VIEW ORIGINAL
FORT JACKSON, S.C. — Zambia Army Chaplain (Capt.) Peggy Kopakopa completed the U.S. Army Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Jackson, S.C., graduating with Class 22-003 on Dec. 15, 2022.
Chaplain Kopakopa was selected among her peers to attend the 12-week, intensive initial military training process for new U.S. Army chaplains. The training and special activities during this course provide unique opportunities for professional, physical, academic, and spiritual growth.
CHBOLC Graduates have demonstrated the core competencies of nurturing the living, caring for the wounded, and honoring the fallen, while advising commanders and providing religious support to the Army family.
During an office call with Chaplain (Brig. Gen.) William Green, the Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, Kopakopa said that one of the highlights at CHBOLC was spending time with her classmates and seeing people from totally different backgrounds and diverse religions. “Coming from a country that is predominantly a Christian nation, knowledge of other religions was very minimal for me,” she said. “Now I know how to take care of my personnel who are from other religions, like how do I take care of a Muslim soldier? If I can’t perform it, I need to provide it.”
“That's the strength about chaplaincy – that we care for everybody,” Chaplain Green responded, and then he referenced the story of the four chaplains on the USAT Dorchester, during World War II, who gave away their life jackets to save other soldiers. “They weren’t looking for their particular faith group to give their life jackets to. They saw another person. They honored the life of that person and gave their jacket away, and made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Green had previously presented Kopakopa with his challenge coin to “show our solidarity in our partnership, as a team, and to let you know that we are excited that you're here to partake in our CHBOLC course.”
As a former infantry officer for eight years, Kopakopa said she knew how to operate in the Zambia Army, but as a chaplain, she wondered, “How do I operate? How do I integrate the biblical knowledge or the theology into the military? That was a bit of a challenge for me.”
Kopakopa reflected on a time that she preached on battle procedure and referred to Ephesians 2:10 to define it to infantry soldiers:
“The Bible says that we are God's workmanship, created for his good work. It's like the commander's intent, the commander's mission. As an infantry soldier, when you're going into battle, you don't just do what you want. Everything you do is in line with the commander's intent. When God created us, there was already a mission that he had for us. When we live out our mission, we are simply obeying the will of God. In our creed, it says, ‘I am the Zambia soldier. I serve in the Lord's army, and the Zambia Army.’ The same way that you're able to carry out and obey battle procedure in the Zambia Army, the Lord's army commands you to do the same.”
Kopakopa said that the Zambia Army does not currently provide chaplains with a uniformed standard of knowledge. “If you ask an infantry officer what battle procedure is, they’ll give you the same definition, letter for letter,” she said. “But if you ask one Christian chaplain from one unit to explain their duties, and one from another unit, they'll give you two different things.”
She added, “CHBOLC has that uniform body of knowledge whereby a chaplain is taught what is expected of them in the unit, as a staff officer, what is expected of them when it comes to ministry, and most importantly, what is expected of them in active combat.”
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Ben Clark, the operations chaplain for the Southern European Task Force Africa, attended the CHBOLC graduation and presented Kopakopa with an AFRICOM chaplain’s coin.
“One of AFRICOM/SETAF’s goals in Africa going back several years has been to attempt to establish regional chaplain training centers in Africa and to use U.S. Army chaplain doctrine and training practices as an example.” Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Ben Clark
Chaplain Clark explained how KopaKopa’s graduation from CHBOLC fits into the SETAF-AF religious support mission and the important partnership with Zambia and other allies:
- It creates a long-term relationship between a member of the Zambian Defense Force (ZDF) and the U.S. Army Institute for Religious Leadership (IRL) that can be leveraged for future engagements.
- Graduates of the U.S. Army IRL are key strategic assets for working to build regional training centers. Chaplain Kopakopa may, in the future, serve as a cadre member for a southern African regional training center.
- Past U.S. Army IRL graduates of our African partners have gone on to positions of senior leadership in their respective militaries.
SETAF-AF coordinates U.S. Army activities in Africa in support of U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
Social Sharing