Army Chaplaincy

January 8, 2007 2:21 PM

Considering Army chaplaincy.

This idea had been rolling around in my head for a couple years, but I've almost reached a halfway point in my M.Div. and I'll need to apply for candidacy at the end of this summer if I decide to do it.
Also, my best friend in div school told me that he was considering it - and explained the chaplaincy buddy program. FYI - My friend and I are both proto-pastors in a social-justice oriented denomination. We are outspoken anti-war activists and identify as liberals.
A few questions:

1. Do officers get 'back-door drafted' at the end of their OBV tours? Can I really get out of active duty after three years?

2. Are chaplains responsible for cleaning up dead bodies or is this a rumor?

3. What are the odds of getting stationed somewhere other than a boring army base in the middle of the U.S. somewhere? Not that I'd want to be in the middle of a war-zone, but do officers have any control whatsoever on where they're stationed?

4. Ethical dillemma. As I see it, this is either the most ethical ministry (caring for the young men and women who are asked to die for an ideal - often pressured into this situation by economic disadvantages) or the least ethical ministry (inadvertantly assisting the war-machine). My friend seems to think caring for soldiers (people who are asked to murder on behalf of others) is very Christ-like, i.e. Luke 3:13-15 and 23:34, and John 19:35.

As an army chaplain I would not be allowed to carry or train with any weapons; this complies with the tenets of my faith.

posted by Baby_Balrog to work & money (19 comments total)

Regarding #2, I had a conversation with a rabbi at a cocktail party a couple weeks ago (really). He and a friend had considered becoming chaplains upon graduation, but decided not to because they thought or were told the chance of being deployed to Iraq was well near 100%. I think his graduation was no more than 2 years ago.

Obviously, this is all total hearsay.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 2:30 PM on January 8, 2007

The body-cleaning-up thing seems really unlikely, somehow. But I could be wrong.

I have no answers (not even ludicrous stabs in the dark!) for the rest, but as for your ethical dilemma, I think making yourself available to minister to soldiers would be a great way for you to live out your faith.
posted by thehmsbeagle at 2:47 PM on January 8, 2007

A year or so ago, I spoke with a family friend whose son is a military chaplain, stationed over in Iraq. According to the mother, the chaplains are the front-line social workers serving the troops.

I strongly suspect that chaplains are functional elements in the war. In other words, the military has a specific mission in mind for them. I don't think there are any roles in the military where having a strong personal agenda would be a benefit.

If you are part of the military, you will be either enabling the war machine or court marshalled shortly. Be very sure that military service does not conflict with your core beliefs before you enlist!
posted by b1tr0t at 2:48 PM on January 8, 2007

1. Is the military short on chaplains? If so...

2. No, these guys clean up dead bodies. You would likely be responsible for normal funeral-type things - eulogies, services, etc.

3. You get to ask the Army to go places. The Army gets to say no. I would say your odds of going to Iraq are excellent, for at least six months and likely more. After all, none of the other chaplains want to go to Iraq either, and you'll be the most junior of the lot.

4. I cannot answer ethical questions for you. For my own selfish reasons, I mildly urge you to become a chaplain, because I'm aware that evangelical Protestants are, what's the word, assimilating the chaplain corps and I feel your views are underrepresented. You should understand that if the Army becomes aware of your anti-war views, they will not accept your chaplain application. Chaplains, like everyone else, are expected to support whatever war is currently ongoing. Your chaplain superior will be deeply unhappy with you if you say *anything* anti-war to the military rank-and-file.
posted by jellicle at 2:57 PM on January 8, 2007

I meant "Regarding #3".
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 2:58 PM on January 8, 2007

Check out the officers in the chaplain corps.

If they all got their Divinity degrees from Bob Jones University or the like (wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to laugh this off as absurd?), don't sign up unless you've always had a sneaking desire to reenact something similar to the Martyrdom of St. Steven upon your very own flesh, because they will hate you much more than they would hate any Muslim, in my opinion.
posted by jamjam at 3:24 PM on January 8, 2007

We had a chaplain give a speech at our unit's Christmas party. He had a walking stick covered with pins from every unit he'd come in contact with. He started talking about flying to the first Gulf War:
"Some of the guys were looking out the window, and saw we were crossing the Red Sea," he said. "Well, they were wondering if they were coming home, and whatnot, so I snatched up the God-rod, ran to the front of the cabin, and said, 'Men, we're not just crossing the Red Sea, we're FLYING over it!"
Cornball as all get out, but a real fighting man's Chaplain.

My point is: you may at some point be among very young, very scared guys and girls. Help them be brave.
posted by atchafalaya at 3:34 PM on January 8, 2007 [2 favorites]

My advice: Don’t.

Given how you’ve framed your ethical dilemma I suspect - and I’m not sure how to say this, because I mean no insult - you wish to prove something in the thick of the situation you’re concerned with. Sounds to me like you want to be in the lions den (to borrow a metaphor closer to your field) - rather than, for example, looking for some kind of legitimacy to your cause in service (which would be a huge mistake).
Many people go off to war to test their mettle. Whether that is a measure of courage or commitment to country, honor, any number of other things, including peace, lifesaving, etc. (obviously as red cross/crescent, et.al) is immaterial.
The central concern for any soldier is honor - by that I mean following (lawful) orders and attending to duty.

One can be a man of God and a man of duty.
However the conflict I see here (given your denomination’s “independant streak”) is more of a practical one - you can’t be your own man and theirs too.

So, if you wish to be committed to a single cause, no problem. Realize it’ll be soldiers and Army 24/7 by their terms. If you consider that part of the sacrifice, ok. But that loss of autonomy and self-guidance might not be up your alley. And really, you can still minister to troops, wherever you will, without the brass on your collar.
Lots of benefits come with being an officer, but you are 100% guaranteed to be stationed at a boring army base whether it’s in a hot zone or at Bragg or Benning, or whatever (scrub oak...ugh.)
And again, lots of sacrifices in being an officer as well, but if you want to define your own mission and terms (given your ambiguity - I don’t mean that term in the pejorative - on the matter you probably do want to explore the facets), probably not for you.
So, the ethical question itself is not as important to service as is how you approach the question.
Your friend sounds like a good candidate because he believes caring for soldiers is Christ-like - and it is - but that’s his focus. The way he will do it, may be Christ-like.
(As in engineering - form follows function) Your focus - given your word choice and other factors - seems to lay elsewhere. This doesn’t invalidate the goal of acting ethically concerning war or social justice, etc.
A proctologist and a brain surgeon have radically different methods and see different patients, but both are healers.

And this is not to say you can’t do it of course, merely that you’d probably be more productive doing what you do in another manner. And there are ample opportunities.
posted by Smedleyman at 4:38 PM on January 8, 2007

I should clarify - boring in terms of military boring. Regimented ‘hurry up and wait’ kind of boring.
posted by Smedleyman at 4:44 PM on January 8, 2007

Baby_Balrog; good for you and for the service members who you will be helping!

The war machine will happen with or without you. If you are there, you will be a good-guy, period.

Being in the Army is 90% suck. The other 10% will be stories that you get to tell for the rest of your life. Imagine the sermons you'll be able to give after travelling the world and helping, couseling and guiding thousands of soldiers.

Plan on doing alot of marriage and other personal counseling. That could be tough, but that's why...

To sum it up; Baby_Balrog, Occupation: Bar Preacher!

Go for it man, it's a noble and worthwhile thing you suggest.
posted by snsranch at 4:44 PM on January 8, 2007

re: #4.

Of course, no one can answer your ethical dilemma besides you. Of course our soldiers overseas need and have the right to counseling.

However, have you considered it might be possible to specialize in counseling military personnel as a civilian? My personal opinion is that voluntarily enlisting in the Armed Forces at this time means that you give your implicit approval to their actions.

Caring for soldiers is different than being a soldier, which is what you will become by enlisting (albeit a non-violent one) As a member of the military, your duty is to follow all orders of the Commander in Chief without question. I would have trouble reconciling this with anti-war views, but again, it's your decision.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:16 PM on January 8, 2007

We had a "temp priest" so to speak at the church I used to attend (I don't go to church at all, anymore).
He used to be a retired army chaplain, and he was the best priest I've ever encountered. Church wasn't boring, and he had a lot of great stories to tell. His personality was just very engaging, and I missed him when he finally left after a few months time.

However, considering the Bush admin is at its wits end, and they're looking to throw as many troops as they can at Iraq in a last ditch effort to salvage the war... what do you think your chances of being shipped to Iraq are?

In the end, I guess it's just a matter of answering, "Is the juice worth the squeeze?"
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 5:43 PM on January 8, 2007

BB, I can't help with this dilemma, but I did want to say: Thanks for what you're doing with your life.
posted by Alt F4 at 6:39 PM on January 8, 2007

The best way to answer all of these questions is to call up a few Army chaplains. Get it straight from the guys who do the job. Recruiters typically are severely misinformed in these 'specialty' type recruiting areas. For example, the health care recruiters for doctors and nurses are notoriously bad in this regard. Often supplying people with misleading and often flat-out wrong information. This is not to say that they do it intentionally, just that for some of these areas that a typical recruiter won't have much contact with, they aren't particularly well-informed.

You should be able to google some decent contact numbers.
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 6:44 PM on January 8, 2007

My feeling - and this is my gut personal reaction, no claim to any kind of higher truth - is that, if you did this, the right reason would be to ease the hearts and minds of the people you ministered to, and to support them in their faith.

It occurs to me that most of them would be soldiers. Quite a few of them would be anti-war; I suspect a larger number would be pro-war. And as soldiers, I imagine nearly all of them would have a great deal invested in carrying out their orders and completing their missions and their tours with the highest level of competence. As such, many of them will have worked out their ethical conflicts before ever meeting you. Many will not have done so, and they will want your help.

My feeling is that you might be able to help them, quite a lot. To #4 I would say that this is one of the most ethical ministries - spiritual guidance is nowhere more necessary than where we deal with death, right? These people need you, and people like you, in ways that middle-aged suburbanites in their SUVs do not.

But I think that if you are anti-war, you're going to run into difficulties separating your personal feelings from your duties to your flock. And if you intend to continue to be an "outspoken anti-war activist" in the military, you will be choosing to fight a battle of your own, in perhaps the worst possible time and place.

Remember that you are not consulted for your own personal opinion by your flock. They look to you for help hearing the Voice of God. For all I know, God may be an outspoken anti-war activist Himself. But you're going to run into people who don't think so - who are committed ardently to the war and their careers - and you're going to run into others who aren't certain and who may be feeling torn apart inside because of this.

You might think they're evil, or misguided. But they're not going to want to hear your clearly stated opinion on this, and delivering it to a battle theater would be possibly the lowest thing you could do. They're going to want your help as they negotiate their relationship with God. If you can't put your judgments aside and be ready to help and support every one of them as fully as you know how, you should probably discard this idea and think about finding a ministry for which your own soul is better suited.

My $0.02. Feel free to disagree.
posted by ikkyu2 at 7:05 PM on January 8, 2007

The military chaplains I knew spent most of their time doing counseling. Not the "follow the path of Jesus Christ our saviour" type guidance, but the "glass ain't half empty" sort that lets people talk their hearts out when they need to. Although I had a lot of respect for what they did, I couldn't help but wonder if it was just a less expensive way to hire psychologists/psychotherapists at the unit level, or subterfuge for a more prevalent problem in the military (e.g. you might have a lot less cases of PSD if people were able to talk normally about this sort of thing). Regardless, the role has historical origins and has adapted well in our ever more secular society. I've seen you on MeFi for a long time now and I think you're just the right person to fill this necessary role.

P.S. You'll still have to serve mass at least once a week, visit the sick/wounded and say grace at any important dinner, and as an officer, you’ll always have a lot more say than the majority of troops, so be sure to speak for those who can’t.
posted by furtive at 7:13 PM on January 8, 2007

Great answer, Smedleyman.
posted by atchafalaya at 9:41 PM on January 8, 2007

The inherent problem with chaplaincy of any sort is that the chaplain serves two masters: their own church or theological conscience and a larger institution. The question is what kind of conflict are prepared to face over the difference between these two things or will you simply take the easiest way.

The larger institution be it an army or a hospital is exploiting, perhaps with no ill will, the chaplain's desire to do good and serve their fellow man or woman. Hospital chaplains keep stressed family members from freaking out, ease the pain of the dying and allow the hospital to claim a holistic approach to health care.

An army chaplain pastors and counsels men and women in the military, something they certainly deserve and need. As a servant of the institution however chaplains are not given freedom to question the integrity of military assignments or raise the consciousness of military personnel. There is no room for prophetic critique or to reflect on the theological worthiness of the orders given to you or your charges.

As a military chaplain you are there to perform a kind of triage so men and women feel they have divine sanction for their military duties and to perform triage on troubled souls so they can get back to serving the institution they are part of as soon as possible.
posted by MasonDixon at 9:46 PM on January 8, 2007

Thank you - I have marked a few answers that I plan to follow up on more closely but everything in this thread has given me much to think on. I will definitely contact a chaplain for help sorting a few of these things out.

Thanks everyone who commented in here - this is why metafilter rocks.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 10:13 AM on January 9, 2007