The United States Navy Chaplain Corps is the body of military chaplains of the United States Navy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is "to promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the members of the Department of the Navy", which includes the Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Additionally, the Chaplain Corps provides chaplains to the United States Coast Guard.
The Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A., officially the Military Ordinariate of United States of America, is a Latin Church jurisdiction of the Catholic Church for men and women serving in the United States Armed Forces and their dependents.
Chaplain David Harlan Hicks is a retired American army officer who served as the 21st Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army from 2003 to 2007. Hicks began his career in 1958 and was stationed as a patrolman in the Korean Demilitarized Zone in 1965. An ordained Presbyterian, he served as a command chaplain at the United States Army Special Forces Command (USASOC) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has over 30 years of experience as an army chaplain. As the Army's Chief of Chaplains, he oversaw over 2,200 chaplains serving in United States Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve capacities.
A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations.
The chaplain general is a senior chaplain in non-church organisations, such as the British and Canadian armies, and is responsible for the supervision of chaplains conducting religious services and ceremonies, representing the Christian faith in that organisation, and providing pastoral care and support within the organisation.
In the United States Army, soldiers may wear insignia to denote membership in a particular area of military specialism and series of functional areas. Army branch insignia is similar to the line officer and staff corps officer devices of the U.S. Navy as well as to the Navy enlisted rating badges. The Medical, Nurse, Dental, Veterinary, Medical Service, Medical Specialist, Chaplains, and Judge Advocate General's Corps are considered "special branches", while the others are "basic branches".
The United States Army Chaplain Corps (USACC) consists of ordained clergy of multiple faiths who are commissioned Army officers serving as military chaplains as well as enlisted soldiers who serve as assistants. Their purpose is to offer religious church services, counseling, and moral support to the armed forces, whether in peacetime or at war.
The structure of the United States Army is complex, and can be interpreted in several different ways: active/reserve, operational/administrative, and branches/functional areas.
The Chaplain Corps of the United States Air Force (USAF) is composed of both clergy—commissioned officers who have been endorsed and ordained by a religious organization—and enlisted Religious Affairs. As military chaplains, their main purpose is to support the free exercise of religion by members of the military service, their dependents, and other authorized personnel. They also provide advice on spiritual, ethical, moral, and religious-accommodation issues to the leadership of the United States Department of Defense.
William Richard Arnold was an American Army officer and bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the 5th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army from 1937 to 1945 and Military Delegate of the Armed Forces from 1945 until his death in 1965.
Orville James Nave was an American Methodist theologian and chaplain in the United States Army. He is best known for compiling Nave's Topical Bible, an index of topics addressed in the Christian Bible.
John Thomas Axton was a colonel in the United States Army who served as the first chief of chaplains from 1920 to 1928.
Chaplain (Colonel) Julian Emmett Yates, USA was an American Army officer who served as the 3rd Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army from 1929 to 1933. Together with John B. Frazier, the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy, he edited The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).
The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy (CHC) is the highest-ranking military chaplain in the United States Navy and head of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. As part of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Department of the Navy, the CHC is dual-hatted as the Director of Religious Ministries (N097) under OPNAV. In these capacities, the CHC is the principal advisor to the secretary of the Navy, the chief of naval operations and, where appropriate, the commandant of the Marine Corps and commandant of the Coast Guard "on all matters pertaining to religion within the Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard." For administrative and personnel matters, the CHC reports to the chief of naval personnel.
In the United States armed forces, the Chiefs of Chaplains of the United States are the senior service chaplains who lead and represent the Chaplain Corps of the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force. The Navy created the first Office of the Chief of Chaplains in 1917; the Army followed in 1920, and the Air Force established its own in 1948 after it became a separate branch.
The Chaplain of the United States Marine Corps (CHMC) is a position always filled by the officers serving as Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy as a "dual hatted" billet since 2000. The CHMC oversees religious ministry in the Marine Corps which one Commandant of the Marine Corps defined as "a vital function which enhances the personal, family, and community readiness of our Marines, sailors, and their families. Chaplaincy supports the foundational principle of free exercise of religion and helps to enrich the spiritual, moral and ethical fabric of the military."
John Brown Frazier was a United States Navy officer who served as the 1st Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy from 1917 to 1921. In this capacity, together with Julian E. Yates of the United States Army, he edited The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).
The Armed Forces Chaplains Board (AFCB) is an organizational entity within the United States Department of Defense established to provide advice and recommendations to OSD officials on policies and issues related to the free exercise of religion and on all matters concerning religion, spiritual readiness, morality, ethics, morale, and military chaplains. It is made up of the three Chiefs of Chaplains and three active-duty Deputy Chiefs of Chaplains of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
United States military chaplains hold positions in the armed forces of the United States and are charged with conducting religious services and providing counseling for their adherents. As of 2011, there are about 2,900 chaplains in the Army, among the active duty, reserve, and National Guard components.
Thomas Lynn Solhjem is a retired United States Army major general who last served as the 25th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army. Solhjem is the first ordained Assemblies of God minister to attain the position.
