With the announcement last week that the Rev. Thomas Barry of Our Lady of Perpetual Help – St. Agnes parish, is leaving this week to begin training as a chaplain in the US Navy, many have questioned what the training and duties of a chaplain are and to whom chaplains of all faiths report.
Rear Admiral Gregory N. Todd
Rear Admiral Gregory N. Todd is the 28th Chief of Chaplains of the US Navy and as such is the commander for the chaplains of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Early Life
A native of Seattle, Washington, Admiral Todd earned his degree in theology and education at Concordia College in Portland, Oregon, and a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis Missouri. He was ordained a Lutheran minister in the Missouri Synod in 1988 then earned a degree as Doctor of Ministry in Christian Leadership in Charlotte, NC in 2009.
Navy & Marine Corps Reserve
Joining the chaplaincy corps of the Navy Reserves in 1986, as an ensign he provided ministry to the Marine Corps Reserve while continuing his service as pastor of civilian churches in Illinois. In 1994, he transferred to active duty and was Protestant chaplain at the Naval amphibious Base Coronado, Calif, later serving aboard the USS Chancellorsville.
Coast Guard & September 11th
Next named a Coast Guard chaplain, he served at Coast Guard Activities New York and was the first Navy chaplain to arrive at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 attacks, hosting a Coast Guard Chaplain Emergency Response team of 30 Navy chaplains working with the Coast Guard and ministering to civilians and emergency crew members. Connected with Ground Zero and One Police Plaza. He was also part of the response team at the crashes of Egypt Air Flight 990 and American Airlines Flight 587.
Operation Iraqi Freedom & Afghanistan
In 2002, the chaplain reported to the Second Force Service Support Group at Camp Lejeune, NC with the Marine Corps and was deployed to Kuwait as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Two years later, he deployed to Afghanistan with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit setting up a ministry in Oruzgan Province.
USS Kearsarge
In 2005 he became the officer in charge of Marine Corps Chaplains for three years before attending Senior Supervisory Chaplain Course and becoming command chaplain on the USS Kearsarge, a ship frequently docked at NWS Earle in Leonardo.
Reporting back to the Marine Corps again in 2010, Adm. Todd led transition and support ministries for sailors and Marines deploying as well and leading a chaplain program in Ramstein, Germany.
Rear Admiral
In 2014, he was assigned for the second time to the Coast Guard as Chaplain, and in 2022 was nominated to two-star rear admiral and appointed the Chief of Chaplains for the Navy.
In a televised interview this week for the Navy Memorial in Washington DC. Admiral Todd said one of his greatest challenges is meeting the need for more chaplains, with approximately 870 chaplains currently serving the 570,000 Coast Guard, Marine and Navy military members in active duty service.
He pointed out the chaplain’s duty in the military is to provide the spiritual readiness to compliment the physical and mental readiness required of all military members. That can be accomplished, he said, by providing education on a person’s purpose, value and sacrifice for the public good. He pointed out that a spiritual background makes a person “bigger than yourself” and said that transcendence has been active among warriors for centuries.
Goals
Admiral Todd said his goal is to secure another 30 chaplains to bring the number up to 900 to better serve the services.
He pointed out that Navy Chaplains are the voice of encouragement, reason and hopes for Sailors and Marines, giving support and uplifting the men and women who serve as well as providing spiritual assistance for their families.
Navy chaplains represent more than 100 different faith groups from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and more. All are commissioned as officers after successfully completing Officer Development School at Newport, R,I. and a seven-week course at the Naval Chaplaincy School and Center, also in Newport. Promotion opportunities are competitive and based on performance. The Navy provides a series of education opportunities throughout a chaplain’s career including credentials and other opportunities in related field including behavioral therapy and family counseling as civilians.
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