September 10, 2001
Uncle Sam wants you as an Army chaplain--please!
___By Jeffrey MacDonald
___Religion News Service
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--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.
___"We work these guys to death," said Lt. Col. John Armitstead, chief of the ChaplainRecruiting Branch. The shortage "just makes the other chaplains have to work that much harder."
Go here for information on Army chaplaincy;
and here for a recuiter near you.
___To address the crisis, the Army is targeting settled pastors and seminarians in a nationwide marketing offensive. Through magazine advertisements, a new website, 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 Maj. Gen. Gaylord 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 serve as pastor of 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 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 who were Sauls and became Pauls," Armitstead said, referring to the Damascus road incident that prompted a changed life. "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. So priests may enlist up to age 50 and serve until they turn 68.
___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 "non-combatants" 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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