A man for all faiths

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Chief of Navy Chaplains Rear Adm. Robert F. Burt sits inside the Naval Air Facility Atsugi chapel. Burt talked with Stars and Stripes about current issues facing today's troops and how chaplains facilitate different faith groups.


A man for all faiths
By Tim Wightman, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, November 20, 2008

Rear Adm. Robert F. Burt, Chief of Navy Chaplains, sat down Tuesday with Stars and Stripes at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. The 35-year Navy veteran is visiting bases in mainland Japan and Okinawa. Burt, who will retire in September, discussed the effect the war has on servicemembers and explained the role of chaplains in "facilitating" the worship of different faith groups on military bases.

What are the most frequent issues and concerns servicemembers bring to you?

I don’t think in the 27 years I’ve served as a chaplain if the issues have changed all that much. It’s about relationships, it’s about work, it’s about family. …

However, having been at war since 2003, it’s also about where they’re at emotionally with regards to what they’ve been doing in a combat scenario or the repeated deployments. It takes its toll.

I think overall, though, we’re doing very well. Retention in the Navy is at its highest levels in years. But the major portion of the population of our sailors remains between the ages of 18 and 22 or 24. So, there are significant issues. A lot of it has to do with maturity or where they’re at. …


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58909