After a month of Chaplain Basic Training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC, I have a new appreciation for those who have answered the call to military service in the past and present.

While my training as an officer was not as strenuous as a newly enlisted soldier faces, the tasks I had to accomplish at 41 years old were still daunting. I had to step into a gas chamber with tear gas activated—and had a leak in my mask (user error). I crawled the length of a football field on my stomach under a barbed wire sandy beach while live ammunition shot over my head.

And the scariest: the Confidence Course—3 obstacles to complete at significant heights without safety ropes. Memorably, I had to scale a 35-40 foot ladder, pivot through the ladder at the top, then climb back down. As my friend, Roger, coached me: “take one step at a time, break it down and complete what’s in front of you.” It worked!   

It was the encouragement and camaraderie, like Roger, that I most appreciated. There were 83 students in attendance; many of them are staying for the entire summer to complete the 13 week course. I will complete the final 9 weeks next summer.

A lot of the students were prior service soldiers that discerned a call to ministry while enlisted. These peers helped me learn how to march, act, and adapt to the culture of the Army. By the end of the month, the firehose of information was starting to seep in.  

The pluralism present in our group included 10 women, 4 Catholic priests, 3 rabbis, two Mormons, and a Muslim imam. Standing next to my peers often felt like the punchline of a joke just waiting to happen. The rabbis invited any chaplains to participate in their Friday evening sabbath services and hosted a Seder meal for us to learn and ask questions.

Many of the conversations with other Christian chaplains inevitably led to theological disagreements. As you might imagine, there were an array of interpretations present with such a large variety of denominations represented.

Instead of dwelling on those differences, the instructors focused on our ability to meet the needs of soldiers. They pointed to the Army doctrine that articulated that each chaplain would abide by our religious tradition but serve the needs of a wide diversity of beliefs amongst our soldiers. Sometimes, that would require seeking other chaplains to help. We spent many classroom hours (many hours) reviewing doctrine. We called it death by powerpoint, but the learning was important.  

Before deciding to join the National Guard, another chaplain’s recruiting pitch was to tell me the need for unrestricted chaplains who could minister with LGBTQ soldiers. That stuck with me, but was rarely mentioned during my training.

However, in my last few days at Fort Jackson, I went shopping at the Post Exchange and saw a sign with the colors of the rainbow and the words “pride in all who serve” to honor June as pride month.

The army is changing and adapting. As a member of the chaplain corps, meeting the needs of a more diverse body of soldiers will require us to adapt too. I’m grateful to be part of it.    

 Pastor John Klawiter is the senior pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Forest Lake. For more information, email him at