National Guard Units Strained by Chaplain Shortage

When patriotism inspired the Rev. Jerry Fehn a decade ago to serve soldiers in combat zones abroad, the 45-year-old was afraid he had waited too long.

This Monday, June 29, 2009 picture shows The Rev. Jerry Fehn outside the St. Paul Cathedral in St....

This Monday, June 29, 2009 picture shows The Rev. Jerry Fehn outside the St. Paul Cathedral in St. Paul, Minn. who began a new ministry a decade ago, serving soldiers in combat zones abroad. Though he was 45 at the time, the National Guard granted his request to serve because of the shortage of Catholic priests in the military. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

(AP)

He needn't have worried. The National Guard, wrestling with a chronic shortage of priests, cleared the roadblocks that might have kept Fehn out.

"They didn't really want to take someone over 40," Fehn said. "But because there's such a shortage of Catholic priests in the military, they said they would grant me a waiver if I could pass the physical."

Fehn went on to serve in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. Meanwhile, the guard has made significant strides in adding chaplains to its ranks, though many units still struggle to recruit for a position seen as crucial to morale. About 200 positions are open in the Army National Guard and 45 in the Air National Guard.

"It makes it harder to provide religious support," said Chaplain Samuel J.T. Boone, commandant of the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School at Fort Jackson, S.C. "There are some people who we can't provide their religious rites and sacraments as we can back here in the states."

Chaplains serve as more than ministers for guardsmen in harm's way. They are confidants, counselors and arbitrators. In Iraq and Afghanistan, unit commanders have used chaplains to communicate with local leaders and clergy. Many chaplains are embedded with units and travel through war zones, putting them within arm's reach of soldiers.

The chaplain shortage contrasts with general Guard recruiting, which is at capacity. And clergy ranks in full-time military branches remain full.

The guard's shortfall stems primarily from a lack of Roman Catholic priests willing to volunteer. Catholic dioceses that face a national shortage of priests may find it difficult to replace chaplains — even for one weekend a month.

"The priest has those responsibilities on weekends, and two weeks of training," Fehn said. "That impacts the priest's ability to be with the congregation on weekends for weddings and funerals. And then that priest might be gone for deployment."