Chaplain Hicks had some other things to say on this subject. However, the gist seemed to be that supervisory chaplains should teach junior chaplains that it’s wrong to pray in the name of a specific deity.

Frankly, I am always frustrated when a chaplain ends a prayer in “your name” or even “thy name”. To whom is he praying and why is the name unmentionable? Even the Hebrews, who valued the name of the Lord so greatly that they wouldn’t even say or completely write out his personal name, had more specific ways of referring to God. We should learn from their example.

The previous Army Chief of Chaplains published a statement about this matter in one of his newsletters. I thought I had posted it somewhere, but can’t find it at the moment; I will dig it up and post it here.

Thank you to all who don’t run away, who don’t make a report to the authorities, who don’t pass judgment. Listening and giving an un-ending embrace can save a life.

The practicum at Fort Rucker prepared me for active duty in several ways. First, and most importantly, I was allowed to step up to the full plate of active duty ministry. Whether it was preaching, counselling, actively participating in meetings, planning, or leading field services, the UMTs at Rucker made sure I was fully engaged. The fact that I was already ordained and received accession orders for active duty while I was there surely had some bearing on this, but I believe that the Rucker UMTs know how to use chaplain candidates more than any other installation I’ve been to or know of. It is a shame that, in times past, Rucker did not fill all its slots for candidate training. I am convinced that it is the biggest chaplain candidate training secret in the Army.

Second, I was also challenged in the administrative areas of ministry. I prepared an abbreviated mock CMRP and actually briefed it to a battalion commander. I prepared my own OER support form and was able to receive constructive and meaningful feedback on it. I was placed in charge of planning and executing a special holy day service. These and other things like them helped me see the staffing side of ministry as a chaplain. It helps to see that the administrative tasks are directly related to the interpersonal tasks of ministry.

I was grateful that I didn’t have to sit in an office staring at the walls while a chaplain checked his email or counselled while I waited. From my previous experience, too much chaplain candidate time is spent doing this instead of productive training. No chaplain has time to sit in his office doing nothing (at least no competent chaplain does), and candidates do not need training in this. I know it is a difficult thing to provide meaningful training for candidates that uses their time most efficiently and not having too much down time between tasks. The UMTs at Rucker managed to tackle this with efficiency. I was allowed to move between UMTs to where I could minister at the moment. This allowed me to see a broad perspective of ministry but it did not mean that I simply shuffled from one chaplain to another while really learning nothing. Being shuffled from one UMT to another often produces candidate training that is a mile wide and an inch deep; Rucker did not have this problem.

Finally, the ride in the helicopter was great. What more can I say? Gator-spotting is an opportunity every chaplain candidate should have.

How should candidate practicums be planned in anticipation of deployment? I recommend that more emphasis be given to ministry to the sick and dying. I received some of this at Fort Knox in 2003, thankfully, and I believe it prepared me for Iraq in some way. The only other thing I can suggest is that the candidate supervisors find some way for the candidates to become assimilated as much as possible with battalion-level ministry; set the candidate up so that he can build relationships with Soldiers–this is the only way he can begin to know what they deal with on a daily basis and the only way that he will experience the trust Soldiers have in an effective chaplain, and it will allow him to do some real, hands-on military ministry. Oh, one more thing: as you did at Rucker, make sure the candidate has to serve time on the duty roster for at least a couple of days.

Thanks again for a wonderful experience. Because of your kindness, effective leadership, and the camaraderie of all the UMTs at Fort Rucker, I am a better pastor to my Soldiers. Because of your investment in training me, I have been able to minister at gut level with my Soldiers in Iraq and in garrison. I still have Rucker on my dream list; maybe the Lord will tell the Army to send me there someday.

If you receive tuition assistance while you are in seminary, you will owe the Reserve one year of service as a chaplain for every year you receive tuition assistance. Otherwise, if you receive the tuition assistance and then want to go on active duty, you will have to repay the money to the Reserve before you can go on active duty. In my case, my goal was to go straight to active duty, so I did not take tuition assistance.

If you are not receiving tuition assistance and want to serve in the Reserve, the student loan repayment incentive is a good deal for you. If you do not want to serve as a chaplain in the Reserve, the student loan repayment incentive is not available (assignments to active duty chaplaincy currently come with no monetary incentives; the Army is trying to attract chaplains to the Reserve and Guard to fill large vacancies).

Again, talk with your recruiter for specifics. Here’s my understanding, but it may not be correct. The student loan repayment incentive will repay $20,000 of student loans for seminary (I don’t know if it also covers undergraduate loans). There is also a $10,000 commissioning bonus you can receive for becoming a Reserve chaplain. Together, this is the $30,000 you mention.

You can only receive tuition assistance as a chaplain candidate, which means that you may not be eligible for the student loan repayment option. (Talk to your recruiter–and make sure he gives specific answers to your questions, not simply offering his best guess.) Regardless of whether being already enrolled in the candidate program affects your eligibility for student loan repayment, be assured that you cannot “double dip”; you cannot be paid twice for the same thing. So, if you are receiving tuition assistance, you cannot receive student loan repayment for the same thing. I do not know how it works if you have student loans that go beyond the total amount of the tuition assistance; my guess is that the repayment incentive would cover that.

With all of this said, unless it is absolutely necessary, do not take out additional student loans solely in an effort to increase your standard of living while in seminary. Don’t count on money you haven’t yet received (student loan repayment) to pay back money you don’t need to spend.