REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Retired Chaplain (Col.) Scott Carson, Army Materiel Command Chaplain, first heard the call as a junior at Mission High School in Texas. Despite having no personal ties to the military -- nobody in his family had served -- Carson unequivocally knew he wanted to be a U.S. Army chaplain.

"I grew up playing 'Army' and watched the war movies and shows on TV. In high school, I became a Christian, but the thought of becoming a military chaplain, which is what I wanted to do in my heart, seemed almost insurmountable," Carson said.

Those requirements: obtain a Master of Divinity, serve two years as a senior pastor and be endorsed by a denomination, seemed out of reach. So Carson and his high school sweetheart, Linda Alvarado, eventually married and moved to Florida, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies from Tampa Bay Bible College.

Freshly ordained, Carson checked the Army chaplain rules again and found they had not changed.

"We were really burned out from working full-time and going to school, so I accepted a position as an assistant pastor of a small church in East Texas for a year," Carson said.

The couple jokingly refers to that time as "40 years in the wilderness," but said they powered through because they thought it was the right path. The Carsons went on to live in Florida five years and were heavily involved in ministries along the way.

Still, Carson couldn't forget his original desire of becoming an Army chaplain, so the pair sat down one night to discuss their future.

"I wanted to serve where the Lord wanted me to, and being a chaplain was on my mind constantly. The calling was quite intense. You should never test the Lord, but I said I would do it if he could make five criteria happen," Carson said.

The first was obtaining some sort of higher education scholarship. Carson called his father, Prescott (Bud), a couple days later and mentioned he was interested in returning to school. The elder Carson, knowing nothing of his son's five conditions, immediately said, "I'll pay for it!"

The next step was finding an educational institution, so Carson then took a trip to the local library, a one-room building with just a few stacks and a card catalog. He tentatively asked the librarian if she had any books about seminaries, expecting to be turned away. To his surprise, she responded, "We just got one yesterday. It's still in the wrapper!"

Not believing his luck, Carson flipped through the guide and called the Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary. He and Linda arrived in Jacksonville, Texas, for an interview, but to their dismay, the seminary did not meet the third criterion: accreditation.

While touting the attributes of the school, the counselor mentioned, "We're actually in the process of becoming fully accredited, and if you may enroll in the summer course in two weeks. But after that, we can't accept you."

Carson then asked if it were in any way feasible to finish his master's degree in two years, instead of the typical three. Sure, the response was, "We'll work with you, as you've already taken several of the requisite courses. You can just swap those for electives, and even if you're the only student who requires those credits, we'll have a class."

Carson thought to himself, "Well that's three off the list. But how do I get a job as a pastor? That will take years." Out loud, he asked if there were any local churches in need of clergy.

"Oh sure. The endorsing agent is actually here on staff. Just put your name on the preaching roster. We can't guarantee anything, but you'll probably be hired within the year."

The last requirement was to obtain endorsement by a denomination, and Carson said the Baptist Missionary Association of America "welcomed us with open arms."

Carson had met all five criteria in just a few days. He went on to finish his master's degree in the two years he'd set for himself, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade point average while simultaneously pastoring a church. It wasn't all easy, though.

"I doubled up on a lot of the requirements, so that's how I did it, and rather quickly. There was a lot of work involved, but it was blessing," he said.

Carson earned his active duty commission as an Army chaplain in June 1986, and the Carsons jumped into the military life, moving from duty location to duty location, including Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where daughter Melissa Ann was born, and to Neu Ulm, Germany, where they welcomed son David Prescott.

Carson deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, was awarded the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars and the Combat Action Badge, and earned the Master Parachutist and German Parachutists Badges. Other assignments included stints in Korea, Belgium, Italy, Washington, D.C., and finally, Redstone Arsenal, where he served as AMC's command chaplain nearly four years. He retired April 4 in a ceremony officiated by AMC Commander Gen. Dennis L. Via.

"What kept me going was a sincere understanding that this has been God's path for me and for my family," Carson said. It's a divine calling to serve God and country, and I would not change any of minute of my Army career. I would stay more years if they'd let me."