wfn.org | Army looking for a few good ... chaplains

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Note #6826 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

5-September-2001
01308

Army looking for a few good ... chaplains

Recruiters step up efforts as shortage mounts

by G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Religion News Service

WASHINGTON - Uncle Sam wants YOU in the United States Army - especially if
you're ordained and under age 40.

	That's because Army chaplains are so scarce that it's not uncommon for one
to be responsible for ministry to 4,000 individuals. Roman Catholic priests
are stretched even thinner: at Fort Knox, Ky., more than 8,000 Catholic
soldiers and their families turn to one priest for everything. And
recruiters say Fort Knox is typical.

	"We work these guys to death," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) John Armitstead,
chief of the Chaplain Recruiting Branch. The shortage "just makes the other
chaplains have to work that much harder."

	To address the crisis, the Army is targeting settled pastors and
seminarians in a nationwide marketing offensive. Through magazine
advertisements, a new Web site, a slick video and 60,000 letters addressed
to the ordained, the Army's "Consider the Call" campaign is promising
adventure and security to a group that's apt to hunger for both.

	"We know you are constantly searching for new ways to please the Lord,"
says a recruitment letter from Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Gaylord T. Gunhus, "so
we just wanted to remind you of a path you might not have considered."

	Benefits get listed up front: "instant leadership" as commissioned
officers, 30 days of paid leave per year, full medical and dental benefits,
at least $33,600 per year in salary and housing allowance to start. Those
who join as Reservists can continue to pastor their
churches without missing Sunday worship services.

	But even with a smorgasbord of perks to offer, the Army's pool of qualified
applicants is getting smaller all the time because fewer and fewer pastors
are meeting the Army's requirements.

	The main barrier is age. Unlike 25 years ago when most seminarians were men
in their 20s, today's seminary students tend to be middle-aged women and men
who answered the call as a second career. But everyone who graduates after
age 40 and has no prior service experience is already too old for the Army,
according to regulations for physical fitness and pension eligibility.

	That means only 9 percent of pastors who get a letter from the Army are apt
to meet basic requirements, according to recruiter research. And those who
are young enough sometimes get disqualified on what Armitstead calls "moral
grounds."

	"The ministry is filled with those that were Sauls and became Pauls,"
Armitstead said, referring to the Damascus road incident that prompted a
changed life, according to the Book of Acts. "Those are wonderful
testimonies, but we can't use them in the military."

	Pastors who say they've smoked marijuana or have a criminal record, for
instance, are ineligible for military chaplaincy.

	Requirements have been relaxed somewhat to address what the Army calls a
"critical shortage" of Roman Catholic priests. The Army says it needs 320
priests to serve all its active duty Catholics, but it has just 94. Hence,
priests may enlist up to age 50 and serve until they turn 68.

	"Do we need more (priests)? Absolutely," said Chaplain Richard Spencer,
vocations director for a new, seven-person chaplain recruiting office in
Arlington, Va. "But are there more out there? That's the question."

	Army chaplains see their mission as "nurturing the living, caring for the
wounded and honoring the dead." They lead worship, administer sacraments,
provide counseling to newlyweds and the bereaved. As "noncombatants" they
don't carry weapons, but they do go to the battlefield or the bunker as
necessary - wherever the troops go, the chaplain goes with them.

	Such commitments, coupled with an eight-year minimum service requirement,
makes the chaplaincy option a turn-off for those whom Armitstead says "don't
want to get muddy boots." But unlike the Navy, where evangelical chaplains
cited systemic bias when they sued for promotions earlier this year, the
Army says it hasn't received similar suits or complaints. And new incentives
aim to make the Army chaplain path irresistible for those who would consider
it.

	For instance, in exchange for Reserve service after graduation, seminarians
can receive as much as $3,500 per year in scholarships. Those who enlist
also get their first choice of location for their first three-year tour -
Hawaii, Europe, anywhere the Army has a presence. Active chaplains who
recruit civilian pastors to their ranks also get a reward: another chaplain
will be assigned to lighten their ministry load on base.

	"We should always be looking for opportunities to spread our military
chaplaincy message, to tell the story," said Chaplain Kenneth Lawson, who
makes the pitch regularly in uniform at clergy fellowship meetings near Fort
Devens in Ayer, Mass. "It's a chance to say, 'Hey, this is a good deal. Come
join us.'"
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