Navy Religious Ministry Training Relocates to Newport and Meridian

PENSACOLA, FL, UNITED STATES

08.20.2018

Courtesy Story

Naval Education and Training Command

Naval Chaplaincy School and Center (NCSC) headquarters will move from Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, to Naval Station (NS) Newport, Rhode Island, beginning in October 2018 with an expected completion by March 2019.

NCSC is one of 12 learning centers under Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) and develops and delivers religious ministry training for the fleet. Instruction takes place both in traditional classrooms and at 13 locations through mobile training teams, including initial and more advanced courses for the U.S. Navy’s chaplains and enlisted religious program specialists (RP).

RP “A” School, or initial skills training following boot camp, will move from Fort Jackson to a NCSC learning site at Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi, with the first class there convening in February 2019.

Resident officer training under NCSC’s Naval Chaplains School, which was located in Newport until moving to Fort Jackson in 2009, will return to its former home at NS Newport’s Brett Hall in March 2019.

“The Naval Chaplaincy School and Center has evolved into a premier training center over the past decade in Fort Jackson,” said Chief of Chaplains of the Navy, Rear Adm. Brent Scott. “Looking ahead, this move reconnects us with Navy culture, and it supports our strategic vision for developing and shaping our professional religious ministry team members for the Navy the nation needs.”

The relocations allow new officer and enlisted personnel the opportunity to develop as leaders and Sailors alongside their Navy counterparts attending other training in Meridian and Newport.

Of NCSC’s staff, 14 military staff and seven civilian positions will move to Newport, and five military positions will move to Meridian.

“We’re excited about how our students will benefit from the Navy culture and other Navy training taking place in Newport and Meridian, especially for our newest officers and enlisted personnel,” said Capt. Steve Moses, NCSC commanding officer. “The Army and the city of Columbia have been great hosts to us while we've been here at Fort Jackson, but the opportunities for collaboration with our Navy counterparts at the Naval War College, Officer Training Command, and the Navy Leadership and Ethics Center will add a new dimension in the fulfillment of our mission to train Chaplains ready for the fleet. The RPs will also gain the benefit of collaboration with their Navy counterparts in the administrative ratings at Meridian. The NCSC staff is ready for new challenges and opportunities in support of our passion for excellence in Professional Naval Chaplaincy and the development of Chaplains and RPs ready to deliver inspirational religious ministry to our sea services personnel and their families.”

Almost 200 chaplains and 200 RPs graduate from NCSC residence courses each year to prepare them to deliver professional religious ministry to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Merchant Marine. Another 600 chaplains and 300 RPs receive professional development training annually through mobile training teams.

Chaplains and RPs play a critical role in helping the Department of the Navy achieve and maintain a ready force. Religious ministry and compassionate pastoral care are characterized by cooperation, tolerance, mutual respect, and respect for diversity, as well as an emphasis on understanding the pluralistic military environment. Chaplains and RPs are embedded within commands operating at sea and ashore to ensure 24/7 availability for service members and their families.

For more information on NCSC, visit https://www.public.navy.mil/netc/centers/chaplain/Default.aspx.

• Date Taken: 08.20.2018
• Date Posted: 08.20.2018 11:22
• Story ID: 289473
• Location: PENSACOLA, FL, US