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Guard units strained by chaplain shortage

MINNEAPOLIS — When patriotism inspired the Rev. Jerry Fehn a decade ago to serve soldiers in combat zones abroad, the 45-year-old was afraid he had waited too long.

He needn't have worried. The National Guard, wrestling with a chronic shortage of priests, cleared the roadblocks that might have kept Fehn out.

"They didn't really want to take someone over 40," Fehn said. "But because there's such a shortage of Catholic priests in the military, they said they would grant me a waiver if I could pass the physical."

Fehn went on to serve in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. Meanwhile, the guard has made significant strides in adding chaplains to its ranks, though many units still struggle to recruit for a position seen as crucial to morale. About 200 positions are open in the Army National Guard and 45 in the Air National Guard.

"It makes it harder to provide religious support," said Chaplain Samuel J.T. Boone, commandant of the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School at Fort Jackson, S.C. "There are some people who we can't provide their religious rites and sacraments as we can back here in the States."

Chaplains serve as more than ministers for guardsmen in harm's way. They are confidants, counselors and arbitrators. In Iraq and Afghanistan, unit commanders have used chaplains to communicate with local leaders and clergy. Many chaplains are embedded with units and travel through war zones, putting them within arm's reach of soldiers.

The chaplain shortage contrasts with general Guard recruiting, which is at capacity. And clergy ranks in full-time military branches remain full.

The guard's shortfall stems primarily from a lack of Roman Catholic priests willing to volunteer. Catholic dioceses that face a national shortage of priests may find it difficult to replace chaplains — even for one weekend a month.

"The priest has those responsibilities on weekends, and two weeks of training," Fehn said. "That impacts the priest's ability to be with the congregation on weekends for weddings and funerals. And then that priest might be gone for deployment."

The Army National Guard has just six rabbis and no imams for its 362,000 guardsmen. Clergy from smaller Christian denominations and other faiths also are needed.

Exactly how many clergy are deemed enough per guard unit varies. The Army National Guard's goal is a chaplain for every battalion, which range from 500 to 700 soldiers. The goal for Air National Guard units is three chaplains and three chaplain assistants per wing; wings generally have about 1,000 members.

Guard units are responsible for their own recruiting, and shortages are worse in some regions. Units in the more Protestant South and Midwest generally fare better, while the Mountain West states and the more Catholic Northeast struggle, according to personnel chaplains for both the Army and Air National Guards.

Certain states also have more military families and a culture that celebrates joining the armed forces, said Chaplain Bruce Marciano of the Air National Guard.

Recruiters are using new methods to lure would-be guard chaplains. They attend more religious conferences and seminaries to identify candidates. In the past, the guard created a student loan repayment program and offered cash rewards to chaplains who refer clergy who complete training.

And in underrepresented faiths, the guard has allowed age exceptions for older clergy who meet physical standards join and stay longer.

The efforts have paid off. The Army National Guard boosted its chaplain ranks from 52 percent capacity in 2000 to its current 70 percent. Personnel Chaplain Bruce Farrell predicts more growth in the next few years.

The Air National Guard jumped from about 70 percent capacity in 2006 to almost 90 percent today, Marciano said. "We're not there yet, but we hope to get to 100 percent," he said.

At Fort Jackson, Boone works with new chaplains to get them into the field as quickly as possible. Training exercises include lessons on how to avoid attacks, how to work with soldiers in high-stress war zones and how to communicate with locals.

"We tell guys, 'If you've seen a lot of John Wayne movies, don't be like John Wayne,'" Boone said.

Though they don't carry weapons, chaplains are sometimes caught in enemy attacks.

The Rev. Tim Vakoc, a Minnesota priest who became an Army chaplain in 1996, is thought to be the first chaplain to die since the Afghanistan and Iraq wars began. Vakoc, who was gravely injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq in 2004, died last month after a fall in a nursing home.

Other chaplains have been injured, though a National Guard spokesman couldn't provide statistics on how many in recent years.

Yet the threat of physical harm doesn't deter many would-be chaplains.

In Minnesota, all 20 of the Guard's chaplain positions are filled, with two dozen candidates ready to start, a spokeswoman said. Minnesota's state chaplain, John Morris, is currently in southern Iraq with guardsmen. He and other chaplains taped a video message for Vakoc's family after he died.

"I have moments that I'm concerned," Morris said. "But soldiers need ministry. Somebody has to take a risk to provide that."