Army chaplains must fill many roles

Capt. Kari Maschhoff is a facilitator.

"If someone has a faith that is not my own, what can I do to support their faith?" said Capt. Maschhoff, the chaplain for Fort Gordon's 442nd Signal Battalion.

Fort Gordon is home to a range of faiths, and that leads to an array of duties for its chaplains.

Chaplains say they tend to all aspects of a soldier's life.

"My day-to-day is taking care of my group of soldiers and attending to their spiritual health, mental health, building relationships with family members," Capt. Maschhoff said.

The majority of the post's faith community are Christians, with Catholics the leading denomination, according to Col. Craig Wiley, Fort Gordon's installation chaplain. About 800 people attend services on the post, but many soldiers attend services elsewhere, he said.

There are three chapels at Fort Gordon and locations for Muslims and Wiccans to meet. Jewish believers often attend synagogues off post.

Col. Wiley estimates there are about 20 practicing Wiccans on post and a similar number of Muslims.

Fort Gordon has about 30 Army chaplains and two Navy chaplains. All of the chaplains represent Christian faiths. Army-wide, there are few Muslim and Jewish chaplains.

Col. Wiley, who has been in the military for about four decades and served in the Vietnam War, said it is rare to see soldiers who are Buddhist or Hindu.

In situations where a chaplain is not available at an installation, the Army enlists "distinctive faith group leaders." These are volunteers who are approved by their religious organization and the installation.

Fort Gordon has Muslim and Jewish faith group leaders.

Supporting the faith of soldiers is easier stateside. When service members are deployed, it becomes more difficult, according to Capt. Maschhoff who has been deployed for 27 months of her five-year Army career.

With no chapels and no community to draw on, the chaplain must become all things to all people.

Faith has added meaning for service members in war, said Col. Wiley, who began to explore his own faith in the jungles of Vietnam.

"Faith often times rises to the top. You are facing a fear of death and a fear of injury. It often turns an individual toward God," he said.

During her deployments, Capt. Maschhoff has had to aid soldiers who are not of her Baptist faith find ways to express their own religious beliefs.

When the Wiccan group in her unit wanted to hold its open circle while deployed, Capt. Maschhoff worked to make it available.

"Sometimes, it is finding the proper location. I'm not a Wiccan priestess, but I had a Wiccan priestess in my unit," she said.