Army Chaplaincy » Chaplain Assistants

Think the Gate River Run is tough? Try running it in a bullet-proof vest

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:35:35 +0000

Many people say the Gate River Run, a 15-kilometer foot race that spans the intimidating Isaiah David Hart Bridge in downtown Jacksonville, is a formidable run.

Lake Ray IV, an Army Airborne chaplain assistant, is planning to do it in combat gear. Yup, he’s weighting himself down.

Chaplain’s Assistant gives religious support in Afghanistan

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:51:49 +0000

100 Years of Army Chaplain Assistants

admin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:13:43 +0000

Before December 1909, volunteers served as chaplain assistants. The Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) was established on December 28, 2009 by general orders no. 253, paragraph 1, which read “One enlisted man will be detailed on special duty, by the commanding officer of any organization to which a chaplain is assigned for duty, for the purpose of assisting the chaplain in the performance of his official duties.”

In August 1965, chaplain assistants were designated 71M and in 1974 they doctrinally joined the Chaplain at Battalions and Brigades as the Unit Ministry Team (UMT).

In 2001, the MOS changed to 56M and became a “stand alone” career management field.

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Chaplain Assistant Trains With PSD

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:41:06 +0000

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Following the command “Dismount!” a group of Soldiers jumped off the ramp of a Stryker and scanned the area for potential threats.

Surrounded by Soldiers whose main job it is to protect the commander, Spc. Jacob Barbe, a chaplain assistant, trains with the personal security detachment in order to learn how to properly protect the chaplain.

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Chief of Chaplains, Service Members Celebrate 100 Years Chaplain Assistants

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:03:12 +0000

On Dec. 28, 1909, General Order No. 253 was published, establishing the official military occupational specialty of the chaplain assistant, stating that one enlisted man will serve to assist the chaplain in the performance of his official duties.

One hundred years later, Chief of Chaplains Chap. (Maj. Gen.) Douglas L. Carver and Chief of Chaplains and Regimental Sgt. Maj. Tommy Marrero joined over 100 chaplains and chaplain assistants serving on religious support teams throughout Baghdad on Nov. 25, for a celebratory dinner at Camp Victory’s Joint Visitors Bureau.

“We have come a very long way,” said Marrero, a Cayey, Puerto Rico, native.

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Chaplain Assistant Called Into Service

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:32:48 +0000

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Spc. Michael Raymond, assigned to the 19th Engineer Battalion, has a calling, he returned to the Army to help Soldiers.

After a 12-year hiatus following his first enlistment from 1990 to 1994, Raymond re-entered the Army September 2007 with the chaplain assistant military occupation specialty. He is currently on a 12-month deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

“I felt called back to the service,” said Raymond. “Soldiers are married with families and are completing multiple deployments; specifically I really wanted to help Soldiers with the problems that come from those two areas.”

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Chaplain Assistants Not Just Bodyguards

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:28:26 +0000

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – For the past 100 years Army chaplain assistants have been protecting and teaming up with chaplains to provide religious support for Soldiers and families across the full spectrum of military operations.

“I didn’t know they existed in the Army. The recruiter brought it to my attention,” reminisced Sgt. Esteban Ayala Ramirez, Chaplain Assistant for the 4th Engineer Battalion.

According to Ayala, his recruiter recommended the chaplain assistant military occupation specialty after learning that he enjoyed bible study and church events in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas.

“He asked me if I wanted to be a chaplain assistant,” said Ayala. “He told me the basics; set up religious services, give administrative support, and protect the chaplain.”

Ayala has been a chaplain assistant for seven years. He joined the Army September 2003 and presently is on his first tour in Afghanistan after two tours in Iraq.

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Chaplain Assistants Fill a Time Honored Role in Afghanistan

admin — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:47:24 +0000

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The role of the U. S. Army chaplain assistant can be traced back to the American Civil War. Officially, the military occupational specialty now identified as 56M began in 1909 when the Chief of Staff of the Army authorized that each chaplain have one enlisted Soldier assigned to him as an aid. One hundred years later, chaplain assistants still fill a crucial need by supporting their assigned chaplain in a broad range of areas, from secretarial work to physical protection.

Chaplain assistants for the Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan, Sgt. Lindsay A. Canterbury and Spc. Joshua A. Sennett, fill a time honored role in the Army while deployed to Kandahar Airfield.

“Chaplain assistants do a myriad of things that multiply the time the chaplain has to give to Soldiers,” said Chaplain (Col.) Stanley Puckett, the JSC-A command chaplain.

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Year of the Noncommissioned Officer – Spotlight NCO

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:51:58 +0000

Staff Sgt. Rogness enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in his senior year of High school in 1999, following in the rich family tradition to serve their country and its military. His older brother served in the Army National Guard as an Infantryman. His father served in the Air Force as a C-130 mechanic at Bein Hoa Airbase during the Vietnam Conflict. Both of his grandfathers served in the U.S. military during WWII. One of his grandfathers served as an Army Infantrymen and was assigned in the Philippines, while his other grandfather served in the Navy onboard the Shamrock Bay Escort Carrier in the South Pacific. Growing up in a family that has felt called to serve, Rogness felt no different and was eager to join the family tradition of service to a nation that had given so much to his family.

Rogness grew up in Hopkins, Minn., a town that still holds true to small town traditions and values near Minneapolis. As part of the High School wrestling team, he learned the discipline, determination, and dedication it takes to accomplish goals, the importance of doing your best, and the importance of sacrificing personal priorities for the greater cause of a team. He has carried those values with him wherever his life has taken him–through college, deployments, and mobilizations throughout the world. The values he has been taught growing up have assisted him to persevere through whatever the trials have been in his life.

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Guard Soldier Trains to Protect Freedom, Faith

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:57:25 +0000

CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ind. – The U.S. military vows to protect and uphold the constitution’s freedoms and rights, including religion, of individuals at home and abroad.

In the ranks of those troops, one Soldier with the Indiana Army National Guard fights for those freedoms while helping others at the same time.

Nineteen-year-old Spc. Jonathan Dyar, Headquarters Company, 38th Infantry Division chaplain assistant, says he enjoys what he does and is ready to meet head-on the challenge of Afghanistan in August with Task Force Cyclone’s deployment.

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