, I posted my first short entry about the Army and spiritual fitness on my personal website. In November 2005, I posted my first article about the chaplain candidate program. After a while, demand for information about the candidate program prompted me to establish ArmyChaplaincy.com as an easy-to-find, interactive clearinghouse for information about the chaplaincy.

Virtually every day, I scour the web for news articles about the chaplaincy. Excerpts from those articles and links to them are posted, taking care not to include duplicate articles about the same item or to include filler articles. Because of limited time, my personal commentaries offering my reflections about the Corps and sharing my ministry ideas have been severely limited. I would like to share more, and I hope to do so in the days ahead.

The popular interest in chaplaincy is not limited to readers simply scanning the articles found on this site. Hundreds of comments have been left on the articles here. Also, each week, I typically receive a dozen email inquiries requesting specific information about the chaplaincy. While it has been my goal to personally respond to every email and to reply, when appropriate, to every comment left on the site, I have frequently failed. In 2006 and 2007, while I was deployed to Iraq, keeping up with the overwhelming volume of comments and email was impossible. Both then and even more recently, I have simply had to delete many of these items. For that I am sorry.

Because accessions standards, DOD and DA policies, the chaplain candidate program, and ministry practices change from time to time, some of the older articles on this site have become outdated. Likewise, hundreds of comments that were left on those articles became outdated, and sorting through them became unmanageable. Thus, all comments on this site were removed in October. For that I am sorry.

The popularity of ArmyChaplaincy.com has resulted in some drawbacks. I intend to rectify them. However, I could use some assistance!

• If you are an Army chaplain who is willing to share your insight and experiences with others, please contact me today. Readers of this site would greatly benefit from your input.
• If you are a chaplain recruiter, and you are not using this site as a recruiting tool, you are missing dozens, if not hundreds, of leads on potential chaplains. If you need help find out how, please contact me today.
• If you are a chaplain candidate, other candidates and potential candidates could benefit from the information you share about the program. If you’re willing to share, please contact me today.
• If you are a chaplain assistant, you can help others appreciate your special role and provide essential information to those who may be interested in this job. If you want to help others learn more, please contact me today.

In short, if you are in the Chaplain Corps, please consider contributing a little of your time and a little of your knowledge.

If you have left comments on this site or submitted queries by email, and some time has passed without a response, please forgive the oversight and resubmit your question or comments.

Here are a few things that are planned for making ArmyChaplaincy.com even better:

• A redesign of the site theme and layout.
• Revisions of outdated articles.
• More articles by chaplains sharing practical ministry advice.
• Contests and prizes.
• More interactive media events, such as chats with chaplains.

Thanks again for your interest in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps! Thanks also for your patience as we work together to make ArmyChaplaincy.com better!

God bless,

Daniel Sparks

Editor, ArmyChaplaincy.com

I confess.

I’m a candy chaplain.

Jolly Ranchers are my signature, though I have been known to use other brands. Chocolate is a crowd favorite, but Jolly Ranchers are what they’ve come to expect.

I requested that my unit supply me with 100 pounds of Jolly Ranchers before we deployed. Army bureaucracy didn’t make it happen in time–so I bought them myself and packed them in the CONEX.

Traditionally, chaplains have been excluded from serving on courts martial because of conflict of interest concerns. Chaplains, as clergy, hear the confessions of Soldiers. It is unethical and illegal to disclose the details of pastoral counselling with Soldiers to anyone. In some cases, the chaplain must use discretion about even revealing that he has had a counselling relationship with a Soldier. If chaplains are not barred from sitting on courts martial, one could possibly sit on a court martial in a case involving a counsellee. There is obviously a conflict of interest which could possibly taint the impartiality of the chaplain and the entire proceedings of the court in administering justice.

Another area of concern is the appearance of conflict of interest. Soldiers talk to chaplains because they know what is disclosed to a chaplain is confidential and because chaplains have no command authority to punish them for inappropriate conduct revealed during counselling. If chaplains become a party of courts martial, the sanctity of that confidential relationship appears to be violated. A Soldier, who believes (rightly so) that chaplains are safe resources for disclosing possibly-incriminating information, may lose that appreciation for the chaplain’s ministry if he knows that the chaplain can also mete punishment on a court martial. Even if there is not direct counselling relationship (as described in the preceeding paragraph), the legitimacy of all chaplains as ministers of the sacraments would be in question. Instead of chaplains being ministers who serve Soldiers, they will become officers of the court who administer punitive actions against Soldiers.

This is not to suggest, of course, that chaplains should not function as all officers do when upholding military standards (for example, verbally instructing a Soldier to correct his uniform when it is out of compliance with regulations). Instead, I am here drawing a distinction between chaplains in the judicious application of military standards and chaplains in the judicial enforcement of military standards. There is a vast difference; for the sake of our ministry, we cannot afford to terminate this distinction.

9 April 2007

It is times like these that cause me to examine my faithfulness to God’s call. Am I living up to the standard of godliness for the vocation of priestly ministry?

This afternoon, I stood beside the bed of a soldier as he fought for life. The medics and doctors worked their hardest to save him. He, and his buddy who lay on the next bed, were seriously injured in an explosion; their third comrade was killed instantly. The soldier for whom I prayed was breathing laboriously, moaning, and fighting with his hands to stop the pain as the doctors worked to stabilize him. That fight was his last.

For about fifteen minutes, the battle for life and death was fought. In the end, the soldier and his buddy both died.

Later, I went to the morgue to offer a commendatory prayer over the three bodies and to sprinkle them with holy water.
And, now I wait for the transportation that will take their bodies away in a few hours. I will join the fighting brothers from their platoon, the doctors and medics, and other soldiers in paying respect and rendering honors to these brave men. I will offer a prayer, salutes will be rendered, and the remains will be taken away.

A few days from now, their battalion will have a memorial and pay their final respects. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to participate. But I have done my work here today.

Soldiers need love—they need the love of God to be ministered to them in moments of crisis. Not only are there three bodies to respect and commend into the Lord’s hands, there are also a couple of dozen soldiers here right now who need to know God cares about them and sees their grief and the turmoil of their hearts. There are souls who need God’s love ministered to them.

If I ever forget that there are souls that need nurturing, or if I ever fail to nurture those souls, I will have forsaken my vocation.

Rest in God’s hands, H, S, and W.

Lord, strengthen me by thy grace to so minister to thy children that they may turn to thee for safety and surety. Amen.