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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Twentynine Palms chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Nicholas Suddath participated in the Tactical Religious Ministries Course on July 16 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, strengthening the operational skills needed to provide religious ministry and compassionate care in austere and combat environments.
Hosted at Camp Wilson by chaplains from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and overseen by chaplain Capt. Brian Jacobson, the Tactical Religious Ministries Course prepares Navy chaplains and religious program specialists to provide expeditionary religious ministry while supporting deployed forces. The course combines classroom instruction with realistic field exercises designed to replicate the demands of forward-deployed operations and combat zones.
Suddath, a native of Hogansville, Georgia, served as an instructor for the course's mass casualty training scenario, using his experience as a board-certified clinical chaplain to help prepare religious ministry teams for some of the most demanding situations they may face while supporting Marines and Sailors during military operations.
"The course is to prepare chaplains for ministry forward deployed and ministry in combat zones," Suddath said. "It consists of operating in an EABO (Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations) environment, planning religious ministry operations, delivering expeditionary religious ministries, religious and cultural briefs, community relations missions, planning memorial ceremonies, responding to a mass casualty, field operations and movement under fire."
The training reflects Navy Medicine's emphasis on developing medically and operationally ready forces capable of supporting the fleet and Marine Corps across the full spectrum of military operations. Unlike ministry in hospitals or garrison environments, expeditionary ministry requires chaplains and religious program specialists to deliver spiritual care while maintaining tactical awareness in dynamic and often dangerous conditions.
As the command chaplain for Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Twentynine Palms, Suddath said his background as a clinical chaplain made him well suited to lead the classroom instruction and practical exercise during the mass casualty scenario.
"As board-certified clinical chaplains, hospital chaplains are the ones interacting with patients," Suddath said. "We have completed Clinical Pastoral Education, which helps us to understand the way we interact with others. We are trained on patient care and have dedicated time to sitting with others in some of their hardest moments. That is why I was recruited to run the classroom and exercise portion of the mass casualty drill."
During the exercise, Suddath facilitated instruction while evaluating religious ministry teams as they responded to increasingly complex casualty scenarios. Participants first completed the scenario using only their classroom instruction before receiving an after-action review identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement. They then repeated the exercise, applying lessons learned to improve their performance.
"I was responsible for facilitating, leading and teaching the religious ministry teams during the mass casualty exercise," Suddath said. "We would send them through the drill once with minimum instruction besides a previous classroom lesson. At the end of the first drill we would talk about what was good and what needed improvement. Then we would run them through the drill a second time to fine tune anything that needed improvement."
The scenarios were intentionally designed to challenge participants in a realistic combat environment.
"The situation was very chaotic," Suddath said. "We did not give them easy scenarios. We would run them up to the location, and as soon as they entered it was extremely loud with war sounds. There was one corpsman, one chaplain and one religious program specialist. The goal of the religious ministry team was to identify their priority patients while maintaining safety in a combat zone and providing religious ministries to those as best and efficiently as they could."
The exercise required participants to rapidly assess casualties, establish priorities and deliver compassionate ministry while operating within the constraints of a tactical environment. By recreating the stress and uncertainty of combat, the training reinforced the importance of teamwork, communication and mission-focused decision-making.
For Suddath, the experience reinforced the responsibility chaplains have to remain prepared to serve wherever Marines and Sailors need them most.
"Honestly, it showed me that I need to be prepared to support Marines and Sailors when it matters most," Suddath said. "It was a humbling experience that gave me a sense of urgency to always be ready and prepared to provide for others in all circumstances. This training is essential to laying a foundation for operational ministry."
He said watching the Religious Ministry Teams respond under pressure demonstrated the professionalism and commitment of the Navy Chaplain Corps.
"I saw amazing religious ministry teams react and respond to tough situations," Suddath said. "It made me proud of the Navy Chaplain Corps."
One of the most memorable aspects of the training was witnessing the partnership between chaplains and religious program specialists, whose responsibilities include enabling ministry while helping ensure the safety of the chaplain in operational environments.
"The way the religious program specialists moved with and protected their chaplains will stick with me," Suddath said. "This training was about the religious program specialist and chaplain as a team, not just one individual. The religious program specialists were very impressive and took the drill seriously. Seeing them move with their chaplain in the drill was powerful in showing the team we create."
Suddath said realistic training provides experience that cannot be replicated in a classroom and builds confidence that will prove valuable during future operational assignments.
"It provides real-life scenarios that force you to act upon your training and skills," Suddath said. "There is nothing better than actually doing the things you've been taught. I am all about any training that will make me a better chaplain, and this course is one of those trainings that will do that."
As Navy Medicine continues to support expeditionary operations around the globe, opportunities such as the Tactical Religious Ministries Course help ensure chaplains are prepared to provide spiritual care, ethical leadership and compassionate support across the continuum of military operations, strengthening the resilience and readiness of the force.
Suddath encourages fellow chaplains and religious program specialists to seek out the training early in their careers.
"Sign up as soon as you can and talk to your command," he said. "This is one of the best trainings we have."
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| Date Taken: | 07.20.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2026 17:55 |
| Story ID: | 570367 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | HOGANSVILLE, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 56 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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