Army coping with shortage of chaplains

[unhappycamper]

Army coping with shortage of chaplains
By Andrea Stone - USA TODAY
Posted : Tuesday Feb 5, 2008 21:57:11 EST

Army Maj. Paul Hurley journeyed four days by convoy, aircraft and helicopter to reach the remote outpost in Iraq near the Syrian border where 50 U.S. soldiers hunkered down in November 2006. He was the first Roman Catholic priest to visit in 6 months.

“It was a very profound experience (to) visit soldiers who are facing their mortality every day,” Hurley recalls. He celebrated Mass and heard confession from a dozen Catholic soldiers before leading Thanksgiving prayers for the base.

Hurley belongs to a dwindling flock of chaplains whose mission to support soldiers and their families has been strained by the demands of war and a shortage in their ranks. The Navy and Air Force usually recruit enough religious leaders, but the Army, which expects chaplains to be able to do everything soldiers do except carry a weapon and now relies heavily on reserve units, is hurting for spiritual aid.

Chaplains are trained to help servicemembers of all religious faiths — or none. Among denominations, though, Roman Catholic chaplains are the most scarce, a reflection of a nationwide priest shortage. There are no imams to minister to a growing number of Muslims in the Army Guard and Reserve. The California and New York National Guard, which have a larger proportion of Jewish soldiers than other states, could use more rabbis, says Army Guard Maj. Timothy Baer, who recruits chaplains.

Lt. Col. Ran Dolinger of the Army Chief of Chaplains Office says every battalion that deploys to Iraq or Afghanistan has a chaplain. To fill those slots, more than 75 chaplains have been “volun-told” to report for multiple deployments, he says.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/gns_chaplainshortage_080205/

[DCKit]

1. How 'bout they rotate some of those fundies out of the AF Acadamy...

and open a few stateside slots for Rabbis, Episcopalians and other "moderate" religions?