FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- "Chaplain assistants provide much-needed support to the chaplains during missions and everyday activities. A chaplain assistant's primary purpose is support for the unit ministry team programs and worship services," according to goarmy.com.
While the MOS is concise, it was enough to capture the interest of Sgt. 1st Class Meaghan Davis, Fort Campbell Garrison Chaplain Assistant, when she first joined the Army 12 years ago. The job seemed ideal -- a position in the Army which would allow her to combine her passion for ministry with her goal of becoming a Soldier. She soon learned that the generalized MOS covered only a small part of what her job would entail. As the rest of the picture came into focus, Davis realized she had found her calling -- and it is a road on which she plans to continue.
"Before I went into the Army, I did ministry," said Davis. "I knew I wanted to be in the military, so what better way to couple it? The recruiter mentioned chaplain assistant positions, and it appealed to me right away. I know that this was going to be the perfect fit for me -- to do what I wanted to do in the military and also to serve God."
Determined to get into the Army as a chaplain assistant, Davis postponed signing up for roughly five months until the position and training were available. As a private, she set up religious services for the chaplain she assisted in Hawaii -- her first duty station.
"Of course, just like with any job, the longer you do it, you get a higher knowledge," she said.
Davis left Hawaii in 2006, relocating to Fort Campbell and serving as a chaplain assistant with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. It was with Strike that she embarked on her first deployment.
"That's why the 101st is near and dear to my heart -- because it's the unit I deployed with," she said.
Davis soon discovered the vast difference between working within the chaplain corps downrange and doing it at home.
"Chaplains do like it when they can get their boots dirty," she said. "You're really with the Soldiers, and you're really doing the Soldier mission when you're out there. When you're in garrison it's completely different; you're catering not only to Soldiers, but to Family members and retirees and DoD civilians."
Through advanced leader courses, Davis was able to expand her base of knowledge within the chaplain corps. Though not a requirement of the position, she went to college and attained a bachelor's degree in religious studies. Her hard work moved up through the ranks -- when she was promoted to sergeant first class, she came back to Fort Campbell to fill the position of Garrison Chaplain's Assistant -- a job she has held for the past two years.
"On this level, I'm responsible for the entire post's religious support," said Davis. "We manage 10 different facilities here and facilitate all of the worship services here on Fort Campbell."
Davis says one of the best parts of her job has been working with Installation Chaplain Col. Jeffrey Houston, who will soon retire after 25 years of service.
"I was a private and he was a major when we first met in Hawaii," she said. "Everywhere we've gone, we've crossed paths -- so he's actually been to every one of my promotions."
When she came up for a promotion to staff sergeant while downrange, she asked that Houston -- coincidentally at the same area of operations -- to be the one to officially promote her.
"The chaplain corps is small, so paths cross," she said. "He is actually a great mentor. He and his wife are like Family now."
With Houston's retirement ceremony scheduled to take place next week, Davis admits that it will be hard seeing him go.
"He started so many great things here and went out with a bang," she said. "He really focused on his ministry and he gave it all he could."
There is not much time to lament. In January, Davis will be reporting to a new duty station in Belgium with her daughter and her new husband. While she is excited about the new chapter beginning in her life, the joy is bittersweet.
"The hardest thing will be saying goodbye to my Soldiers," said Davis. "I jokingly say they're all my kids -- but as an NCO, I take my job very seriously. I put their needs above my own."
Looking back on her years of service, Davis says there's not much of anything she would change if given the opportunity -- down to the decision to remain an assistant and working on the enlisted side of the house.
"We're kind of the connection between the chaplains and the Soldiers," she said. "We put our ears to the ground, and we can go places that the chaplain can't go sometimes because we blend in. We make sure the chaplain gets integrated -- we help get the chaplains and Soldiers together."
As a chaplain assistant, Davis feels she is right where she is supposed to be.
"I love exactly what I do -- supporting these great chaplains across the Army," she said. "I've never had a bad assignment. I go into every one saying this is what God is calling me to do. Some days may have felt longer than others … but I really, truly couldn't picture myself doing anything else besides what I do every day."
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