Air Force, ANG chaplains reflect on milestones

By Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

(12/4/09) -- More than 100 chaplains and chaplain assistants from throughout the Air Force attended the Chaplain Corps Summit here recently, in part to celebrate 60th anniversary of the Air Force Chaplain Corps and the 100th anniversary of the chaplain assistant career field. The summit began with an interfaith worship service, included a review of Chaplain Corps history and concluded with a Heritage banquet.

"We reminisced over years of service and fellowship in our past and looked ahead to the role of the chaplain corps in meeting current and future mission needs," said Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Cecil R. Richardson, chief of chaplains.

Richardson related the chaplain corps' rich and storied history. Chaplain Charles I. Carpenter, the Army Air Corps' "Air Chaplain," emphasized the need for pastoral identity of chaplains with the people they served.

After successfully persuading senior leaders that the Air Force should have its own chaplaincy, Chaplain Carpenter helped ensure the drafting of the transfer order on May 10, 1949.

Predating the Air Force Chaplain Corps, the "chaplain assistant" position was established 40 years earlier on Dec. 28, 1909. Paragraph 1 of the General Order by the War Department stated, "One enlisted man will be detailed on special duty, by the commanding officer of any organization to which a chaplain is assigned for duty, for the purpose of assisting the chaplain in the performance of his official duties."

"Air Force chaplains and chaplain assistants continue to support our Airmen in today's fight as we walk where they walk and go where they go," Richardson said.

"By providing or arranging for religious observances, pastoral care, and advice to leadership, Air Force chaplains and chaplain assistants ensure the free exercise of religion for Airmen and their families at every Air Force base," he added.

The general cited the Chaplain Corps' recent achievements that he said demonstrate the organization's commitment to the total force.

"In 2008, the Air Force Chaplain Corps performed more than 147,000 counselings, provided more than 50,000 worship observances and conducted more than 28,000 religious rites and observances for Airmen and their families," Richardson said.

The general added that warrior care is the Chaplain Corps' top priority and will remain so throughout the duration of the war.

"The summit was a wonderful experience and celebration for the Air Force Family," said Maj. Gen. John B. Ellington, the director of the National Guard Chaplaincy, who also participated in the event. "We have deployed and served together over the years and that has resulted in building strong lifetime relationships."

Currently the Air Force has more than 1,100 active duty, Guard and Reserve chaplains and more than 800 total force chaplain assistants, who live and work around the world in service to their fellow Airmen.

Ellington added that about 25 percent of the air expeditionary force positions are filled with Air National Guard chaplains and assistants.

"Our mandate is clear, our hearts are united, our mission is exciting and our passion for ministry to the men and women of the United States Air Force has never been stronger," Richardson said.