Chaplain Corps (United States Army)


The Chaplain Corps of the United States Army consists of ordained clergy of multiple faiths who are commissioned Army officers serving as military chaplains as well as enlisted soldiers who serve as assistants. Their purpose is to offer religious church services, counseling, and moral support to the armed forces, whether in peacetime or at war.

Army Chaplain Center and School

The U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School is part of the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center, which also includes the Air Force Chaplain Service Institute and the U.S. Naval Chaplaincy School and Center. The three schools are co-located at Fort Jackson, in Columbia, S.C.
In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission decided to put all military ministry training at the same location. While it was authorized, funding was not part of the BRAC, and the Air Force departed Ft Jackson in 2012, currently leaving only the Army and Navy at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center.
The purpose of the AFCC was to have closer cooperation among the three chaplain corps and to share instruction and training. While that was the goal, the core curriculums were maintained by the three service schools and a joint program of instruction was never created.
The U.S. Army Chaplain School was approved on 9 February 1918. Its first session began on 3 March 1918, at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Chaplain Aldred A. Pruden, who developed the plan for the school, was named the first commandant of the school. It subsequently moved to Camp Zachary Taylor, Camp Grant, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Harvard University, Fort Devens, Fort Oglethorpe, Carlisle Barracks, Fort Slocum , Fort Hamilton , Fort Wadsworth , and Fort Monmouth .

Noncombatant status

Chaplain Candidate

Due to a revision of DA PAM 611-21 Effective October 1, 2013, Chaplain Candidates, previously belonging to the Staff Specialist Branch until ordination have worn the Staff Specialist insignia in lieu of religious denomination insignia. The transition from the Staff Specialist Branch to the Chaplain Branch left the candidates without an authorized branch insignia. Responding to the need, Chief of Chaplains Chaplain Donald L. Rutherford submitted a request for collar insignia which was approved by HQDA, G-1 on 23 February 2012. The design for the collar insignia was authorized on 18 June 2012.

Religious Affairs Specialist or NCO

Specialty insignia

Chiefs of Army Chaplains

The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army is the head of the Army Chaplaincy. The position was created to better organize the corps. The current Chief of Chaplains is Chaplain Thomas L. Solhjem became the United States Army's 25th Chief of Chaplains on May 31, 2019.

Army bases chaplaincy

Chapels

Chaplains

Cadet Prayer

Museum

The U.S. Army Chaplain Museum is located at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. It was established on 14 August 1957, at the then–United States Army Chaplain School at Fort Slocum, New York. It was dedicated on 10 February 1958, by Chaplain Patrick J. Ryan, Chief of Chaplains.

"The Four Chaplains"

When the troop-transport ship was torpedoed during World War II, four Army chaplains ministered to the soldiers and sailors on the sinking ship, gave up their life jackets, and sacrificed their lives when the ship sank. Those chaplains – known as "The Four Chaplains" – were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed.

Other notable chaplains

Footnotes