FORT KNOX, Ky. - Being a Chaplain's Assistant wasn't the job Spc. Kimberly Latimer-Ellison really wanted when she enlisted in the Army over two years ago. She really wanted to be a Supply Clerk.
Latimer-Ellison, chaplain assistant for the U.S. Army 3rd Brigade Headquarters at Fort Knox said, "When I initially came into the Army they didn't have the MOS that I really wanted, but they came back and offered me a chaplain assistant position. I didn't know what a chaplain's assistant did and called my mom, who served in the Army some years ago, and she told me to go for it."
"I went in not knowing exactly what to expect, but I'm so glad I did," said Latimer-Ellison.
The military occupational specialty (MOS) identified chaplain assistants as 56M, began in 1909 when the Chief of Staff of the Army authorized that each chaplain have one enlisted Soldier assigned to him as an aide. Since then, armed and unordained chaplain assistants have been filling that role, to now include physical security for the chaplain in combat areas, since military chaplains are restricted from bearing arms.
After successfully completing basic training, Latimer-Ellison went to Fort Jackson for seven weeks of Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at the United States Army Chaplain Center and School (USACHCS).
Her first duty assignment was Fort Riley and deployed three months later to Kuwait and Iraq. She learned being a chaplain's assistant encompassed being a supply, logistical and administrative clerk, along with the most important part of her job - protecting the chaplain.
"I developed great organizational skills, but I also learned about taking care of the Soldier. Not just helping the Soldier, but supporting him as well, even if his religious belief is different from your own," said Latimer-Ellison.
She continues, "But my main duty is to protect the chaplain. You (chaplain assistants) are responsible for his life and the Soldiers in the unit to which you are assigned. In a combat situation, there is no team -- no tactical team to call upon - it's just you and the chaplain."
The chaplain assistant is the only combatant in the Unit Ministry Team and the only Soldiers in the Army that have the requirement of protecting someone that's unarmed.
"While deployed in Kuwait, there were no instances in which the chaplain was ever in danger, but in Iraq, while I never had to draw my weapon, I always did security checks and had my weapon at all times when escorting the chaplain."
Latimer-Ellison went on to explain that chaplain assistants are the liaisons between the chaplain and the Soldier's chain of command. Chaplain assistants are not officers, and Soldiers see them as someone they can confine in. Unless the Soldier wants their issues or concerns passed on to the chaplain, or if there are signs or talk of suicide, conversations are strictly confidential.
"Part of our job is to pre-counsel the Soldier and if we can't help him, we direct him to the appropriate subject matter experts such as the chaplain, the Army psychologist, the combat stress team or even put him in touch on the phone with a counselor."
"We don't counsel, but we make ourselves available and learn to become good listeners," said Latimer-Ellison. "We cannot do any religious ceremonies to include preaching, marriages and burials -- that's the chaplain's job."
After her overseas tour, Latimer-Ellison returned to Fort Riley, 1st Sustainment Brigade, Special Troops Battalion where she met her husband. They were married in January of 2012, and both were later assigned to Fort Knox.
Latimer-Ellison says she does not have the calling to go further in the Army Chaplaincy program. She hopes eventually to move into the Army Band program.
Her background and education is music. She plays the flute, piano, saxophone and vocals. While deployed, she was the lead singer for the Unit Ministry Team's music section as lead singer.
To keep up with her music, Latimer-Ellison has sung at post events to include singing at USAREC's Prayer Breakfast, and as part of the opening ceremony for the Women's Equality Day Observance held at the Patton Museum, she sang the National Anthem and the song "Hero."
"I'm glad to have had this experience. I have grown in my spiritual belief even stronger and hope I have made a difference."
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