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Making Catholic chaplains' presence a Rrality in a time of need

  • Published
  • By Capt. (Ch) Mark McKellen
  • HQ AFRS
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The U.S. Air Force Chaplain Corps is experiencing a shortage for the number of Catholic chaplains who are serving.

Currently, there are 67 Catholic chaplains in the entire Air Force. As a result, there are 27 bases without an active duty Catholic chaplain and that number is anticipated to rise to 40 because several Catholic chaplains are eligible for retirement.

One way that the Chaplain Corps Recruiting is meeting this challenge is tri-annual familiarizations tours for Catholic priests called "Come Be With Us". The "Come Be With Us" tour is a three-day ministerial familiarization tour sponsored by Chaplain Accessions. The purpose of the tours is to provide a practical ministry familiarization for priests contemplating service in the Chaplain Corps. This past year, Chaplain Accessions hosted three tours at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A total of 27 priests attended with six of those accessed to active duty and two appointed in the Reserves. For 2011, the dates for the three tours are Feb. 7 - 11, June 13 - 17, and Aug. 23 - 27.

According to the Honorable Craig Duehring, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserves, "The shortage of priests throughout our nation, the continuing reduction in Air Force manpower and the heightened level of tension throughout the world mandates that we have a well thought out, effective means of finding and selecting the right Catholic priests to become Air Force chaplains. 'Come Be With Us' is the answer to that need."

Nine priests recently attended the "Come Be With Us" familiarization tour at Nellis AFB, Nev. "We wanted to give the priests an opportunity to see an operational base and provide them with a snapshot of the ministry within a high operational tempo context," said Capt. (Ch) Mark McKellen, Headquarters Air Force Recruiting Service chaplain recruiter. While at Nellis, the priests received a base tour supported by Lt. Richard Mickelsen from the Air Force Warfare Center protocol office, a 99th Air Base Wing mission brief from Col. Steven Garland, 99th ABW commander, a tour and brief of the 66th Rescue Squadron Jolly Green Giants from Lt. Col. Thomas Dorl, 66th Rescue Squadron commander. The priests had the opportunity to meet with junior and senior enlisted non-commissioned officers and commanders who shared their deployment and military service experiences. The priests also heard from the 99th ABW Community Chapel Catholic lay leaders.

"The military Catholic chaplains have been formative in my career," said Col. Kit Lambert, 99th Security Forces Group commander. "I have moved 11 times in my 22-year career and, every time, the first place my family has gone to establish a connection and to start to feel at home was Mass."

"If you're a Catholic priest and you're looking for a place to save souls, this is it," he said. " I can't tell you enough how much it would mean if you were to join the Air Force and become part of our team."

The priests also had the opportunity to visit Creech AFB, Nev. While there, they received a wing mission brief from Lt. Col. Kenneth "KJ" Johnson, 432nd Wing director of staff. Additionally, the priests had the opportunity to experience a remote piloted aircraft (RPA) simulator, meet the Creech AFB chapel staff and hear a briefing by the Airmen and Family Readiness Center staff.

"The military is in a great time of need," said Maj. Scott Wiltz, Nellis AFB Family Medicine faculty and staff physician. "Becoming a chaplain is an opportunity for these Catholic priests to be a source of strength for others and to serve our men and women fighting overseas the most."

"This familiarization tour is so important because it shows these recruited personnel what we do as chaplains in the Air Force," said Father John Kurzak, Chaplain Accessions director. "Around 95 percent of the Catholic chaplains in the Air Force come in, not with military experience, but with a calling. This tour helps us identify the people who are able to serve the people who serve our country.