United States military chaplains hold positions in the armed forces of the United States and are charged with conducting religious services and providing counseling for their adherents. , there are about 3,000 chaplains in the United States Armed Forces among the active duty, reserve, and National Guard components.
Organization Within the United States Department of Defense, the Armed Forces Chaplains Board (AFCB) advises the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on religious, ethical, and moral matters, as well as policy issues affecting religious ministry and the free exercise of religion within the military services.Department of Defense, Personnel and Readiness: "Armed Forces Chaplains Board Mission , accessed March 5, 2012 The three Chiefs of Chaplains and three active-duty Deputy Chiefs of Chaplains of the Army, Navy, and Air Force are its members.Defense Technical Information Center: "DOD Instruction 5120.08," August 20, 2007, accessed March 5, 2012
A military chaplain must be endorsed by a religious organization in order to serve on active duty. In the contemporary U.S. military, endorsement is a complex area and many different paths are available. This religious endorsement must be maintained throughout the chaplain's military service and can be withdrawn at any time for religious or disciplinary reasons by the religious body with which the chaplain is affiliated,Army Chaplain Corps: Requirements webpage. GoArmy.com. Retrieved 2010-09-09.Air Force Chaplain Corps official website. Retrieved 2010-09-09. though provisions exist for exceptional cases.If a chaplain notifies his or her endorsing agent in writing of intent to seek endorsement in a different faith group, the code of ethics of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces (NCMAF)—the principal organization of endorsing agents—requires the chaplain's current endorser to continue endorsement until the chaplain is able to meet requirements for endorsement by the second faith group unless there is a moral charge against the chaplain that would otherwise have resulted in revocation of endorsement. See NCMAF Code of Ethics. Retrieved 2011-09-06. NCMAF Procedures for Change of Religious Body (Denomination) Endorsement. Retrieved 2011-09-06. A military chaplain's rank is based on years of service and promotion selection from the appropriate peer group. Each is identified in uniform both by rank and religious affiliation insignia that indicate as well the branch of service. Chaplains should be referred to as "chaplain" and not captain or major and in written documents that rank would be written as CH (Capt.) for example.
History
Chaplains have served in the various branches of the United States armed forces since their formation. On 28 October 1778, Rev. Benjamin Balch reported to the frigate USS Boston as the first chaplain of the Continental Navy. He served on the ship until it was captured by the British in 1780. Congress authorized the hiring of an army chaplain in 1791. Reverend John Hurt of Virginia (who had served as Chaplain of the 6th Virginia Regiment during the American Revolution) was appointed to the position of Chaplain of the Continental Army on 4 March 1791, and became the first officially recognized United States military chaplain. He served until his resignation of 30 April 1794. He was succeeded by Reverend David Jones of Pennsylvania who was also a veteran of service with the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Jones served until he was discharged on 15 June 1800. He later served as a chaplain during the War of 1812.Kenneth Lasson, "Religious Liberty in the Military: The First Amendment under 'Friendly Fire'", Journal of Law and Religion, vol. 9, no. 2 (1992), 471–99, 493Register of Officers of the Continental Army. Francis B. Heitman. pg. 311. Prior to 1846, only Protestants were allowed to be chaplains in the US Army or US Navy. In the Mexican-American War, a large number of Irish and German Catholic immigrants fought in the Army and President James Polk worked with New York Archbishop John Hughes to institute Catholic chaplains - the first were two Jesuits John McElroy and Anthony Rey. Until 1862, only Christians were allowed to be chaplains in the US Army. After a lobbying campaign, the law was changed and President Lincoln appointed Rabbi Jacob Frankel of Philadelphia as the first Jewish chaplain on 18 September 1862. The first female chaplain in the United States military was Ella Elvira Gibson, she served in the American Civil War but she was not paid until 1876, and not recognized as a chaplain until 2001, when she was also posthumously given the rank of captain. The US Navy did not have Jewish chaplains until Rabbi David Goldberg was commissioned in 1917.Chaplains generally wore no insignia of rank, but were treated as captains in the army or lieutenants in the navy. Navy chaplains began wearing navy uniforms with rank insignia in 1876. Army chaplains originally wore only a silver shepherds crook and in 1917 a silver cross as their insignia of branch. Beginning in 1914, chaplains were allowed to wear the insignia of grade starting as a first lieutenant in the army, but in 1918 the uniform orders removed the grade insignia - but some chaplains continued to wear it anyway. The insignia returned in 1926 and was worn until 2026. On 23 June 2026 the Secretary of the Army issued new directives for chaplains stating that they will no longer wear their rank insignia on the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) but instead wear their branch insignia, now on the collars. Army chaplains will continue to wear rank insignia on the Army Green Service Uniform or the Army Service Uniform as well as mess dress. On 24 March 2026, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that all military chaplains would no longer wear insignia of grade and that it would be replaced by the insignia of their religious affiliation. They would continue to be treated as officers and retain an officer's rank. The United States Navy would be the first service to put the secretary's order into regulations on 9 June 2026. Navy (which also provides chaplains to the Coast Guard and Marine Corps) chaplains will not wear rank insignia on Navy working uniforms, coveralls, flight suites and 2-piece organizational uniforms including all covers (hats). Chaplains will only wear their insignia of branch (denomination) in these uniforms. Navy chaplains will continue to wear rank insignia in dress or service uniforms.
General Carl Spaatz, the first Air Force Chief of Staff, ordered the institution of a separate Air Force chaplaincy on May 10, 1949. The U.S. Space Force does not have their own chaplaincy and depends on the U.S. Air Force for chaplains. On June 15, 2026, the Air Force issued a memorandum of guidance for chaplain uniform reform stating that chaplains will remove insignia of rank and replace it with the chaplain insignia on all Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) uniforms and patrol caps. It further stated that this will not alter customs and courtesies.
The U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard do not have their own chaplaincies, but are served by the Navy Chaplain Corps.United States Navy, https://www.navy.com/careers/chaplain-support/chaplain.html
Controversies
Expanding role of military chaplains In 1999, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, a U.S. Navy chaplain, proposed widening the chaplain's role to include that of engagement with local religious leaders in conflict zones to improve the military's understanding of local religious issues and include chaplains in the conflict prevention and reconciliation processes. This outreach is part of the duties listed for chaplains in Joint Publication 1-05 on chaplain operations.
Constitutionality
Two Harvard law students brought a suit in 1979 arguing that military chaplains should be replaced with non-combat volunteers or contractors. In Katcoff v. Marsh (1985), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the suit and upheld the right of the military to employ chaplains. According to one analysis of the case, the court analysis described the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause and Establishment Clause as separate issues. It noted that only the wealthiest religious sects could provide chaplains for their adherents, effectively denying to other military personnel the "free exercise" of their religion.University of Toledo Law Review: Richard D. Rosen, "Katcoff v. Marsh at Twenty-One: The Military Chaplaincy and the Separation of Church and State", 1144–45, retrieved 2010-09-09 The court also established guidelines for the military's chaplaincy programs, emphasizing the constitutional boundaries governing the program's administration and operations, including accommodating the rights and beliefs of each service member, and the avoidance of evangelizing and involuntary participation in religious observances.Rosen, 1178
Outside of the court system, some legal scholars and religious groups feel that they can not serve their worshipers inside the military system and that the courts misinterpreted the establishment clause.Julie B. Kaplan, "Military Mirrors on the Wall: Nonestablishment and the Military Chaplaincy," Yale Law Journal, vol. 95, no. 6 (May 1986), 1210–36, esp. 1212–19, 1227–32
Restrictions on religious observance or expression A 14 September 2006, court-martial resulted in a reprimand and fine for U.S. Navy Chaplain Lieutenant Gordon Klingenschmitt, a Protestant, who participated in uniform at a March 2006 protest in front of the White House, though he had been given a direct order not to wear his uniform. The protest was in support of his and other chaplains' complaint that the military restricted the free exercise of their religion by allowing only non-sectarian prayers at public ceremonies.
Denominational favoritism In August 2002, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted class action status to a lawsuit on the part of 17 evangelical Protestant chaplains who challenged the Navy's chaplain-selection criteria. They argued that the Navy adhered to a promotion formula that underrepresented "non-liturgical" Protestant chaplains by allotting positions in three equal parts—liturgical Protestant denominations such as Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians; Catholics; and non-liturgical Protestant denominations such as Baptists, evangelicals, Bible churches, Pentecostals, charismatics, and other faiths—although non-liturgical Protestants constitute far more than one-third of the Navy's service members.
In April 2007, the court held in Larsen v. United States Navy that the Navy had abandoned the thirds policy and that its current criteria were constitutional because the Navy has broad discretion to determine how to accommodate the religious needs of its service members. This decision was affirmed in 2013 by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches v. United States Navy that the chaplains did not prove harm.