Air Force Chaplain
Explore the Air Force Chaplain career...
More than 100 chaplains and chaplain assistants attended the Chaplain Corps Summit in Orlando, Fla. in December, 2009, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Air Force Chaplain Corps (AFCC) – a highly regarded and essential unit of the Air Force.
Military Mental Health Resources
At the summit, Chief of Chaplains, Maj. Gen. Cecil R. Richardson praised the chaplaincy profession, and the recent accomplishments of the AFCC.
“In 2008, the Air Force Chaplain Corps performed more than 147,000 counselings, provided more than 50,000 worship observances and conducted more than 28,000 religious rites and observances for airmen and their families," Richardson said, as reported on the AirForce.mil website.
He emphasized that warrior care is the chaplain’s top priority and will remain so throughout the duration of the war. He pledged every effort to "strengthen families, take care of marriages, and help singles build a foundation of faith to stand upon when called to deploy."
The Air Force currently has 500 active duty chaplains, and nearly 600 in service with the Reserves and Air National Guard. In addition, more than 800 chaplain assistants work with Air Force chaplains. These assistants help chaplains with administrative tasks in addition to providing security because chaplains are noncombatants and not allowed to carry guns or weapons.
What do Air Force chaplains do?
Educational Requirements
As stated by the Air Force Chaplain Corps:
- Baccalaureate degree with no fewer than 120 hours from an accredited institution.
- Post-Baccalaureate degree in the field of theology or related studies from a qualifying graduate degree program with no less than 72 Semester Hours from an accredited institution.
As officers, chaplains are considered military leaders, and often consult with top military leaders on issues of morale and morality. But their main mission is to minister to the diverse spiritual needs of a pluralistic community of airmen and airwomen. They respect the free exercise of religion, providing pastoral care and counseling to members of faiths different from their own while still maintaining their beliefs.
Many Air Force chaplains minister to both warriors and their families, stationed on bases throughout the world. They conduct church and chapel services on Sundays in their own faith traditions, running Sunday Schools, choirs, and performing the same functions as they would in home parishes.
Chaplains also visit injured warriors, and serve fulltime in military hospitals. They go where Air Force personnel go, often conducting makeshift services during holidays and holy days for those deployed in combat zones.
The strain of two ongoing wars for over eight years has stretched the AFCC. Those in the Air National Guard and Reserves have been especially utilized, some deployed several times with only short returns home between deployments. For those with parishes, this puts an added strain on their careers, and their congregations.
For this reason, the Air Force offers seminary and other professional religious school students an opportunity to enter the chaplain candidacy program while in graduate school. Over the course of two summers, the candidates experience ministry in the Air Force, gauging their compatibility with the program. Chaplain candidates enter the program commissioned as a chaplain candidate, Second Lieutenant. After graduating, and receiving an endorsement by an ecclesiastical body, they are eligible for reappointment as a Chaplain, First Lieutenant, in the USAF Reserve.
Tuition assistance and scholarships are available for the Air Force Reserve program, as well as those interested in the Air Force National Guard, and those wanting active duty in the AFCC.
For candidacy in any Air Force chaplaincy unit, individuals must have completed or be enrolled in a graduate degree program that includes not less than 36 hours in theological/ministry and related studies, consistent with the respective religious tradition of the applicant. In addition, the candidate must receive an endorsement from his or her religious tradition.
If you are planning a career in the ministry, and you want to serve the airmen, airwomen, and their families by working in the Air Force, Air National Guard or Air Reserves, request information from schools offering faith-based degrees.