A LETTER FROM A CONCERNED MILITARY CHAPLAIN
From: (Name withheld)
Date: June 8, 2026 at 5:07:48 PM MDT
To: [email protected]
Subject: A LETTER FROM A CONCERNED MILITARY CHAPLAIN
MRFF,
I am frustrated, tired, and anxious.
As a military chaplain, I have dedicated my career to supporting the free exercise of religion for all service members, regardless of their faith tradition, background, or worldview. My oath was not to a denomination or political party. It was to the Constitution and the men and women entrusted to our care.
For that reason, I write with growing concern regarding recent decisions and policy directions that may unintentionally undermine the very religious freedom they seek to protect.
Religious liberty within the military has always required balance. Chaplains are called to faithfully represent their own religious traditions while simultaneously ensuring that every service member can exercise their beliefs freely. This delicate balance has allowed the Chaplain Corps to serve a remarkably diverse force for generations.
When religious freedom is perceived as favoring some groups over others, trust begins to erode.
The strength of military chaplaincy has never rested on advancing one religious perspective. It has rested on the confidence that every Sailor, Marine, Soldier, Airman, Guardian, and Coast Guardsman can seek support without fear of exclusion or favoritism.
I am also concerned about the proposed removal of visible rank insignia for military chaplains.
Supporters may view this change as a way to emphasize the spiritual identity of chaplains. However, military chaplaincy has historically been effective because chaplains have been both clergy and commissioned officers. Visible rank is not merely symbolic. It communicates responsibility, access, accountability, and institutional authority within one of the world’s most hierarchical organizations.
In practice, visible rank often helps chaplains gain access to leadership spaces, advocate for service members, and respond effectively during crises.
This concern may be especially significant for women and minority chaplains.
Military organizations, like all human institutions, continue to navigate challenges involving perception, credibility, and inclusion. While visible rank does not eliminate bias, it can provide immediate organizational clarity regarding a chaplain’s role and authority.
Many women and minority leaders have experienced situations in which their expertise or authority was questioned until their position became unmistakably clear. Removing visible rank may unintentionally create additional barriers for chaplains who already work to establish credibility in environments where assumptions can shape perception.
Within the Chaplain Corps, some women and minority chaplains have already experienced instances in which their authority, judgment, or leadership has been challenged in ways that their peers have not. There is concern that recent shifts in emphasis within portions of the chaplaincy community have emboldened some subordinate evangelical chaplains to show diminished respect for senior women and minority chaplains, particularly when theological, cultural, or ideological differences exist. While such behavior does not reflect the values of most evangelical chaplains, any environment that weakens recognition of legitimate military authority risks exacerbating these challenges.
Visible rank serves as an immediate and universally understood indicator of responsibility and authority. Its removal could unintentionally increase ambiguity regarding leadership relationships and make it more difficult for some senior chaplains to exercise the authority necessary to fulfill their duties effectively.
Such outcomes would not strengthen inclusion. They could weaken the ability of some chaplains to advocate effectively for those entrusted to their care.
The military needs chaplains who are spiritually grounded, operationally integrated, and trusted by both service members and commanders. Policies that reduce institutional clarity or create uncertainty regarding a chaplain’s role deserve careful examination.
My purpose in writing is not to criticize individuals. Military leaders carry enormous responsibilities, and reasonable people can disagree on matters of policy.
Rather, my hope is that decisions affecting religious liberty and military chaplaincy will continue to be evaluated through the lens of mission effectiveness, constitutional principles, and the diverse needs of the force.
The Chaplain Corps has served our nation faithfully through war and peace because it has balanced religious conviction with constitutional commitment, spiritual care with military service, and personal faith with institutional responsibility.
That balance is worth preserving.
Respectfully,
A Concerned Military Chaplain
Whoever you are, you are what every chaplain should be and far too few seem to be these days! Thank you not only for your service, but for being a fair minded human being.
I agree with YA! If I may add something though, one of religion’s functions within society is to speak truth to power. Military rank visually conveys the ability to do so within the armed forces: a person who does not have a rank within the uniformed members is likely to have their voice discounted. That, in turn, is likely to adversely affect their ability to advocate for the welfare of the service members seeking their assistance.
FFS, in uniform your rank is your first name. We don’t call the JAGS Bob Miller, or Lawyer Smith, the CSM is Sergeant Major Jones.
So how do we address chaplains now?
Mickey has “known” me for quite a while. He knows I don’t like deception or false logic. This is my response to the “concerned chaplain”.
1. I am a retired Navy chaplain who had chaplain responsibility for elements of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard over my career.
2. I never had to resort to rank to speak truth to anyone, it was my integrity that was able to influence Admirals and Generals. I had excellent relationships with most of my COs, except the three who were arrogant individuals who wouldn’t have listened to G_d had He been standing in front of them.
3. The enlisted CPOs and SNCO were my primary source of referrals for counseling and help because they knew I would pursue the truth. As a male chaplain, I was even sought out by sexual abuse victims because they knew I was compassionate and would help them obtain the help they needed.
4. I never refused to participate in training or special work with my assigned units including mountain warfare training, shipboard damage control, main space training drills as an observer, NBC training, locating unexploded ordinance on bombing ranges, jungle warfare training, scout sniped practice (as the bad guy) and on and on. Why, because it created entre into the lives of these personnel. My rank meant nothing when sitting with them on breaks, it was my pastoral care and concern that spoke volumes.
5. The major issues I faced on active duty were “senior” chaplain who threw their rank around and abused many junior chaplains. I have been threatened several times with courts martial, imprisonment, and removal from service, not because I was wrong, but because I stood for what was right. One of those treats actually resulted in a personal award for myself because I was right and the 06 chaplain was wrong.
6. I heartily agree with and am thankful for the removal of rank from the Chaplain Corps uniforms. If a chaplain is relying on rank to be persuasive, something is wrong in either the chaplain’s life, debate skills, or interpersonal skills.
Respectfully,
A retired chaplain