| Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Formation | 1950 |
| First holder | Brig Gen Augustus F. Gearhard |
| Website | https://www.airforce.com/careers/specialty-careers/chaplain |
The Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force is the second senior-most chaplain in the United States Air Force Chaplain Corps, holding the rank of brigadier general, and acting as principal deputy to the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force. [1]
Official Air Force instructions task chaplains with providing "spiritual care and the opportunity for Airmen, their families, and other authorized personnel to exercise their constitutional right to the free exercise of religion." [2] This goal is accomplished through "religious observances, providing pastoral care, and advising leadership on spiritual, ethical, moral, morale, core values," in addition to additional religious accommodation issues that have already been identified or might arise in the future. [2]
Additionally, "Chaplain Corps personnel conduct needs assessment based upon the commander’s mission requirements in order to plan and execute religious programs." [3]
As the active duty Deputy Chief of Chaplains for the Air Force, the man or woman holding this position is one of the six chaplains (Chiefs of Chaplains and active duty Deputy Chiefs of Chaplains of the Army, Navy, and Air Force) who together comprise the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, advising the Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on matters affecting military personnel throughout the U.S. military services. [3]
| Name | Photo | Term began | Term ended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brig Gen Augustus F. Gearhard |  | 1950 | 1953 |
| 2. | Brig Gen Terence P. Finnegan |  | 1953 | 1958 |
| 3. | Brig Gen Robert P. Taylor |  | 1958 | 1962 |
| 4. | Brig Gen Edwin R. Chess |  | 1962 | 1966 |
| 5. | Brig Gen William Leon Clark | | 1966 | 1968 |
| 6. | Brig Gen Roy M. Terry |  | 1968 | 1970 |
| 7. | Brig Gen John F. Albert |  | 1970 | 1972 |
| 8. | Brig Gen Henry J. Meade |  | 1972 | 1974 |
| 9. | Brig Gen Thomas M. Groome Jr. | | 1974 | 1976 |
| 10. | Brig Gen Richard Carr |  | 1976 | 1978 |
| 11. | Brig Gen Jeremiah J. Rodell |  | 1978 | 1980 |
| 12. | Brig Gen John A. Collins |  | 1980 | 1982 |
| 13. | Brig Gen Stuart E. Barstad |  | 1982 | 1985 |
| 14. | Brig Gen John P. McDonough |  | 1985 | 1988 |
| 15. | Brig Gen Donald J. Harlin |  | 1988 | 1991 |
| 16. | Brig Gen Arthur S. Thomas |  | 1991 | 1995 |
| 17. | Brig Gen William J. Dendinger |  | 1995 | 1997 |
| 18. | Brig Gen Hiram "Doc" Jones |  | 1997 | 1999 |
| 19. | Brig Gen Lorraine K. Potter |  | 1999 | 2001 |
| 20. | Brig Gen Charles C. Baldwin |  | 2001 | April 2004 |
| 21. | Brig Gen Cecil Richardson |  | April 2004 | May 2008 |
| 22. | Brig Gen David H. Cyr |  | 2008 | 2011 |
| 23. | Brig Gen Howard D. Stendahl |  | 2008 | 2012 |
| 24. | Brig Gen Bobby V. Page |  | 2 August 2012 | September 2015 |
| 25. | Brig Gen Steven A. Schaick |  | September 2015 [4] | August 2018 |
| 26. | Brig Gen Ronald M. Harvell |  | August 2018 | August 2020 |
| 27. | Brig Gen Randall E. Kitchens |  | August 2020 | October 2021 |
| 28. | Brig Gen James D. Brantingham |  | December 2021 | January 2023 [5] |
| 29. | Brig Gen Trent C. Davis |  | 5 December 2023 | Incumbent |
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consist of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States.
The Secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the Secretary of the Department of the Air Force, is the head of the Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. The secretary of the Air Force is a civilian appointed by the president, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The secretary reports to the secretary of defense and/or the deputy secretary of defense, and is by statute responsible for and has the authority to conduct all the affairs of the Department of the Air Force.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces and the principal military advisor to the president, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the secretary of defense. While the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff outranks all other commissioned officers, the chairman is prohibited by law from having operational command authority over the armed forces; however, the chairman assists the president and the secretary of defense in exercising their command functions.
The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of October 4, 1986 made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947 by reworking the command structure of the U.S. military. It increased the powers of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and implemented some of the suggestions from the Packard Commission, commissioned by President Reagan in 1985. Among other changes, Goldwater–Nichols streamlined the military chain of command, which now runs from the president through the secretary of defense directly to combatant commanders, bypassing the service chiefs. The service chiefs were assigned to an advisory role to the president and the secretary of defense, and given the responsibility for training and equipping personnel for the unified combatant commands.
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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.
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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."
The Armed Forces Chaplains Board (AFCB) is an organizational entity within the United States Department of Defense established to advise the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on religious, ethical, and moral matters, in addition to a number of policy issues affecting religious ministry and the support of the free exercise of religion within the military services. 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.
Religious symbolism in the United States military includes the use of religious symbols for military chaplain insignia, uniforms, emblems, flags, and chapels; symbolic gestures, actions, and words used in military rituals and ceremonies; and religious symbols or designations used in areas such as headstones and markers in national cemeteries, and military ID tags.
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