{{Short description|U.S. Army's branch for religious services of multiple faiths}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = United States Army<br/>Chaplain Corps | image = Seal of the United States Army Chaplain Corps.png | image_size = 185px | caption = Branch plaque | country = {{flag|United States of America}} | website = [https://www.army.mil/chaplaincorps/ Official website] | type = Corps | branch = 20px United States Army | dates = 29 July 1775 – present | specialization = Military Chaplaincy | command_structure = | size = 2,700 | commander1 = Vacant | commander1_label = CCH | commander2 = CH (COL) Richard W. West | commander2_label = DCCH | garrison = | ceremonial_chief = | nickname = | motto = "Pro Deo et Patria"<br/><small>(Latin: For God and Country)</small> | colors = Black | march = "Soldiers of God" | mascot = | battles = {{ubl|American Revolutionary War|War of 1812|Mexican–American War|American Civil War|Spanish–American War|World War I|World War II|Korean War|Vietnam War|Gulf War<br/>Somali Civil War|Kosovo War|War in Afghanistan|Iraq War}} | notable_commanders = CH (COL) John T. Axton<br />CH (MG) William R. Arnold<br />CH (MG) Francis L. Sampson<br /> CH (MG) Kermit D. Johnson<br />CH (MG) Patrick J. Hessian<br />CH (MG) Gaylord T. Gunhus | anniversaries = <!-- Insignia --> | identification_symbol = 30px| 30px 30px 52px 50px 50px 70px | identification_symbol_label = Branch insignia | identification_symbol_2 = 100px|center | identification_symbol_2_label = Distinctive unit insignia }}
The '''United States Army Chaplain Corps''' ('''USACC''') consists of ordained clergy of multiple faiths who are commissioned Army officers serving as military chaplains as well as enlisted soldiers who serve as assistants. Their purpose is to offer religious church services, counseling, and moral support to the armed forces, whether in peacetime or at war.
Established on 29 July 1775, by an act of Congress to serve the Continental Army, the chaplaincy has been involved in every armed conflict in which the United States has partaken. Many different modes of operation and structures have been used over the course of the Corps' existence; currently, chaplains, duly endorsed by a religious body, serve as commissioned officers alongside an enlisted Religious Affairs Specialist; together, they make a Unit Ministry Team, assigned to battalion-level units and higher.
==History==
===Revolutionary War===
Prior to the formal establishment of chaplains within the Continental Army, clergy were already serving within regiments of their respective colonial militias at the pleasure of the regimental commander.<ref name=Thompson/>{{rp|75,106}} However, the Chaplain Corps formally traces its origins to 29 July 1775, when Congress passed a resolution establishing pay for various roles within the Continental Army.<ref name=Thompson/>{{rp|106}} Chaplains were allotted $20 per month {{USDCY|20|1775}}). This action officially recognized the men already serving within the Continental Army, either appointed specifically by their respective colonies or helping on a part-time basis. Throughout the fall of 1775, the number of chaplains fluctuated up and down from as low as fifteen to as high as twenty two.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Parker C. |title=From Its European Antecedents to 1791: The United States Army Chaplaincy |date=1977 |publisher=Washington : Office of the Chief of Chaplains, Dept. of the Army |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesarmy01unit |access-date=10 December 2025}}</ref>{{rp|107}} Seeking more stability within the chaplaincy, on 31 December 1775 George Washington asked for a pay raise for the chaplains, noting that some owed more money to the clergy replacing them in their church than they were being paid by the military. On 16 January 1776, Congress approved a pay raise to $33.50 per month {{USDCY|33.5|1775}}.<ref name=Thompson/>{{rp|108}}
===Civil War=== {{Empty section|date=December 2025}}
===20th century=== {{Empty section|date=December 2025}}
===Legal challenges===
In November 1979, two Harvard law students, Joel Katcoff and Allen Wieder, filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the chaplaincy.<ref>{{cite news |title=Two Law Students Sue On Service Chaplaincy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/29/archives/two-law-students-sue-on-service-chaplaincy.html |access-date=10 December 2025 |work=New York Times |date=29 November 1979 |page=B15}}</ref> They stated that paying chaplains to conduct prayer services was an unconstitutional act of governmental support for a religion.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Latham |first1=Stephen R. |title=Law Students File Suit Against Army|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1979/11/30/law-students-file-suit-against-army/ |access-date=10 December 2025 |work=The Harvard Crimson |date=30 November 1979}}</ref> After various rulings and appeals, Katcoff and Wieder sought to drop the suit; Chief of Chaplains Patrick J. Hessian argued that the case should be brought to completion.<ref name="encouraging">{{cite book |last1=Brinsfield, Jr. |first1=John W. |title=Encouraging Faith, Serving Soldiers: A History of The U.S. Army Chaplaincy, 1975–1995 |date=1997 |publisher=Office of the Chief of Chaplains |url=https://archive.org/details/encouragingfaith00brin |access-date=30 July 2024}}</ref>{{rp|129}} The case was eventually dismissed with prejudice.<ref name="encouraging" />{{rp|129}}
==Operation==
===Non-combatant status===
The First Geneva Convention specified medical staff and chaplains were to be given the "benefit of ... neutrality" and to be "protected and respected" on the battlefield, provided that they maintain non-combatant bearing. However, this did not formally ban chaplains from bearing arms; medical personnel were regularly allowed to maintain weapons to defend themselves, but could not use them for offensive action. Army manuals throughout the early-to-mid 20th century did not explicitly prohibit the carrying of weapons. One chaplain during World War II recounted being told to carry a defensive weapons so that his uniform could not be stolen by the enemy to be used deceptively. Several chaplains during the Vietnam War recounted carrying weapons for defense as well. In 1989, the Army explicitly directed that chaplains do not bear arms; all other branches of the US military now hold this position as well.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Friedman |first1=Joseph |title=Pistol-Packing Padres |journal=Military Review |date=September 2023 |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/September-October-2023/Pistol-Packing-Padres/ |access-date=31 December 2025}}</ref>
===Chaplain assistants=== {{Empty section|date=December 2025}}
==Training==
The U.S. Army Chaplain School was approved on 9 February 1918. Its first session began on 3 March 1918, at Fort Monroe, Virginia. It subsequently moved to Camp Zachary Taylor (Kentucky), Camp Grant (Illinois), Fort Leavenworth (Kansas), Fort Benjamin Harrison (Indiana), Harvard University (Massachusetts), Fort Devens (Mass.), Fort Oglethorpe (Georgia), Carlisle Barracks (Pennsylvania), Fort Slocum (New York) (1951–62), Fort Hamilton (N.Y.) (1962–74), Fort Wadsworth (N.Y.) (1974–79), and Fort Monmouth (New Jersey) (1979–95). It moved to Fort Jackson in South Carolina in 1996.
==Notable Chaplains==
Since the American Civil War, seven Army chaplains and one chaplain assistant have been awarded the Medal of Honor.<ref name=army.mil>{{cite web |last1=Stamps |first1=Paul |title=U.S. Army Chaplain Corps Medal of Honor recipients |url=https://www.army.mil/article/258344/u_s_army_chaplain_corps_medal_of_honor_recipients |publisher=U.S. Army |access-date=31 December 2025 |language=en |date=12 July 2022}}</ref>
===The Four Chaplains=== {{main|Four Chaplains}}
=== Other notable chaplains === * Patrick J. Boyle – Colonel, US Army, Roman Catholic Chaplain for the 82nd Airborne Division and 1st Air Cavalry Division, serving three tours during the Vietnam War. Awarded two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, Air Medal, and Parachutist Badge. * Pratima Dharm - First Hindu Chaplain.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pratima Dharm is US Army's first Hindu chaplain |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world/pratima-dharm-is-us-army-s-first-hindu-chaplain/story-eKBLLDOOWKiVCsvuzFPmmO.html |access-date=13 November 2021 |work=Hindustan Times |date=4 June 2011 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> * Francis P. Duffy – Chaplain during World War I, the most highly decorated cleric in the history of the U.S. Army. * Herman G. Felhoelter – Chaplain during the Korean War. Killed in Chaplain–Medic massacre.<ref>At the following webpage, '''''scroll down to''''' "Captain Herman G. Felhoelter • Korean War • 1914-1950". {{cite web|first=Pat|last=Centner|title=No Greater Love: A Memorial Day Salute to Military Chaplains|publisher=American Family Association|url=http://afajournal.org/2003/may/503_chaplains_dw.html|access-date=2011-11-06|quote=A Catholic priest from Washington state, Chaplain Herman Felhoelter had been assigned to the U.S. Army's 19th Infantry Regiment. ... Four days before his death, he had written his mother: 'Don't worry, Mother. God's will be done. I feel so good to know the power of your prayers accompanying me. ... I am happy in the thought that I can help some souls who need help. ...'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425143458/http://afajournal.org/2003/may/503_chaplains_dw.html|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> * John Gano - Chaplain during Revolutionary War. He crossed the Delaware River with General George Washington and allegedly baptized him. * Augustus F. Gearhard - US Army Catholic chaplain who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War I, then the Silver Star and Legion of Merit during World War II as a chaplain in the Army Air Forces. Transferred to US Air Force in 1947 and retired as a brigadier general in 1953 after serving as Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the Air Force.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/107017/chaplain-brig-gen-augustus-f-gearhard/|title = Chaplain (Brig. Gen.) Augustus F. Gearhard}}</ref> * Dale Goetz – Chaplain during Afghanistan War. First U.S. Army chaplain to be killed in action since the Vietnam War.<ref>Capt. Goetz joined the Chaplain Corps in 2000. Before that, he was pastor of the First Baptist Church in White, South Dakota. https://www.facebook.com/notes/1st-brigade-4th-infantry-division/raider-brigade-remembers-iron-knights-chaplain-cpt-dale-goetz/434322338186 {{cite web|title=Army: Chaplain is 1st killed in action since '70: Captain based at Fort Carson, Colo., had hitched ride on supply convoy|work=NBC News|date=2 September 2010|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38977236|access-date=2 September 2010}}</ref> * William Green Jr. - First chaplain to ever be fired. No official explanation was given. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Wingfield |first=Mark |date=2026-04-03 |title=For first time ever, Army chief of chaplains fired — by Hegseth |url=https://baptistnews.com/article/for-first-time-ever-army-chief-of-chaplains-fired-by-hegseth/ |access-date=2026-04-03 |website=Baptist News Global |language=en-US}}</ref> * Milton L. Haney – Chaplain during the Civil War. Called "The Fighting Chaplain" by the men of the 55th Illinois Infantry. Awarded the Medal of Honor * Philip Hannan – Chaplain during World War II. * Alice M. Henderson – First woman, and woman of color commissioned as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Cruz |first=Louis |date=2024-09-24 |title=Women in Chaplaincy: Female Pioneers & Opportunities |url=https://www.fst.edu/female-chaplain/ |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Franciscan Theology & Seminary School {{!}} Franciscan School of Theology |language=en-US}}</ref> * Emil Kapaun — Catholic Army chaplain who served during the Korean War and was noted for his acts of self-sacrifice, earning him a Bronze Star Medal. He died in a North Korean internment camp and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet Emil Kapaun |url=https://frkapaun.org/about/ |access-date=2026-04-01 |website=Venerable Emil Kapaun |language=en-US}}</ref> * Abraham Klausner – Chaplain during and after World War II who cared for the more than 30,000 survivors found at Dachau concentration camp, shortly after it was liberated in April 1945, as well as for thousands more in other Displaced Persons camps in southern Germany.<ref name=latimes>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-klausner4jul04,1,5483486.story?track=rss|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Abraham J. Klausner, 92; rabbi was an advocate for Holocaust survivors|date=2007-07-04|access-date=2007-07-04 |first=Jocelyn Y. |last=Stewart}}</ref> * John McElroy, SJ – One of two of the Army's first Catholic chaplains. Chaplain during the Mexican–American War, founder of St. John's Literary Institute, Boston College High School, and Boston College.<ref name="BostonGlobe">O'Conner, Thomas H. "Breaking the religious barrier", ''The Boston Globe'', Boston, 10 May 2004.</ref> * Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad – First Muslim chaplain in the United States Army, 1993 * Anthony Rey, S.J. – One of two of the Army's first Catholic chaplains. Chaplain during the Mexican–American War and Vice President of Georgetown College (1845). First Catholic chaplain killed during service with the U.S. military. * John Rosbrugh – Chaplain during the Revolutionary War. First U.S. chaplain killed in battle. * H. Timothy Vakoc – Chaplain during Iraq War. The only U.S. military chaplain to die from wounds received in the Iraq War. * Matthew A. Zimmerman – The 18th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army from 1990 to 1994 and the first African American to hold the position.
== Controversies == {{see|United States military chaplains#Controversies}}
==Army Chief of Chaplains== {{main|Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army}}
The Office of the Chief of Chaplains was created by the National Defense Act of 1920 in order to better organize the chaplaincy; the position was first held by John T. Axton. The position of chief of chaplains is currently vacant since April 2, 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wingfield |first=Mark |date=2026-04-03 |title=For first time ever, Army chief of chaplains fired — by Hegseth |url=https://baptistnews.com/article/for-first-time-ever-army-chief-of-chaplains-fired-by-hegseth/ |access-date=2026-04-03 |website=Baptist News Global |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * Bergen, Doris L. ''The Sword of the Lord: military chaplains from the first to the twenty-first century'' (Univ of Notre Dame Press 2004) * Honeywell, Roy John. ''Chaplains of the United States Army'' (Office of the Chief of Chaplains, Department of the Army, 1958) * Pickard, Scott D. "Co-workers in the field of souls: the Civil War partnership between Union chaplains and the US Christian Commission, 1861–1865." (2013). [http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/15271/ScottPickard2013.pdf?sequence=1 online] * Shea, Michael E. ''Sky Pilots: The Yankee Division Chaplains in World War I'' (2014) * Stover, Earl F. ''The United States Army Chaplaincy'' (Office of the Chief of Chaplains, Department of the Army, 1977) * O'Malley, Mark. An History of the Development of Catholic Military Chaplaincy in the United States of America (Gregorian University, Rome, 2009)
==External links== {{Commons category|United States Army Chaplain Corps}} * [https://www.army.mil/chaplaincorps/?from=wiki US Army Chaplain Corps] (United States Army Chaplaincy official homepage). Retrieved 2010-03-04. * [https://www.army.mil/chaplaincorps/ U.S. Army Chaplaincy (DACH)]. Army.mil/Chaplaincy. Retrieved 2010-03-05. * [http://www.goarmy.com/chaplain/index.jsp Army Chaplain Corps: Overview]. GoArmy.com. Retrieved 2010-03-04. * [http://www.goarmy.com/chaplain/about_army_chaplain.jsp Army Chaplain Corps: About Army Chaplains]. GoArmy.com. Retrieved 2010-03-04. * [http://www.goarmy.com/chaplain/chaplain_candidate_prog.jsp Army Chaplain Corps: Chaplain Candidate Program]. GoArmy.com. Retrieved 2010-03-04. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110305213244/http://www.usachcs.army.mil/ US Army Chaplain Center & School] website. Retrieved 2011-02-24. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110525194327/http://www.usachcs.army.mil/home_museum.html Chaplaincy Museum] (U.S. Army Chaplaincy official homepage). Retrieved 2011-02-24. * Zach Morgan (Fort Polk Guardian staff writer), [https://www.army.mil/article/34718/chaplain-corps-crucial-to-army/ Chaplain Corps crucial to Army]. Army.mil. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-05. * Kelvin Davis (Chief of Chaplains), [https://www.army.mil/article/22085/civilian-clergy-resources-ministering-to-families-affected-by-military-deployment/ Civilian Clergy Resources: Ministering to Families Affected by Military Deployment]. 4 June 2009. Army.mil (U.S. Army official homepage). Retrieved 2010-03-05. * [http://www.mca-usa.org/ Military Chaplains Association] (MCA) official website. Retrieved 2009-12-03. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20091218070124/http://www.ncmaf.org/ National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces] (NCMAF) official website. Retrieved 2009-12-03. * [http://www.fourchaplains.org/ The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation] official website * [https://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-chaplains.html Library of Congress audio and video history interviews of former U.S. military chaplains] * {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.archives.arc.2569775|name=Big Picture: Opportunity to Learn}} * {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.archives.arc.2569460|name=Big Picture: The Army Chaplains}}
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