Another Chaplaincy Update!

It's time for another Chaplain update! It has been a while since I have had anything worth mentioning about it, but after a phone call a few minutes ago, I have a lot! I had a lot of questions about my eligibility, ministerial experience, and the Chaplain Candidacy Program. I just got off the phone with the nearest Chaplain Recruiting office, and here is what I found.

For my eligibility, I was (and still am) concerned about my knee. I have a permanent profile (for non-Army folks, medical documentation laying out physical limitations, to be reviewed every five years) which states that my running is at my own pace and distance, and that I use an alternate event for the PT Test (I walk instead of run). I AM still fully deployable-- I am able to run, but the pain it causes is the reason for my limitations. However, if deployed, you betcha that I will run if under fire! So needless to say, my concern is my ability to pass my commissioning physical. I was correct in my assumption that I would need a medical waiver, and I was given advice to try to track down my medical records currently held by the VA and request a copy. Once I have acquired all applicable records, the Chaplain Recruiting office will forward the records to a doctor who does the physical and get a preliminary verdict. Because of the current shortage of Chaplains, as well as the nature of my profile, my chances are fine, though not certain.

I found out that I have two options for the Chaplain Candidacy Program: I can either accept or decline tuition assistance. If I accept, I will owe the Reserves four years as a Chaplain before going to Active Duty; if I decline, I can skip those four years and jump straight to Active Duty once I have fulfilled all of my requirements. Let us look at each option:

• Reserves (accept tuition assistance): The tuition is fully covered, so financially the only issue is rent and bills. It also, however, means four more years before I can collect an Active Duty paycheck. Boo! But the plus side is that the two years of ministerial experience is much easier; first of all, it is only required to go Active, so that gives me an additional four years to get it out of the way. Secondly, four years in the Reserves can substitute those two years, although if I can get some full-time ministry during those four years, that helps my application for Active Duty. The drawback is I have four more years in which I have to find a way to survive financially! (But if I can get a full-time ministry position, that will certainly help!)
• Active Duty (decline tuition assistance): Financially more burdensome, but not impossible. I do have $10,000 available from the Reserves for tuition, and student loans are not impossible to pay off, especially with an Active Duty paycheck, especially once I am an officer. I also have the rest of my GI Bill, though I am hoping to transfer that to Deanna, though as long as one of us is using it, it doesn't matter who as long as it helps pay for schooling for one of us! Active Duty also would require those two years of experience to be gained during my three years of Seminary, which would require a full-time leadership position at a church before being fully qualified for such a position-- a hard sell, but not impossible depending on the church and pastor. My Seminary years would definitely be more stressful, but the light at the end of the tunnel would come four years sooner than in the Reserves.

I also will have five or six years during which I can be in the Chaplain Candidacy Program, so it is not impossible to get my ministerial experience done during and after my schooling, though it would depend on discussions with my Chaplain Advisor. Also worth note, I do not have to choose right away; I can use my $10,000 of unrelated tuition assistance, and if, when it runs out, I look at finances and say "WHAT am I DOING?" I can still opt to accept the tuition assistance and do the Reserves option.

Phew... that is complicated! So anyways, the quick summary is: after getting my B.A., I'll need about three years of Seminary, and depending on my path, either four years in the Reserves, or any remaining time needed for my ministerial experience before I can go active.