PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- On Nov. 28, 1775, Congress adopted a new set of regulations governing the Continental Navy. One of the articles contained in the regulations required religious services be made available to sailors and Marines aboard ship, and the Chaplain Corps was effectively born.
Now 234 years old, the Chaplain Corps is as strongly rooted in military history as the Marine Corps they’ve always served.
“We have a shared history, the Marines and chaplains,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Wayne Haddad, the Recruit Training Regiment chaplain. “In a historical sense, we’ve embodied the Latin phrase ‘sino per,’ meaning, ‘to suffer alongside with.’ Where Marines and sailors have been, there have been chaplains.”
That continuous presence has been a hallmark of the U.S. Naval Chaplain Corps since Rev. Benjamin Balch first stepped aboard the Boston, a frigate assigned to the Continental Navy in 1775, as the first sea service chaplain.
Balch stands as the first of many legends of the Chaplain Corps who have defined the role of chaplain for centuries.
Legends like Navy Lt. Vincent Capodanno, a Vietnam-era chaplain who was awarded a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for administering last rites for fallen Marines, while under enemy fire.
Men like Navy Capt. Joseph T. O’Callahan who served so courageously while aboard the World War II ship the USS Franklin that the commanding officer of the ship called O’Callahan the bravest man he had ever met.
Those men and women throughout the years have set the standard for chaplains serving today. It’s also a standard the chaplains aboard Parris Island strive to emulate.
“I look back on the history of it, the pride and the professionalism of the chaplains before us, and it’s an awesome responsibility to live up to,” said Navy Cmdr. Charles Kessler, the deputy director for Religious Ministries.
“The greatest of those responsibilities is that we’re the protectors of the Constitutional right to practice religion freely,” he added. “Wiccan, Native American, Greek Orthodox, Hindu, Buddhism or Judaism – whatever the faith, we facilitate your right to worship.”
Kessler pointed out that while Parris Island isn’t big enough to house leaders from every religion, the chaplains can coordinate with religious leaders in the outside community to assist when necessary.
The Chaplain Corps’ mission is to provide for the spiritual needs of sailors and Marines, regardless of faith, Kessler said.
“I’m here to facilitate the religious freedoms of everybody,”
he added.
The importance of that mission comes into sharp relief, they said, when preparing young Marines and sailors for today’s complex theaters of operations
“It’s important to recognize spirituality applies to everything we do,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Joyner, the 2nd Recruit Training Battalion chaplain. “Only with the right understanding of religion can you understand the relationship between
ethics and warfare.
“Navy Chaplains advise commanders on moral, ethical and spiritual matters and extend spiritual guidance and pastoral care whenever and where ever needed,” wrote Navy Vice Adm. Mark Ferguson, the chief of naval personnel, in his birthday message to the Chaplain Corps.
Not only are they responsible for protecting the religious freedoms and providing for Marines, sailors, Coast Guardsmen and Merchant Marines, chaplains are serving on the forefront of modern warfare.
In theaters of operation, American troops often have allies who follow religious leaders as well as political ones. Forward deployed chaplains act as liaisons, working with local religious leaders to help ease tensions and keep the peace. They are a critical part of the battle for winning hearts and minds.
According to the March 2006 National Security Strategy, “We must help free nations build effective democracies. Effective democracies value religion.”
“The world takes religion very seriously,” said Navy Capt. James Fisher, the director of Religious Ministries. “I see chaplains taking a more significant role in religious leader engagement.”
Chaplains, like Marines, have adjusted to the times throughout their shared 234 years of history. But Navy Lt. j.g. Janete Clarke said the Marine Corps and Chaplain Corps have never changed their tenacious spirit.
“It’s hard to say what the future holds, but if the past history tells us anything, is that we’ll meet it the same way we always have,” she said. “Head-on.”