Being an Army Chaplain

Friends in Christ,

One of the questions we had was: "How do I become an Army Chaplain?" That was a great question, and I was the first to say that I had no idea how to become an Army Chaplain. As a result, in researching this question, I went right to my friend Fr. Steve McDermott, who I met in Philadelphia in August. He is now deployed as an Army Chaplain in Bamberg, Germany. Here is his response:

Many thanks for your email. Great question! There are two parts to
this answer.

1) The first is the issue of discernment. Obviously this is huge for
priestly vocations. We have the "Come and See" mentality to promoting
priestly vocations. But in the Army... I never had that. When I wanted
to learn more about it... I called them and "They came to Me"
Discerning
the calling to the Chaplancy is the same as discerning the calling to
Priesthood. "Is this what's God calling me to." All of that you
can
share with the person inquiring as you would a person looking at the
Preisthood.

2) If they truly feel that they are being called... then they should
talk to someone. I had three Army priests help me along the way. I can
tell you that there is a huge (and I mean HUGE) shortage of Catholic
priests in the Army. I met a Protestant Chaplain who was busting on me
about the lack of Catholic Priests in the Army. He had just gotten back
from being down-range (Iraq) and he said at his FOB (Forward Operating
Base) they would weekly have Wiccan services... but there was no Priest
there! That's a hard pill to swollow!

Nonetheless... For Philadelphia, there is a five year wait before going in to the
Chaplancy. But you can go through the school during the summer years of
Seminary (obviously with the permission of the Seminary). Let me add
here that Cardinal Rigali is VERY supportive of guys choosing the Army.
He has a friend, Msgr Philip Hill who is (or was) in the Army. When the
Cardinal heard that I choose the Army, he was very happy. In fact, he
mentioned that while in St. Louis, one of the priests there submitted a
request to go into the Navy. The Cardinal told him to go into the Army
instead... he was needed there more!! (Good Man!)

If a priest is five years ordained (in Philly) and he has the
Cardinal's approval, he will go through a VERY lengthy application
process. (Here, I would be willing to explain and help anyone
interested.) Once accepted, that person would then receive orders to
head down to Fort Jackson South Carolina for a 12 week course. This
course is broken off intro four sigments: (1) Chaplain Initial Military
Training {CIMT}, after this, there are three Phases (I, II, & III). Once
the priest graduates CH-BOLC (Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course),
he would then be assigned to a unit or a Garrison (as in my case).
If the person you are talking about would like to email me... pls feel
free to give him this address. I hope that this was helpful.
God Bless
Chaplain McDermott

If you are interested in hearing more about Army Chaplancy, feel free to contact Fr. Steve McDermott at frsmcdermott@yahoo.com. He will be happy to hear from you, and say a little prayer for him as well.

May you remain close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.