Chaplain Corps: Bringing Faith to the Front

Photo By Cpl. Jonathan Boynes | U.S. Marines, sailors, soldiers and Air Force personnel attend religious services May 24, 2015, in an undisclosed location in the Central Command Area of Operations. Chaplains and lay leaders provide a variety of religious and counseling services for troops, at home in the United States and while deployed abroad.  

(UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)

05.24.2015

Story by Cpl. Jonathan Boynes 

Task Force 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION - United States service members are warfighters, first and foremost. No matter how impassable the terrain or daunting the enemy, the U.S. armed forces risk their lives to defend the nation and uphold its most fundamental and cherished values. With new missions always on the horizon, and day-to-day stresses weighing on their shoulders, it can become easy to neglect taking time to cultivate, nourish, and refine their spiritual practices.

To help facilitate religious worship and combat feelings of isolation, loneliness, and disconnection both in garrison and in deployed environments, the Chaplain Corps and other military clergy officials are in place providing religious outlets, counseling, and other services for troops. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Corey Thornton, the command chaplain with Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force—Crisis Response—Central Command, facilitates religious services as part of the Command Element.

“We advise the commanding officer and senior leadership on moral and ethical issues as well as upcoming religious practices, helping them become more mindful and sensitive of those practices,” Thornton said. “On top of that, we provide different faith group services, counseling and preventative caregiving for the service members.”
Even if the clergy available are not able to directly lead certain religious services due to their own beliefs or religious ordination, they are responsible for facilitating and providing resources for all religious faiths.

“The commanding officer is responsible for making sure that religious freedom and the free exercise of religion is maintained in the command,” said Thornton, a native of Rainier, Oregon. “The chaplain is who leads that program for him and helps him provide that for the command.”

In cases where there are no ordained clergy available to lead a desired service, lay leaders are put into place.

“Lay leaders are not clergy or ordained ministers,” said Thornton. “They are members of a particular faith who are willing to offer religious services for anyone interested. We train them within the command to lead that service as long as they are within good standing with their religious community back home and within their current command. If their religion is one of the more than 250 federally recognized ones, we will offer training for it.”

To help better understand the religious demographics of any given unit, the chaplain, working in conjunction with the religious programs specialist, use various methods to get a clearer idea of the spiritual dynamic within the unit.

“The Chaplain Corps will put out a religious needs survey that allows them to point out whatever their religious needs might be,” said Thornton. “It’s not a perfect way to do things. People may not get around to the survey and their needs may be constantly changing, but it’s a start. The RP [Religious Program Specialist] and I will leave the office and visit all the service members that we can within their work spaces.

"We are looking to build relationships with people right where they are at, recognizing that they are not always going to be tracking what is going on at the chapel,” continued Thorton. “Even if the person is not religious we still want to act as caregivers for them and see if there is anything that we have to offer that could benefit them.”
Though they may have a lot on their plate, the services they provide and the benefits that they bring to their command leave them with a great deal of pride.

“I really enjoy being able to help other people, said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Terrill Scott, a Religious program specialist with SPMAGTF-CR-CC and a native of Charleston, West Virginia. “We see people who aren’t doing the best they could be doing. Whether they are having marital issues or issues with their families or friends, the Chaplain Corps is the safest place that they can come to if they have any kind of issue. If people feel as if they have nowhere to turn, they always can come to the chaplain. Seeing them come out of a bad situation better off and happier is the best part for me.”

The Chaplain Corps has been in existence for over 200 years. Throughout that time, it has helped countless people cultivate and maintain a well-rounded, deeply-rooted spirituality within the military. Although the benefits reaped from its work may not always be measurable on the battlefield, the Chaplain Corps remains a valued part of the military experience for many service members—especially while deployed.

• Date Taken: 05.24.2015
• Date Posted: 05.25.2015 10:29
• Story ID: 164447
• Location: (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)
• Hometown: CHARLESTON, WV, US
• Hometown: RAINIER, OR, US