South Carolina National Guard
By SGT Brad Mincey,
For more than 240 years, the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps has attended to the faith and spiritual needs of American Soldiers and their Families.
Chaplains fulfill a multitude of duties: advise leaders and commanders on Soldiers’ issues and morale, ensure Soldiers’ religious rights are upheld, perform religious activities, and provide support for Soldiers and their Families. Chaplains provide services for nearly 140 religions, as well as support for the nonreligious.
Unlike other leaders, chaplains can speak about religion to Soldiers. “When you have Soldiers performing the missions they do, we can fill the faith piece. We can bolster, support and lift up Soldiers and their Families,” said LTC Roy Butler, South Carolina National Guard Joint Force Headquarters Senior Chaplain.
“I love being in the field and being with the Soldiers,” said LTC Butler, who has been a chaplain in the South Carolina National Guard for nearly 20 years.
“During deployments, we are combat multipliers. We monitor the morale of the unit and provide support and counseling for the Soldiers while they are away from their friends, Families and churches.”
Additionally, chaplains play an integral role in supporting the units, providing counseling and keeping up the morale during any difficult times.
During LTC Butler’s deployment to Afghanistan in 2007, the National Guard lost several Soldiers, and one of his most difficult jobs was helping Soldiers deal with the pain and grief of losing their friends and comrades in arms.
“We lost seven Soldiers in our command and others throughout parts of the country,” said LTC Butler. “The chaplain’s role in that situation is to work with the unit, the command and the service members who worked with those Soldiers. I’ve seen holy things happen in a C-130 and C-17 [aircraft] when they set the casket down. That is a powerful moment for many people.”
Another South Carolina National Guard chaplain who serves is Chaplain (MAJ) Brandon Candee, with the 1-151st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion. He became a chaplain candidate in 2010 and chaplain in 2014 and is scheduled to deploy for Operation Resolute Support along with his unit.
“I love Soldiers and I love God, so what better way to put those together than to be a chaplain,” said MAJ Candee.
“In the few months we’ve been preparing for this deployment, I’ve been able to walk several Soldiers through very difficult times. It is an awesome responsibility, but an awesome gift that I receive from them, as well.”
The Army Chaplain Corps was officially established on July 29, 1775, as part of the Continental Army and will celebrate its 242nd birthday this year. The U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School is at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and serves as the U.S. Army Chief of Chaplain’s institutional training base for Army chaplains and chaplain assistants.
