FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Trust, leaders, team and legacy are key themes Army chaplains echo as they provide religious support to America's Soldiers and assist commanders in ensuring the right of free exercise of religion for all Soldiers.
With those themes as a backdrop, the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Chaplain Strategic Operational Readiness and Training Assessment Forum took place Aug. 10-13, 2014, at the command's Marshall Hall headquarters complex at Fort Bragg, N.C.
More than 70 chaplains and chaplain assistants from across the Army gathered to discuss the training and readiness of unit ministry teams and programs that support Soldiers and Army Families, and to develop supporting strategies for the next fiscal year.
During the four-day forum, attendees discussed the strategic and operational environment, current challenges and critical thinking skills needed to improve readiness and training of unit ministry teams - critical to the command chaplain's role in the overall FORSCOM mission of preparing conventional forces to provide a sustained flow of trained and ready land power to Combatant Commanders in defense of the Nation at home and abroad.
As a special highlight of the gathering, the annual induction of qualifying chaplain team leaders into the Order of Titus occurred when Chaplain (Brig. Gen.) Ray Bailey, the Army's deputy chief of chaplains, bestowed the Order's medal on Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Barton Herndon, regimental chaplain, 11th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Irwin, Calif., and Chaplain (Maj.) Maurice Millican, brigade chaplain, 120th Infantry Brigade, 1st Army Division West, Fort Hood, Texas.
The Order of Titus, with more than 170 members, is named for Medal of Honor Recipient Cpl. Calvin P. Titus, a chaplain's assistant with the 14th Infantry Regiment, who later rose to the rank of Lt. Col., was recognized for his bravery during the Boxer Rebellion in Peking, China, on Aug. 14, 1900, where he volunteered to scale the city's outer wall under fire and lead the way for his fellow Soldiers to follow.
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