Photo By Chief Petty Officer Jacquelyn Childs | SAN ANTONIO (Aug. 1, 2017) Ensign Charles Wilton, left, recites the officer oath given...... read more read more
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SAN ANTONIO – Navy Medicine Education, Training and Logistics Command (NMETLC) held a small and unique commissioning ceremony Aug. 1 at their headquarters on board Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for one of the Navy’s newest chaplain selects.
Ensign Charles Wilton was Hospital Corpsman 1st Class before receiving his commission during the ceremony. He worked in curriculum management for the Academics Directorate at NMETLC but has long known his true passion laid with his faith.
“I was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in the summer of 2013 when I first felt the call to become a chaplain,” Wilton said. “I had to wait at least two years since I had only recently converted to Catholicism. So, once I got back from my deployment, I used the next few years for reflection. I attended retreats, found a spiritual director to guide me, and became more involved with my parish.”
Wilton became very involved with the church and community while stationed in Japan over the next couple years. He organized the volunteers’ schedules, trained altar servers and readers, and became the assistant choir director.
Since arriving at NMETLC in 2016, Wilton has continued his participation in his church and building his package to apply for the Chaplain Corps, all during a busy year for NMETLC’s Academics, where they worked on several large-scale projects including the “A” School curriculum revision for the Navy’s largest rating, Hospital Corpsman.
While performing his regular duties and volunteering with the church, Wilton had to complete the application process, which included several interviews, collecting letters of endorsement and college transcripts, and writing a motivational statement.
“It’s a fairly extensive and labor-intensive process like most commissioning programs in the Navy, and justifiably so,” Wilton said. “The Navy wishes to separate the wheat from the chaff, determine those truly desiring and those who are not.”
One of the chaplains Wilton interviewed with, Lt. Cmdr. Doyle Adams from Navy Medicine Training Support Center, remarked on the unique nature of Wilton’s commissioning as an enlisted service member.
“It's not all that common,” Adams said. “I've seen maybe five enlisted service members commissioned as chaplains in the past 15 years. I've actually never seen a corpsman selected.”
Wilton feels his prior enlisted experience will benefit him as a chaplain and officer since he is already familiar with the culture and will be able to relate to both sides. He expressed great appreciation for the opportunity to fulfill his dream in becoming a Navy chaplain.
“This means a lot to me because after serving as a Hospital Corpsman for 13 years, I now have an opportunity to take my service to God, country and the Navy and Marine Corps team to the next level,” he said. “I am putting down the stethoscope and picking up my cross.”
After receiving his commission, the next step for Wilton is to earn his Master’s of Divinity Degree through a six-year seminary which, he will start this month. He will also attend Officer Development School, the Navy Chaplain School and receive on-the-job training as a Chaplain Candidate.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2017 15:01 |
| Story ID: | 243330 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 1,760 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Corpsman to Chaplain: One Sailor’s Journey, by CPO Jacquelyn Childs, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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