Chaplain Corps hosts annual summit, celebrates 75th anniversary > United States Space Force > Article Display

The U.S. Air Power Chaplain Corps marked a big milestone because it celebrated its seventy fifth anniversary throughout its annual summit held in Arlington Aug. 6 – 8.  

The summit introduced collectively Chaplain Corps leaders and spiritual help groups from throughout the globe to replicate on the corps’ historical past and a means forward for the longer term with the theme “Honoring the Previous, Inspiring the Future: 75 Years of Freedom, Religion, Ministry.”  

Matters mentioned throughout the summit included methods to handle and help service members’ psychological and emotional well-being, enhancing interfaith cooperation inside the Chaplain Corps, and embracing technological development to boost religious care and broaden outreach to adapt to the evolving wants of Air Power and House Power members.  

Maj. Gen. Randall Kitchens, Division of the Air Power chief of chaplains, highlighted vital occasions from the final three years which are indicative of how members of the Chaplain Corps are essential to supporting Airmen and Guardians the world over, to incorporate the COVID-19 pandemic and the withdrawal from Afghanistan as examples of instances when chapel groups confirmed their significance in caring for Airmen, Guardians and their households world wide.  

“Collectively, we’ve united like by no means earlier than to take care of Airmen, Guardians and households greater than anybody thinks potential. It has been a protracted journey by way of many twists and turns to higher fortify the warfighter and household, reimage our [chaplain] tradition and rebuild our readiness by way of our core capabilities of non secular lodging and providers, religious health and management advisement,” Kitchens mentioned.  

Secretary of the Air Power Frank Kendall and different division leaders shared their ideas on the legacy of the Chaplain Corps and the way it will affect the subsequent 75 years throughout a panel.  

They described the group as a important enabler to the wellbeing of service members and their households—at residence and deployed.  

“The legacy of the Chaplain Corps’ contributions usually are not all the time extremely seen,” Kendall mentioned. “I’m deeply grateful for the work that our chaplains do throughout the drive. You [reach] our folks in a means that I do not suppose anyone else does, and [we] cannot overstate your worth to the establishment, to the enterprise, and to our particular person governments and their households.” 

A panel of six retired chiefs of chaplains shared insights from their time in service and the way they addressed the challenges service members have confronted, such because the Air Power downsizing, 9/11 and the International Struggle on Terrorism. Throughout these instances, the non secular help groups had been able to take care of service members and their households. 

“One of the crucial vital issues is that we handle one another,” mentioned retired Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Lorraine Richardson, a former U.S. Air Power chief of chaplains. “A very powerful useful resource we’ve is different folks and we are able to try this by constructing groups, and being prepared and ready is the extra vital factor as a result of none of us can do it by ourselves.”