AIR FORCE CHAPLAINS
What Air Force Chaplains Do
Airmen live and work around the world serving our country. Chaplains serve side-by-side with the Airmen, leading worship services, providing pastoral care, and advising leadership as they exemplify the Air Force Chaplain Service vision of Glorifying God, Honoring Airmen, and Serving All.
Life as an Air Force chaplain is both exciting and rewarding. As members of a multicultural community, chaplains provide ministry to Airmen of their own faith group, yet also act as guardians of the free exercise of religion for all Air Force members and their families. Chaplain areas of responsibility include worship, hospital ministry, parish programs, confinement ministry, and crisis intervention.
Chaplains combine the roles of clergy and military officer while upholding the standards of the Air Force Core Values: Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do. Each year about 35,000 new airmen enter the Air Force. Not all share the same values. The ministry and officership of the chaplain helps instill the personal ethical standards that provide a strong foundation for the Air Force Core Values.
U.S.A.F. Chaplain Candidate Program
The Air Force Chaplain Candidate Program is an exciting opportunity for seminary students to evaluate their compatibility and potential for commissioning as an Air Force Chaplain. The focus is on experiencing ministry in the Air Force during summer tours of active duty. As a chaplain candidate, you will draw upon your background, education, and experience to function as part of an Air Force chapel team. Upon entering the program you will be commissioned as a Chaplain Candidate, Second Lieutenant. Upon graduation and obtaining an ecclesiastical endorsement, chaplain candidates are eligible for reappointment as a chaplain in the USAF Reserve, Air National Guard, or Active Duty component.
The Program
- Commissioned Officer Training (33 days; Fort Jackson, SC)
- Chaplain Candidate Course (12 days; Fort Jackson, SC)
- Two Supervised Internships (35 days each at Air Force bases)
The Benefits
- Supervised ministry experience (with seminary approval)
- Diverse ministry setting
- Supplement/Expand/Enrich your ministerial education
- Support the defense of our freedom
- Ensure the free exercise of religion
- Eligibility to seek reappointment to Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard or Active Duty Chaplaincy
- Second Lieutenant pay and benefits
- Travel to and from all active duty training tours is paid by the government
Downloadable Documents
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