2nd BCT chaplain assistant thrives in 'humble profession'

By Megan Locke Simpson, Fort Campbell CourierDecember 19, 2014

2nd BCT chaplain assistant thrives in 'humble profession'
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Staff Sgt. Daniel Clark could have stayed in six-figure job, contracting for the Department of Defense as a community-based recruiter.

"I recruited. I trained those Soldiers how to recruit," he said. "I had never been in the military ... I felt some kind of way about it."

With this in mind, Clark answered the nation's call to service at age 32. Despite already having a degree in agribusiness, Clark enlisted as a chaplain assistant.

"There's only one job I ever wanted to have in the military, and that was to be a chaplain assistant," Clark said. "I don't think I would have come in as anything else."

The Soldier signed up nearly 10 years ago, and he has not looked back since. He first came to Fort Campbell in 2012 to become the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, chaplain assistant. Currently, he also serves in the brigade-level position.

The Army's chaplain assistant was created 105 years ago -- long before the world knew buzzwords such as Ebola, sequestration and post-traumatic stress disorder. While the challenges of the modern-day military are much different that the early 1900s, Clark's job remains much the same as when it was established, Dec. 28, 1909, by General Order No. 253 -- "One enlisted man will be detailed on special duty, by the commanding officer of any organization to which a chaplain is assigned for duty, for the purpose of assisting the chaplain in the performance of his official duties."

"It's a humble profession … to really promote and care for Soldiers as they do what they do," Clark said.

He compares the chaplain-chaplain assistant relationship that he now shares with 2nd BCT Chap. (Maj.) Kyle Taylor to the Biblical relationship between Old Testament figures Moses and Joshua.

"Moses was the prophet ... and Joshua at one time he was a warrior. He was an armor bearer," Clark said. "His job was to protect Moses. But at the same time, there came a point that Joshua had to be a mouthpiece as well. That's probably the closest thing you can get to a chaplain and chaplain assistant."

When people ask about the job of a chaplain assistant, which ranges from protecting the unarmed chaplain in combat zones to organizing religious activities and counseling Soldiers, Clark provides another analogy befitting an agribusiness graduate. He spoke of a certain farmer's favorite animal -- a goat -- that one day fell into a well. The farmer tried everything to get the goat out of the well, but had no success. Then, the farmer decided to bury the goat in the well, Clark said.

"He began to throw dirt into the well, over and over again," Clark said. "Guess what the goat did? He shook off his back and he paddled his feet and he kept doing that. And eventually, he was able to walk [out of] that well."

This story is the best way to describe how the Unit Ministry Team as a whole helps Soldiers with the different issues they face, Clark explained.

"As part of a unit ministry team … we help Soldiers to shake stuff off their back and paddle their feet," he said.

As a noncommissioned officer, Clark said he enjoys helping other enlisted Soldiers, whether it is discussing something as critical as suicidal thoughts or more run-of-the-mill financial concerns. As a chaplain assistant, he gets calls at all hours of the day from Soldiers who need help.

"… It might be molehill to us but, it's a mountain to them," Clark said. "When they come to you, that's the way you have to look at it. You have to look at it with a sense of urgency that their whole world is crumbling around them."

Clark's duties throughout his career have included garrison responsibilities -- such as faciliting suicide prevention training and Strong Bonds marriage retreats -- to serving as the noncommissioned officer in charge during a deployment to Afghanistan with 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, based out of San Antonio.

"… My Master Sergeant got hurt while I was downrange," he recalled. "I was the [Operations] NCO as a chaplain assistant, so I had to do my job and do his job. The next thing you know, I am doing his job full-time -- two grades above my grade. That was pretty challenging. But I did it, and I did it quite well."

The chaplain assistant is planning to transition out of the Army next year. Until that time, he is focused on combating one of biggest challenges he sees affecting Soldiers -- loneliness. As a geographical bachelor with Family in Chicago, Clark has seen firsthand that Soldiers "can be around you all day long and they still feel a sense of loneliness." Some 60 percent of the Soldiers Clark interacts the most with are junior enlisted, who often juggle stressful careers and growing Families just years after graduating high school.

"If a Soldier comes in, brand new to the unit, really hasn't built any rapport or [isn't] developing any rapport with anybody, they will feel a sense of loneliness," he said. "As leaders, we can't let that happen. We do our very best to integrate these Soldiers when they come in and let them know they're a part of the team and they're very valuable to the team."

Editor's note: This story is the eighth -- and final -- in a series on chaplain assistants at Fort Campbell leading up to the 105th anniversary of the Army position at the end of this month.

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