Can’t civilian clergy meet the spiritual needs of military personnel? In a word - No. If all military personnel served within the United States and if all military installations were located near major metropolitan areas where many of the faith groups are represented, some needs could be met. Chaplains go where civilian clergy can not go, providing ministry world-wide, aboard ships at sea, in combat zones or troubled areas, and on special military missions.

Chaplains are full members of their specific service branch, trained to minister and survive wherever there are military personnel. Chaplains wear the same uniform, undergo the same training, eat the same food, suffer the same hardships, die on the same battlefields, and are buried in the same cemeteries as the people they serve. In addition to providing services of worship, they provide moral and religious education, pastoral counseling, advocacy, family support services, crisis intervention, community services, cultural activities and humanitarian programs.

Most important, chaplains are visual reminders of the Holy through their presence in and involvement with the members of their military unit. Their presence provides continual witness to the moral and religious foundation, the value system and the trust in God upon which the United States is built.

Chaplaincy and Law issues are vital to a full understanding of church and state issues. The answers go back before the Declaration of Independence to the 29^th of July, 1775 when the Continental Congress authorized the presence of and pay for chaplains.

The presence of chaplains does not imply the establishment of a military religion. All chaplains are fully credentialed religious leaders who are selected through a process of endorsement by their faith community to provide professional ministry within the armed forces. Chaplains are “on loan” from their particular faith community, remain fully accountable to their faith community, and continue in the chaplaincy only through the ongoing endorsement of their faith community. Thus, chaplains serve as representatives of the variety of religious traditions within the United States and not as representatives of a military religion.

In addition, Title 10 of U.S. Code formally establishes armed forces chaplaincy and defines its legal parameters. Legal decisions regarding historic and recent challenges related to the constitutionality of chaplaincy have upheld the constitutional validity and legal necessity of military chaplaincy.

The roots and roles of military chaplaincy go back to the legend of St. Martin of Tours, who as a fourth century soldier going into battle, met a shivering beggar beside the road. Having nothing to share except his own cape, Martin divided the cloak with his sword, gave it to the man and went on. That night, according to the legend, Martin had a vision in which he saw Christ wearing the half cloak he had shared with the beggar. Martin became a believer, and the remnant of his cloak became a sacred relic taken into battle by French kings. The keeper of the cape in French was known as the chapelain from which we derive the title Chaplain, the term now applied to representatives of all distinctive faith groups in the military.

Today, U.S. military chaplains enable members of the armed forces to claim their constitutional guarantee to the free exercise of religion. Because members of the military are scattered across the world in places where language, cultural, and religious differences block access to participation in the practices of individual religious faith, and because their duties keep military personnel in harm’s way, it is only through the presence of military chaplains that the free exercise of personal religious faith is possible. Military personnel must not be denied access to the presence of religious leaders and the practice of their religious faith because of their military assignments.

One of the gifts which military chaplaincy offers the world is a witness to the ability of a remarkably wide range of religious communities to work together for the spiritual well-being of the whole community. Chaplaincy has always been characterized by a common commitment to cooperation without compromise. Chaplains are religious leaders endorsed by a particular religious community. They are responsible to provide ministry and to facilitate the free exercise of religion for all the persons in their organization. They are never asked to violate their religious convictions, nor do they pressure others to violate their convictions. They are expected to remain sensitive to the personal, moral and spiritual needs of all people for whom they have responsibility.

• Clergy in uniform who go where churches and civilians can not (or will not) go to serve the spiritual needs of Americans in the military.
• Visible reminders of the Holy in the midst of combat and chaos.
• Fully credentialed and trained professionals serving God and country while blending the dual roles of clergy and staff officer.
• Representatives of their specific faith communities, not part of a military faith. They ensure the Constitutional free exercise of religion.
• Accountable to both their commanders and their faith communities for service to their fellow military members and to God.