BEING A CHAPLAIN

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You were elected to the office of Post/District Chaplain.
You have an important responsibility to your Post/District.
Whether you have been selected for your religious training or past VFW experiences, you are expected to be the spiritual advisor to your organization and its members.

The National Association of Catholic Chaplains advocates for the profession of spiritual care and educates, certifies, and supports chaplains, clinical pastoral educators, and all members who continue the healing ministry of Jesus in the name of the Church. Every Chaplain and Chaplain Assistant is a manager of resources even if they are not currently serving as an installation Resource Manager or Fund Manager. The higher one goes up in rank, particularly in the Field Grade and Senior NCO ranks, the more knowledge, skill. The chaplain aide must be mature and sensitive and have earned the respect and trust of his fellow Scouts. The chaplain aide must be at least a First Class Scout. The chaplain aide must have received or be working on the requirements leading to the age-appropriate religious emblem for his faith. Troop Worship Opportunities Praying as a Group. Ministry During Pandemic.April 2020 Comparing Burnout Empathy Fatigue Compassion Fatigue National VOAD Disaster Emotional Care Guidelines DRAFT FINAL. Managing School Crisis.NKP 2019.Bonus Slides Tips for Caregivers of Children with Traumatic Grief Helping Children Cope With Disasters. Get the necessary tools and resources to aide you. Help Your Community. Get the necessary tools and resources to aide you. Bridging the gap between Law Enforcement, Church, and Community. International Christian United Police Chaplain Inc. Office Tel (619) 228-9499 Cell (619) 586-2068. 4122 Fairmount Ave.

You are not expected to know everything but are expected to search for the answer and get back to the individual. Do not be afraid to ask questions when necessary. There are many ministers of faiths/denominations and chaplains that are willing to assist you. As you meet them, create a contact list and offer veteran/VFW/chaplain assistance when they need it. All will benefit from the experience.

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PURPOSE OF CHAPLAINS

The office of Chaplain is not just to provide a 'religious” officer to the organization to offer prayers at meetings. He or she has higher purposes:

1- To help persons grow in their relationship with God.
2- To help persons grow in their relationships to one another and become a true comrade/sister to one another.
3- To serve as a reminder of the transcendent in life.
4- To develop an environment with which comrades and sisters are encouraged in their personal and collective moral and spiritual growth.
5- To remind all Americans that God is the source of all rights and privileges.
We must be reminded that the Veterans of Foreign Wars is comprehensive in nature, embracing all religions and faith groups within its ranks. The Chaplaincy, being non-sectarian must minister to the spiritual needs of all, without regard to either church/synagogue/mosque affiliation or non-affiliation. Chaplains will need to provide ministry to people wherever there is a need.

QUALIFICATIONS OF CHAPLAINS

The qualifications for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Chaplain are not academic or ecclesiastical. A VFW Chaplain candidate is not required to be a 'professional” clergy person. (Most Post/Auxiliary Chaplains are not.) The qualifications are simple yet important:
1- A willingness to serve the office.
2- A sense of spiritual maturity.
3- Committed to providing a Chaplain’s ministry.
4- A caring person.
5- A desire to help people.
6- The ability to keep things confidential.(Extremely important.)
7- Willing to be neutral and objective when settling disputes.
8- Voice projection and the ability to read well in public.
9- Should have a positive attitude toward him/herself.
10- Chaplains should be proud of their office and determined to do a good job.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Chaplain

1. In a non-sectarian manner, you should be prepared to listen to your fellow comrades/sisters and provide aid and spiritual comfort in times of stress, sickness, or bereavement.
2. Work with your Service Officer to aid members and their families in time of need.
3. Your Post Commander or Officers may come to you in confidence. Remember the privileged communication you are having is for your ears only. Uphold the high ideals of the organization in any advice you offer. Remember it is a privilege – respect it.
4. You should be prepared to offer the ritual prayers at each meeting of the Post. You will also be called upon to offer appropriate prayers at the initiation of new members; installation of officers; the dedication of a building, monument or colors; or at the memorial service of a comrade.
Note: All such services are commemorated by use of the VFW or Ladies Auxiliary ritual.
5. Being a member of the Post’s Memorial Team will provide an opportunity for contact with the grieving family and thus provides a caring ministry to them. The Memorial Team is an important part of the honors offered to a veteran.
6. Use the persuasion of your office to promote harmony and unity in the Post/District/State.

Additional Duties & Responsibilities

• A person of moral and intellectual qualities
• A member of the Executive Committee
• Your Post’s official representative at Religious and Civic affairs in the great community
• A pastoral caregiver
• Conduct and/or participate in Memorial, and Funeral Services when called upon
• Send cards to sick and bereaved
• Visit sick, bereaved and hospitalized
• Participation in Parades, 9/11 Memorial Services, Veterans Day Programs/Services, and POW/MIA Services
• Presenting Memorial Bibles to deceased members’ Family
• Generate respect for the office of Chaplain

Reference: http://www.vfwcolodept.org/2010ChaplainsHandbook_PostChaplain.pdf

These three sources are most likely the

three most important resources a chaplain in the VFW

needs in order to accomplish their general duties.

The complete resources are listed here for easy downloading. They may be printed by you and will fit nicely in a binder for easy access. I suggest you have a printed copy always available along with anything else printed that you might need. Finding things on smart phones and tablets can be challenging in a hurry and if the internet is not available or the battery change runs out, you may not be able to use them at all. I do have all of this saved in files on my smart phone and Kindle, but I also have a hard copy in my car.

So far as price for printing, there are some less expensive options if your post is unable to print them for you. Many libraries offer so many pages per month free with your library card. I know that the St. Louis Public Library offers 200 pages free per month and heard that Springfield, Missouri offers copies for five cents each. Check around. Often talking to the manager about your job and asking for a reduction in price also will get you a break on the cost of printing.

This is the most detailed of the sources. It would be the first one that I printed.

This is the formal handbook of the national VFW. It is no longer in print because it is available in several places on line for down loading and printing yourself. If you do find a old printed copy, hold on to it!

This is a one page document that has only the prayers needed to be offered during a VFW meeting. It can be easily printed out for use in the meeting should you wish to.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES FOR CHAPLAINS

The references on this page are extra ones added to further research you may be doing. Although they maybe valuable from time to time, they are not necessary for you to print just to have a copy unless your specific duties call for you to use them.

Some of the references listed here may have been listed elsewhere on this site as well.

If you have other references you think might be helpful to other chaplains, please email them to me at chaplain@movfw.org.

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TRAINING IS IMPORTANT!

Most of us come to chaplaincy without formal ministry training and are at a loss of how to accomplish the many things a Chaplain has to do in order to take good care of the members in our post.

Listed on this page are short training items to assist you in your duties as a Chaplain in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The short training items are not in a particular order, but will be as the items are developed.

We are looking for feed back from our Chaplains as to topics you want to see here. Please email me at:

Articles!

The articles come from a variety of sources. I tried to post the ones I felt would be of most interest to a VFW Chaplain. Should you come across something of interest that you do not see here, please send it to me at chaplain@movfw.org.

Hopefully you will find these enjoyable and informative!

Thank You For Your Time And Service.

Missouri State Chaplain Deborah Halter

A religious affairs specialist, previously known as chaplain assistant, is a member of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. This soldier provides expertise in religious support and religious support operations. The Religious Affairs Specialists, which is military occupational specialty (MOS) 56M, support the unit Chaplain and Commander in responding to the needs of soldiers, family members, and other authorized personnel. They act as counselors for their fellow Soldiers and provide security to Army chaplains. Duties include preparing spaces for worship, managing supplies, and ensuring the security and safety of the chaplain during combat situations.

The religious affairs specialist is an enlisted soldier or non-commissioned that is part of a 'task/organized, mission/based team designed to accomplish and support the specified religious, spiritual and ethical needs of soldiers in accordance with command responsibilities'.^[2] Religious affairs specialists are part of unit ministry teams, which consist of one Army chaplain and religious affairs specialist or a religious affairs non-commissioned officer.

History[edit]

The official military occupation specialty (MOS) of chaplain assistant was established by General Orders No. 253, War Department, Washington, D.C., on 28 December 1909. One enlisted man would then be detailed and placed on special duty, by the commanding officer of any organization to which a chaplain is assigned for duty, to assist the chaplain in the performance of his official duties. Although 'high moral character was required, no prerequisites or recognized criteria for performance'^[3]

In 1927 and 1933, the Chaplain Corps made suggestions to the Secretary of War to provide a small corps of specialized enlisted soldiers through the efforts proved to be unsuccessful.^[4] The job continued to have no vocational integrity until after World War II. The Korean War saw the development of the MOS 7lB. After almost a century of vague, the MOS 71B, chaplain assistant. 'The chaplain assistant initially attended a four-week course at Fort Dix or Fort Ord'.^[4] The trainees were volunteers who had completed nine weeks of basic combat training and nine weeks of clerk typist advanced individual training (AIT)^[4]

In August 1965, during a major revision of Army Regulation 611-201, chaplain assistants were designated 71M, given a job description and specific skill requirements. 'The next year the chaplain assistant schools were merged into the US Army Chaplain Center and School (USACHCS) at Fort Hamilton'.^[4] Then in 1972, the 71M was implemented into the Non-Commissioned Officer Education System (NCOES) and was accorded the same degree of professionalism as other enlisted specialties. 'Since 1974, the chaplain assistant and the chaplain have come together forming the highly professional Unit Ministry Team (UMT) concept'.^[4]

In October 2001, the chaplain assistant MOS changed from 71M to 56M. Chaplain Assistants serve in a 'stand-alone' Career Management Field. Chaplain Assistants 'team up with chaplains around the world to provide religious support to Soldiers and Families across the full spectrum of military operations'.^[4]

On 20 March 2015, the Office of the Chief of Chaplains (OCCH) of the United States Army approved the naming convention of 56M MOS from chaplain assistant to religious affairs specialist.^[3]

Roles and responsibilities[edit]

Religious affairs specialist[edit]

• The religious affairs specialist serves as the enlisted subject matter expert and, in coordination with the chaplain, executes the commander’s religious support operations and conducts soldier crisis management.^[3]
• Religious affairs specialists can support additional duties that contribute to the welfare of the command; however, commanders must consult with their assigned chaplain before assigning additional duties.^[3]
• Religious affairs specialists will not support unit additional duties that impede the ability of the team or section to perform the commander’s religious support operations, such as Suicide Prevention Program Manager, Casualty Assistance Officer or Master Resiliency Trainer.^[3]
• Religious affairs specialists will not be required to reveal confidential communications, nor will they serve in any capacity that may compel them to disclose such information, including such duties as UVA or SARC.^[3]
• Religious affairs specialists will support both the unit and garrison Command Master Religious Program (CMRP) and be integrated into chapel activities at their home station or deployment location.^[3]
• Religious affairs specialists will participate in UMT and unit training and become “expert” in their MOS, Warrior tasks and battle drills.^[3]
• Religious affairs specialists directly support the religious support operations and are supervised, counseled and rated by a supervisory chaplain or senior religious affairs NCO. Religious affairs specialists receive their duty schedule and task list from the appropriate technical religious affairs NCO and supervisory chain in support of mission requirements. The technical supervisory and rating chains determine the accountability reporting process based on local procedures.^[3]
• Religious affairs specialists will not accept fees for performing any functions that are part of their official duties.^[3]

Religious affairs non-commissioned officer[edit]

• Advise commanders and command sergeants major on all matters pertaining to religious affairs specialist (56M) training, manning, and growth and development of the Soldiers career track and lifelong learning cycle.^[3]
• Coordinate and recommend UMT policy for the command.^[3]
• Conduct UMT staff assistance visits and organization inspections of UMT activities, training, facilities, perform- ance, and professional development and growth.^[3]
• Provide staff guidance and training in leadership, military acculturation, mobilization, contingency team building, administration, personnel management, and CTOF procedures.^[3]
• Plan, resource, supervise, conduct, and evaluate staff training for religious affairs specialists.^[3]
• Lead or participate in unit training and participate in command ceremonies, as required.^[3]
• Monitor and recommend religious affairs specialist personnel assignments and utilization to the command.^[3]
• Facilitate the CMRP through effective coordination and collaboration with other senior NCOs of the command.^[3]
• Review the 56M portion of force structure documents (The Army Authorization Document System and the Personnel Manning Authorization Document).^[3]
• Assist Soldiers in sustaining and developing Army values, moral leadership, and conflict resolution skills.^[3]
• See DA Pam 611–21 for additional senior 56M (SGT through SGM) responsibilities.^[3]

Fire Chaplain Resources

External links[edit]

• Career and Job Opportunities - Religious Affairs Specialist.
• Army Chaplain Corps Religious Affairs Specialist Overview.
• U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School.

Chaplain Aide Resources Services

References[edit]

1. ^Department of the Army (2017). Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia (AR 670-1). http://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN3644_AR670-1_Web_FINAL.pdf. p. 214.CS1 maint: location (link)
2. ^Department of the Army (2007). Military Occupational Classification and Structure (DA PAM 611-21). http://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/p611_21_v1.pdf. p. 53.CS1 maint: location (link)
3. ^ ^{abcdefghijklmnopqrstu}Department of the Army (2015). Army Chaplain Corps Activities (Army regulation 165-1). http://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/r165_1.pdf. pp. 9–10.CS1 maint: location (link)
4. ^ ^abcdefDavis, Kelvin (2009). '100 Years of the Chaplain Assistant: A Centennial Celebration 1909 - 2009'. U.S. Army. Retrieved February 28, 2018.

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