A U.S. Navy Chaplain is a commissioned Navy officer and professional religious ministry leader who provides religious ministry, pastoral care, spiritual support, and leadership advice to Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, their families, and other authorized personnel. Navy Chaplains serve in a wide range of environments, including ships, shore installations, Marine units, training commands, military medical facilities, and deployed or operational settings.

The Navy Chaplain Corps' overarching mission is to build the spiritual readiness of warfighters and their families for the rigors of military service. Chaplains provide ministry in cooperation with Religious Program Specialists, military and civilian personnel, volunteers, and other members of the Religious Ministry Team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Navy Chaplains may be responsible for:

• Conducting worship services, religious education, prayers, and religious rites consistent with their faith tradition.
• Providing confidential pastoral counseling, spiritual care, crisis intervention, grief and bereavement support, and family ministry.
• Visiting hospitalized service members and family members and providing spiritual care in military medical settings.
• Supporting personnel during deployments, exercises, emergencies, casualties, and other demanding operational circumstances.
• Facilitating religious support for personnel of faith traditions other than the chaplain's own.
• Advising commanders and other leaders concerning religious accommodation, morale, ethical issues, spiritual well-being, and the religious needs of personnel.
• Supporting the free exercise of religion within the military environment.
• Working as part of a Religious Ministry Team with Religious Program Specialists, military and civilian personnel, and volunteers.
• Performing ministry in environments that may include ships, aircraft carriers, Marine units, military hospitals, and deployed or austere locations.

Navy Medicine specifically identifies chaplains as members of medical teams who provide spiritual care during crises and in operational medical environments, including hospital ships and expeditionary medical units.

Educational Requirements

Applicants must generally:

• Hold a bachelor's degree from a qualifying four-year undergraduate institution.
• Hold a graduate degree in theological or related studies from an accredited institution.
• Complete a qualifying graduate program consisting of at least 72 semester hours or 108 quarter hours of graduate-level study.
• Meet the Navy's requirements for a fully qualified Religious Ministry Professional (RMP).
• Obtain an ecclesiastical endorsement from a Department of Defense-authorized religious endorsing organization.

Required Ministry Experience

Applicants must have at least two years of full-time religious leadership experience after completing the required educational requirements. The experience must provide a broad range of ministry as a Religious Ministry Professional within the applicant's endorsing religious organization.

Relevant experience may include pastoral leadership, preaching or worship leadership, religious education, counseling, congregational ministry, pastoral visitation, crisis ministry, and other professional religious-ministry responsibilities.

Age and General Eligibility

Under the current OPNAVINST 1120.9B, applicants must:

• Be U.S. citizens.
• Be commissioned before their 42nd birthday, subject to applicable waiver provisions.
• Demonstrate good moral character and unquestioned loyalty to the United States.
• Meet applicable requirements concerning drug and alcohol misuse.
• Meet military medical and physical standards.
• Be willing to function in a religiously pluralistic military environment and support the free exercise of religion for members of the Sea Services and other authorized personnel.

Age-waiver possibilities depend on the applicable regulations and an individual's circumstances; therefore, applicants approaching or exceeding the normal age limit should verify eligibility directly with Navy Chaplain Corps accession personnel.

Physical Requirements

Navy Chaplains are commissioned officers and must meet applicable Navy medical and physical-readiness requirements. The Navy does not exempt chaplains from military physical-readiness requirements because of their ministerial profession. OPNAVINST 1120.9B requires applicants to meet the physical standards for active-duty service, subject to authorized waiver provisions.

The Navy's current Physical Readiness Program is governed by OPNAVINST 6110.1L CH-1. Physical readiness requirements can include the Navy's Body Composition Assessment and Physical Readiness Test, with standards and scoring dependent upon the applicable Navy guidance, age, sex, medical status, and component. The current program should be consulted rather than relying on a single universal fitness score.

Applicants should therefore be capable of performing the normal physical and operational duties expected of a Navy officer, including working extended hours, traveling, deploying, serving aboard ships or in field environments, and responding to emergencies and operational requirements.

Work Environment

Navy Chaplaincy is professional religious ministry practiced within a military environment. Chaplains may serve at sea, ashore, with Marine units, in military hospitals, during training and exercises, or in deployed operational environments. The position requires adaptability, confidentiality, cultural and religious sensitivity, sound judgment, teamwork, leadership, and the ability to minister effectively to people from diverse religious and nonreligious backgrounds.

Training

Selected applicants receive a Navy commission and complete required officer and chaplain training. Navy recruiting information currently identifies Officer Development School in Newport, Rhode Island, followed by professional chaplain training at the Naval Chaplaincy School and Center.

Employment Classification

Position: Navy Chaplain

Service: United States Navy

Status: Commissioned Officer — Active Component or Reserve Component

Primary Function: Professional religious ministry, pastoral care, spiritual readiness, religious accommodation, and command advisory support.

Important: Accession requirements, age-waiver provisions, medical standards, physical-readiness requirements, and other eligibility criteria can change. Candidates should verify their individual qualifications with the Navy Chaplain Corps accession/recruiting office and their religious endorsing organization before applying.

Official References

U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps

Navy Chaplain Career Information

OPNAVINST 1120.9B — Appointment of Officers in the Chaplain Corps

Navy Physical Readiness Program

BUMEDINST 1730.2D — Religious Ministry in Navy Medicine

America’s Navy is approximately 450,000 Sailors, 300 ships and submarines, and 3,700 aircraft strong. Water and salt flow through our veins in the same proportion as the sea. That mighty force is the lifeblood of the greatest Navy ever to sail unstoppably upon it, slip stealthily beneath it or fly unchallenged above it. And we defend with honor, courage, and commitment every hour of every day. We are America’s Navy. We are forged by the sea.