MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- United States military chaplains all over the world celebrated the the Chaplain Corps’ birthday Nov.21.
“The birthday celebrates chaplains’ involvement throughout the history of the U.S military,” said Lt. Cmdr. Denis Cox, Marine Aircraft Group 12 chaplain.
The second article of Navy Regulations reads, “The Commanders of the ships of the thirteen United Colonies are to take care that divine services be performed twice a day on board and a sermon preached on Sundays, unless bad weather or other extraordinary accidents prevent.”
On Nov. 28, 1775, that article was adopted and thus the Chaplain Corps was born.
The first chaplain known to have served in the Continental Navy was Reverend Benjamin Balch, who served aboard the frigate Boston in October 1778.
The Chaplain Corps’ early history has not been as well documented as the later.
By Jan. 25, 1802, a new edition of the Naval regulations read,
“He is to read prayers at stated periods; perform all funeral ceremonies; perform the duty of schoolmaster instructing the midshipmen and volunteers in writing, arithmetic, navigation and whatever else they might need to make them proficient; and teach the other youths of the ship as the captains orders.”
The move to have chaplains teach aboard ships made sense, considering most learning institutions at the time were faith based.
In fact, the switch toward having chaplains teach aboard ships prompted Chaplain George Jones to campaign for a Naval Academy in 1839. Six years after his campaign, the Naval School at Annapolis, which later became the U.S. Naval Academy, opened its doors.
By 1906, the Chaplain Corps began to move away from filling the role of both teacher and pastor and instead focused strictly on spiritual practices. It was around this time that established the Chaplain Corps we are more familiar with today.
From 1906 on, it became required that all chaplains graduate both college and seminary school along with receiving a recommendation from their respective denominations.
Today’s chaplains are deployed all over the world in support of military members currently in theater.
Providing services in a variety of religions, the Chaplain Corps has provided spiritual guidance for 234 years.
“When a service member needs to heal their emotional wounds, a chaplain will be there to help start the process,” said Cox. “In the fox holes, chow halls, barracks and workplace, we serve our country’s service members wherever they might be.”