This is a response to an email I recently received. Names and units have been sanitized for your protection.
> SPC B________,
>
> I hope this message finds you well. I am contacting you per the
> suggestion of Chaplain B___, to get an idea of what it is like to
> be a Chaplain Assistant, and a member of the Unit Ministry Team.
>
> If you would prefer to communicate either via email or phone, let
> me know your preference.
>
> I am fine with either.
> Please if you would, give me an idea of what the duties you perform
> in the Guard with Chaplain B___, and the kind of individual he is
> and how he operates his ministry.
>
> I look forward to speaking with you and meeting you some time.
>
>
> Thank you again,
>
>
> SPC V___
SPC V____:
These seem like simple questions, but this is a very "squishy" MOS so the answers can be pretty broad.
Here's how I sum up the job of CA:
I'm an armed secretary who can set the table for Mass, or Rosh Hashana, with equal dedication to the task. I'm every soldier's battle buddy. I'm a "stage hand" for the Chapel. I'm the Chaplain's Weapon System, should the need arise.
An over-simplification, but it helps my relatives and civilian friends understand what I do. I'll pick it apart for you.
Armed secretary:
The 56M MOS is technically administrative, but we have to be proficient in all the basic warrior skills, even though we may never need them. The Chaplain is not expected to be an expert in Military ways, and the Assistant is not expected to be an expert in religious matters. I'm lucky with Chaplain Candidate (1LT) B___, as he is pretty savvy. Not all Chaplains are. Many are pastors in uniform, not soldiers with a cross. The Assistant needs to be able to talk "Army" and translate between the Chaplain and the unit.
Land Nav is very important. Driving the truck safely is very important. Qualifying with your weapon and staying in decent shape are very important. You have to be comfortable talking on the radio, and talking on the phone and in person with soldiers of all ranks. (Even officers and higher NCO's need us - it's not all young dumb soldiers who can't pay the rent. Real world, no kidding. I've seen it, just in the 2 years I've been in.)
The CA needs to be a squared-away soldier. You have a high profile. Your first line leader, the Chaplain, reports directly to the Commander. Battalion, not Company. Your mistakes and eccentricities make the entire UMT, the entire Chaplaincy Corps, look bad.
You will not get NCO leadership experience as a 56M. You are part of a 2-person team. Yet, the lowest E1 or E2 might need to write an annex for the OPORD. In the National Guard, 56M is not a very good MOS for promotion. I'm stuck at E4 unless/until I move to Brigade, an E5/E6 position. From there I have to go to State JFHQ to get E7.
Set The Table:
By this I mean setting up for a formal service. We get trained in this in AIT, but I'm very out of practice. There are differences between a Catholic and Protestant service, in how and what gets set up. You have to know the difference between an Alb and a Yad, and when you would need each. Depending on the unit and Chaplain, the workload here will be highly variable. CC B____ doesn't stand at the head of a congregation and preach, he sits with us in a circle. No altar, highly informal. CH (MAJ) S_______ does the same thing, sometimes, and sometimes wants to stand up and deliver a sermon. Your mileage may vary.
In the Guard, we don't have a permanent Chapel facility the way a Garrison has. A Garrison Chapel runs like a normal church, with several services during an average Sunday. Offerings must be taken in, counted, accounted, deposited, and the CTOF (Chapel Tithes and Offerings Fund) must be managed. In the Guard, we don't even get to run a service every drill weekend, and when we do we sometimes have to shoe-horn it into the training. In my Battalion, our "Chapel" is a 16' x 16' frame tent, a dozen folding chairs, and a field desk with liturgical linens. Nobody has ever tried to give us money. We're not set up (administratively) to accept it if they did.
Equal Dedication:
There is a big difference between ministry and chaplaincy. We're not here to tell people why they should believe what we believe, but to support their right to believe. Having a belief system and faith in something, anything, greater than oneself gives people strength to persevere in difficult situations.
The Chaplain and Assistant are required to honor and respect the different faiths present in a unit. We are not required to believe what the individual soldier believes, but we ARE required to respect their Constitutional right to believe it themselves. In my Battalion we have the usual mix of Catholic and Protestant soldiers in roughly average proportions. We also have a few LDS (Mormon) soldiers, and we have one Wiccan that we know about (I suspect we have more than one, but they tend to be very private). CC B___ is Methodist, and I'm Buddhist. We cannot provide formal services for Catholics, and until he's finished with his Ministry degree and becomes Ordained, Chaplain Candidate B___ cannot provide formal Protestant services.
If a soldier is wounded or dying on the battle field and the Chaplain is busy, it's YOUR job to hold their hand. It doesn't, shouldn't, CAN NOT matter what their faith is and what your faith is. We're all on different roads to the same destination.
Battle Buddy:
Many Assistants come into the 56M MOS from a position of deep faith, and often with knowledge and experience gained from being laity in their home church. Not only is this not required for the job, in some ways it can be a hindrance. Prayer itself will not solve real-world problems, but it can give a person the strength to keep going toward the solution. If a soldier needs prayers, the Assistant can pray with and/or for them as they feel comfortable. But really, that's the Chaplain's job. The Chaplain's Assistant is NOT an "Assistant Chaplain." That's a very important distinction. If you remember one thing from this email, remember this.
If a soldier is having trouble in life, they will come to us, the UMT. Maybe. Sometimes we have to hunt them down, or encounter them at random, or the 1SG might send them our way. The Chaplain's Assistant needs be friends with every soldier, no matter how awful of a person they are. In fact, the biggest jerks probably need us the most. The worst dirtbag soldier becomes your best friend. You take over when the 1SG gives up on a young, dumb Private. Soldiers will call at 2am crying or freaking out, often because of trouble they have made for themselves. You have to answer the phone or text message and give them your full attention. If you need pass things on to the Chaplain, take notes. Shred them when you're done.
Chaplain's Assistants may not gossip about other soldiers. We are in a unique position, privy to deep personal secrets. There is a training component just for "privileged communications." If soldiers hear you gossiping, they may not trust you with their troubles.
Sometimes young soldiers will feel more comfortable talking with the Assistant than the Chaplain. We are the Chaplain's eyes and ears in the unit - if morale issues are developing, we may pick up on it in the motorpool, or DFAC, or in the smoking area. I don't smoke (quit about 10 years ago) but I take the occasional "non-smoking" break and talk to people. Last drill I talked to a guy while he was smoking, and it turned out he needed to talk to the Chaplain. He might not have come in contact with the UMT on his own, but after I talked to him I was able to give his name to CC B___ and get him pointed toward solving his problem. A small victory, but one I'll remember.
Buddhism and Christianity share the notion of Compassion - for all your fellows, regardless. They've earned it just by breathing. Even idiots deserve our love, maybe more than others. Every young, dumb soldier is a future NCO. Sometimes, they just need more guidance.
I always have extra MRE's in my gear, and I buy those "travel" or "sample" size toiletry kits. If a soldier needs a shave, or a meal, or a few minutes to sit down quietly in the tent, we can help with that. Having a box of Bibles is not enough. But don't forget to take them along, especially to Annual Training.
Stage Hand:
The Chaplain's Assistant is not the "star of the show," they support the "star" and help the "audience" have the best experience possible. It's sometimes hard work, and unglamorous. Can you pitch a tent in the dark, when it's snowing? Are you willing to load and unload a truck repeatedly with the same equipment? It's not "about you." Can you disappear and go do priority-of-work chores or KP when Bible Study starts? It's nice to be there, but not required, and you may have other things to do for that hour.
Like any MOS, the Chaplain's Assistant is required to maintain and deploy an Army asset; in this case, the Chaplain. The Chaplain will be very busy sometimes, and may not eat or sleep correctly. Everyone else in the unit will be concentrating on training events, and "notional" problems; the Chaplain will be running around dealing with Real World issues. During AT last year we had: soldiers (siblings, doubling the impact on the unit) needing to leave AT to deal with ailing parents; a soldier who fell off of a water buffalo and went to the hospital; a suicidal soldier; a soldier refusing to fire on the firing range because he decided he was a conscientious objector; a soldier suffering from PTSD from AIT (Really! And I think anyone would suffer from what he experienced!), and many seemingly small issues that were very important to the person involved. Meanwhile, CC B___ was tasked with giving daily battlefield rotation/field services to our Battalion, the Brigade, and all four companies of 3rd Battalion, AND participating in twice-daily Battle Update Briefings (BUBs) with Command.
Weapon System:
The Chaplain's Assistant is a soldier, (Stomp! Stomp!) first and foremost. Your job is to Shoot, Move and Communicate. Everything else is details, and variable. The Chaplain is a non-combatant, by Geneva Convention rules. Even though the enemy in our current conflicts do not respect the rules and guidelines of international combat, we have to. The CA is the only enlisted soldier with an officer for a driver. I recently told my 1SG "I'm sorry Top, I'm not trained to give an invocation before a Change of Command. My job is to kill people who shoot at the Chaplain. I'll call the Chaplain and find out when he will be here."
I've thought about this job a lot, as you might be able to tell. I've though, many times, about seeking a new MOS. One where I can get a promotion. Then I get a dozen text messages from someone freaking out, and realize I'm the only person that soldier feels comfortable unloading on. Frankly, E8 is not my goal. My goal is to bring "my" soldiers home. I say MY soldiers the same way a First Sergeant does. I feel a personal responsibility to every man and woman in the Battalion. If they don't need me, I stay out of the way. If they need me, I give them whatever I have to give. The 56A (Chaplain) and 56M (Chaplain's Assistant) MOS are the Social Workers of the Army. I joined the Army as a 38 year old Dad, wanting to give what I've learned as a Dad back to the country I love. I will have to drive down the road, and shop in grocery stores, with the soldiers of the Colorado National Guard for the rest of my life. If I can keep ONE of them from someday crossing the yellow lines in busy traffic or unloading an AK at King Soopers, I've done my job.
Ask me on the phone about the "one that got away."
This is probably a longer response than you expected. Feel free to call me sometime and we can talk about it further.
______ B______, SPC
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An idea that is developed and put into action is more important
than an idea that exists only as an idea.
Buddha
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