Photo By Sgt. Nataja Ford | U.S. Army Reserve Chaplains and Religious Affairs Specialists assigned to the 88th...... read more read more
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U.S. Army Reserve chaplains and religious affairs specialists are stepping beyond the classroom and into the field to better prepare for the realities of large-scale mobilization. The 88th Readiness Division is spearheading this initiative, hosting and leading the training at Fort McCoy.
Army Reserve Chaplain Battle Focused Training (ARC BFT) is an Army Reserve program that increases readiness among unit ministry teams. Each Readiness Division (RD) conducts its own version of ARC BFT across the country, drawing chaplains and religious affairs specialists within their regional footprint. However, in an ever-changing world, the 88th RD Religious Support Team decided the training needed a change too, adding a one-day field exercise in conjunction with the regular classroom training that is typically seen in ARC BFT.
"What we're doing here is revolutionary in the sense that we've recognized that just talking about this stuff in the classroom doesn't cut it," U.S. Army Reserve Chaplain Maj. Pete Moseman, 88th RD training and resource management Chaplain, explained. "[Classroom instruction] is not enough to really help people become proficient in their job and be prepared for war."
"What we have here today is folks from all across the Army Reserve, primarily from our 19-state region," Moseman said. "A majority of folks here come from the 807th Theater Medical Command, but we have soldiers, chaplains, and religious affairs specialists or NCOs from all over the country that are here to train with us."
The day-long exercise was divided into four lanes: religious support planning and operations, memorial events, casualty collection points, and force protection. Each lane is designed to simulate the core responsibilities of chaplain teams during large-scale combat operations.
Chaplains are categorized as non-combatants, a distinction that profoundly shapes their battlefield role.
"The Army has two types of non-combatants, technically speaking, medics and chaplains," Moseman noted. "But what's different is that chaplains don't actually carry a weapon, whereas medics are allowed to."
Still, chaplains are expected to go wherever their units go, even into combat zones. Moseman describes the Chaplains as "bearers of peace and hope on the battlefield." This is an evergreen theme in the Chaplain Corps. It's written in their history and guides their future.
"The role of the chaplain is to serve and minister to the soldiers in their assigned unit," he continued. "And chaplains need to be able to go where the soldiers are and too, figuratively speaking, be in the fight."
The force protection lane aims to prepare unit ministry teams for this reality. Teaching them how to integrate into a team and move tactically within it effectively. Although not every battlefield function can be mastered in a one-day field exercise, the training serves as a personal
checkpoint for each Chaplain and Religious Affairs specialist, allowing them to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and train accordingly.
"Being able to assess where I am really at." Moseman emphasized. "If I was thrust into a large-scale combat operation, would I be effective? Could I even stay alive?" These are the questions the 88th RD team hopes participating unit ministry teams reflect on.
To help them survive, chaplains are part of Unit Ministry Teams, paired with Religious Affairs Specialists.
Religious Affairs Specialists, and Religious Affairs Non-Commissioned Officers, support military personnel and their families by assisting with religious needs, helping plan and carry out religious programs, services, and provide crisis intervention. They also ensure the safety of Chaplains by offering force protection, as they are armed while Chaplains are not.
"That enlisted counterpart is there to be the subject matter expert on force protection for the unit ministry team," Moseman said. "That really enables Chaplains to provide a very critical role during large-scale combat operations, which is to minister to the heart and spirit of the warfighter."
Looking ahead, Moseman sees the field-based approach to ARC BFT as essential to the future of the Chaplain Corps. His vision extends beyond the 88th RD’s one-day field exercise, but it starts here.
"We're trying to solve the problem by creating this space where chaplains can focus on these critical tasks they need to be good and proficient at," he said. "Hopefully, we can start producing more ready and capable unit ministry teams that are prepared to head out the door and support our warfighters wherever they go."
As the nature of warfare evolves, so too must the training that prepares soldiers for its challenges, including those tasked with caring for spiritual welfare in the midst of conflict. The 88th RD’s innovative approach to ARC BFT is more than just a logistical update; it's a cultural shift toward a more immersive, resilient, and mission ready force. By taking chaplains and religious affairs specialists straight from the classroom to the field, the Army Reserve is ensuring its unit ministry teams are holding true to the Army standard of train as you fight. For the Army Reserve Chaplain Corps that means standing alongside the warfighter—wherever duty calls.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2025 10:41 |
| Story ID: | 497127 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Spiritual Readiness: Army Reserve Chaplains Train for the Battlefield, by SGT Nataja Ford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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