Military Chaplains Association Executive Director's Newsgram
This week’s column is primarily breaking news from a virtual meeting of the US Army Chaplain Corps Regimental Association (USACCRA) this afternoon with Chaplain Tom Solhjem, Army Chief of Chaplains. While I will not go into too much detail, there are a lot of things happening with Army chaplaincy.
First, Chaplain Solhjem had just come from a meeting with all of the Army Four Star Generals which focused on the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program. This program focuses on the integration of body, mind, physical and spiritual fitness. All the Four Stars are very committed to the role of chaplaincy in the program and understand how critical it is for Soldiers and Families.
The next breaking news is that the Army will be creating a Center of Excellence at Fort Jackson under the purview of chaplaincy. The center be positioned in the Chaplain Center complex and will initially focus on suicide prevention, sexual harassment, sexual assault, racism, and the effects of isolation on Soldiers and Families because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The geographical focus will be Ft. Irwin, CA, Ft. Polk, LA and those stationed in Alaska.
The next major announcement is that Army Chaplaincy recruiting for years has been nested under the Army Medical Brigade at Ft. Knox. Going forward it be a standalone team reporting directly to the Chief of Chaplains instead of going through another layer of non-chaplaincy bureaucracy.
The major piece of good news is that the Army Chaplain School and chaplain activities at Ft. Jackson will be getting a completely new name and focus, The US Army Institute for Religious Leadership. The school will be rebranded as the US Army Religious Leaders’ Academy and will also roll the NCO professional military education into it. Instructors and courses will be relocated from Ft. Knox, KY, and will include the Graduate School for Chaplain Development, which will include the Family Life program and clinical pastoral education.
In one final note, Chaplain Solhjem noted that the new Deputy Chief of Chaplains, Army Reserve, Chaplain Andrew Harewood, had just been confirmed as a Brigadier General on Tuesday, 27 October. He will be on active duty starting 1 November for his three-year tenure. To say that it was an engaging meeting is an understatement. Kudos to the President of USACCRA, Chaplain Gil Pingel, for setting up the video call. Well done, Gil!
Fr. Razz Waff, D.Min, BCC, Executive Director of MCA
[Editor's comment: I became a Life Member of the MCA (Military Chaplains Association) when retired Navy Chaplain Gary Pollitt, Captain (06) was the executive director of MCA.]
This week’s column is primarily breaking news from a virtual meeting of the US Army Chaplain Corps Regimental Association (USACCRA) this afternoon with Chaplain Tom Solhjem, Army Chief of Chaplains. While I will not go into too much detail, there are a lot of things happening with Army chaplaincy.
First, Chaplain Solhjem had just come from a meeting with all of the Army Four Star Generals which focused on the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program. This program focuses on the integration of body, mind, physical and spiritual fitness. All the Four Stars are very committed to the role of chaplaincy in the program and understand how critical it is for Soldiers and Families.
The next breaking news is that the Army will be creating a Center of Excellence at Fort Jackson under the purview of chaplaincy. The center be positioned in the Chaplain Center complex and will initially focus on suicide prevention, sexual harassment, sexual assault, racism, and the effects of isolation on Soldiers and Families because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The geographical focus will be Ft. Irwin, CA, Ft. Polk, LA and those stationed in Alaska.
The next major announcement is that Army Chaplaincy recruiting for years has been nested under the Army Medical Brigade at Ft. Knox. Going forward it be a standalone team reporting directly to the Chief of Chaplains instead of going through another layer of non-chaplaincy bureaucracy.
The major piece of good news is that the Army Chaplain School and chaplain activities at Ft. Jackson will be getting a completely new name and focus, The US Army Institute for Religious Leadership. The school will be rebranded as the US Army Religious Leaders’ Academy and will also roll the NCO professional military education into it. Instructors and courses will be relocated from Ft. Knox, KY, and will include the Graduate School for Chaplain Development, which will include the Family Life program and clinical pastoral education.
In one final note, Chaplain Solhjem noted that the new Deputy Chief of Chaplains, Army Reserve, Chaplain Andrew Harewood, had just been confirmed as a Brigadier General on Tuesday, 27 October. He will be on active duty starting 1 November for his three-year tenure. To say that it was an engaging meeting is an understatement. Kudos to the President of USACCRA, Chaplain Gil Pingel, for setting up the video call. Well done, Gil!
Fr. Razz Waff, D.Min, BCC, Executive Director of MCA
[Editor's comment: I became a Life Member of the MCA (Military Chaplains Association) when retired Navy Chaplain Gary Pollitt, Captain (06) was the executive director of MCA.]