A call to serve steers some to military chaplaincy

Military chaplains, serving at home and abroad, wrestle with faith, diversity and two institutions.

 D. Ashley Campbell

The life of a military chaplain is not without its tensions and challenges of faith, as chaplains counsel their fellow soldiers at home and abroad.

Army chaplain Jason Unsworth said he experienced crises of faith during his deployment to Iraq in 2007. He said it was hard to be in a war zone and not question the existence of God, but he focused on those he served – his fellow soldiers.

“I had soldiers who were grappling with the ethical dilemmas that combat provides,” Unsworth said over the phone.

The suffering of soldiers compelled Unsworth to enlist as a chaplain. Unsworth attended divinity school after 9/11 and felt a calling to serve those going abroad to fight, he said.

“It was more a sense of these young men and young women are going and suffering. They need chaplains that are compassionate and can remind them of their common humanity,” Unsworth said.

Chaplains also address the suffering of soldiers while serving in non-combat zones. John W. Hoffmann, a retired army chaplain and veteran of the Vietnam War and Desert Storm, recounted episodes from his time as a chaplain to prisoners at Fort Leavenworth during an interview at his home.

A prisoner in the hospital at Fort Leavenworth refused to talk to anyone, but he would sketch. Hoffmann asked the prisoner to draw how he was feeling, after failed attempts to get the man to speak. What the prisoner drew still brings Hoffmann to tears.

The prisoner drew himself as a naked, bald main chained at his hands and feet sitting in a corner. You could understand the sense of confinement, humiliation and loss of self-worth depicted in the image, Hoffmann said. Then, the prisoner opened up.

“He was willing to talk to someone, because I took the time to understand,” Hoffmann said.

Sometimes listening and providing comfort through presence is all that is needed. Retired navy chaplain Lyman Smith shared his story of an aircraft malfunction during a landing that endangered the pilot and the crew of the aircraft carrier on which he was stationed.

He completed his nightly visits to different portions of the ship when he felt compelled to return to “air ops,” the equivalent of a tower at an airport managing take-offs, landings and flight paths. When he returned he learned the crew were in an emergency situation. Smith said he provided support and encouragement “by simply being there” and praying for them.

“It meant a lot to be a part of the team and to contribute in an intangible way,” Smith said during a phone interview.

A uniform of two symbols

Military chaplains also face tense institutional challenges. There is a tension in balancing two types of service – the military and the Church – especially when your primary motivation is to fulfill a religious calling of ministry, Unsworth explained.

“Military chaplains kind of serve two masters,” Unsworth said. “On my uniform I wear two symbols. I wear the symbol of my rank and I wear the cross.”

Being a part of the institution from the standpoint of a faith tradition allows for a different voice. Chaplains are officers within the military institution, but they also represent their religion since they must be endorsed by a religious organization.   

“We’re insiders to the institution that offer an outsider perspective,” Unsworth said.

Hoffmann’s outsider voice allowed him to advocate for those not meant to be in a combat situation during Desert Storm. For example, he assisted in getting a seven-month pregnant woman back to the U.S. even though her commander demanded she stay with her unit.

It also allowed him to develop relationships with Kurdish families in Iraq while he worked as a liaison between NGOs and the U.S. military after Desert Storm.

“I identified very readily with them,” Hoffmann said speaking of one Kurdish family in particular that owned a slushy stand and invited him for meals at their home.

“I think I received more than I gave,” he explained. “I think they did more to bolster my faith than I did to bolster their faith.”

Religious diversity

Army chaplains serve with a battalion that ranges anywhere from 300 to 1,000 soldiers, according to Unsworth. Not all of these soldiers share the same religion, creating a space for a potential misunderstanding among the troops.

It’s the chaplain’s job to negotiate, facilitate and be “an agent of trust” in that diverse setting so each soldier can freely perform their religion, Smith and Unsworth said.

When Unsworth cannot be a source of religious or spiritual guidance for a person, it is his job “to provide” access to other resources, he explained. He even mentioned that it’s his job to “help the atheist be a good atheist.”

Smith, former navy chaplain and current executive director for the Military Chaplains Association, shared an example of how he negotiated space for neo-pagans on board his ship to practice their tradition while also maintaining peace where religious ignorance could arise.

“It was up to me to make sure they were undisturbed,” Smith said, explaining that on a ship where nothing is secret, “there are some people who don’t appreciate that kind of diversity.”

Yet, Smith said, sometimes this misunderstanding comes from a lack of exposure and understanding. Some members of the military come from rural areas where they’ve never met a Hindu or Baha’i, Smith said.

“It’s not that they have hatred in their heart,” Smith said. “They just need to understand what it means to serve in a diverse environment.”