FORT SILL, Okla. (Aug. 7, 2014) -- The Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill celebrated the 239th anniversary of the Army Chaplain Corps with a dinner July 29 at the Patriot Club.
Post leaders, chaplains and chaplain's assistants from the 33 unit ministry teams here, fellow Soldiers, family and friends attended the two-hour program. It featured a cutting of the birthday cake, a detailed telling of the Army Chaplain Corps history, entertainment, toasts and prayers.
The guest speaker was Chaplain (Col.) Thomas Solhjem, command chaplain for Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., who said it was a special day.
"It's wonderful when you consider the contributions over our nation's history that chaplains and now chaplain's assistants have made," said
Solhjem, who enlisted in the Army in 1974, and was commissioned as an Army chaplain in 1988.
Solhjem said although there are many differences from today's Army and the one of the mid-1970s, there are also distinct similarities:
"We are coming out of a protracted conflict, we are in a fiscally constrained environment, we are dealing with generational challenges, i.e., suicide, and societal issues like SHARP (Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention)," said Solhjem.
There is also a changing of the guard, he said.
"There is a whole new generation who are technologically savvy, and bring a whole different skill set to the Army," said the chaplain, a former combat engineer.
During the festivities, Soljhem, the senior chaplain, and Pvt. Peter Bottenberg, Fort Sill Garrison Religious Support Office, the most-junior chaplain's assistant, cut the birthday cake.
Newly arrived Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Gary Bragg, Fort Sill Garrison deputy chaplain, shared the master of ceremony duties with Chaplain. (Maj.) Douglas Lax. Bragg said it is an honor to serve Soldiers under any circumstances.
"A lot of times the things the chaplain corps does for the Army is not often seen, but it does make a big difference" said Bragg, who was an enlisted air defense artilleryman. "Commanders have commented to me about the times they don't have a chaplain the loss is noticed."
Spc. Carlos Hernandes, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery, was one of the many chaplain's assistants at the ceremony. He said his desire to help Soldiers drew him to the 56M military occupational speciality.
"I assist the chaplain and the commander on any religious needs, and make sure that the Soldier is able to exercise his [or her] religious belief," he said.
Fort Sill Garrison Chaplain (Col.) Matthew Pawlikowski said it was his love of country, of Soldiers and of being a priest that drew him to the Army Chaplain Corps.
What does it take to be an Army chaplain?
In addition to meeting Army entrance requirements, "you have to want to serve Soldiers, you have to be able to operate in an interfaith environment where you get to be the kind of religious person you are, but you also understand that your staff duty is to provide for the free exercise of (worship of) every single Soldier in the unit," said Pawlikowski, who was a former infantry officer. "You don't have to be their religion, you just have to support their freedom to worship in their belief." This could include hundreds of religions.
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