Army Chaplain Corps

Requirements:

-You must obtain an ecclesiastical endorsement from your faith group. This endorsement should certify that you are:
-A clergy person in your denomination or faith group.
-Qualified spiritually, morally, intellectually and emotionally to serve as a Chaplain in the Army.
-Sensitive to religious pluralism and able to provide for the free exercise of religion by all military personnel, their family members and civilians who work for the Army.
-Educationally, you must:
-Possess a baccalaureate degree of not less than 120 semester hours.
-Possess a graduate degree in theological or religious studies, plus have earned at least a total of 72 semester hours in graduate work in these fields of study.
-Applicants for active duty or the National Guard MUST be U.S. citizens. Permanent residents can ONLY apply for the Army Reserve.
-Be able to receive a favorable National Agency Security Clearance.
-Pass a physical exam at one of our Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS).
-A minimum of two years of full-time professional experience, validated by the applicant’s endorsing agency (This requirement is not applicable to Army Reserve applicants).
-Must be at least 21 years of age, but younger than 42 at time of Regular Army commissioning or less than 45 at time of Army Reserve commissioning. Prior service applicants with at least 3 years of prior AFS or creditable USAR service must be younger than 47 at time of Army Reserve commissioning.

Becoming one

Chaplains and Chaplain Candidates do not go through Basic Training. Instead, they attend the Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course (CBOLC), which is a 12-week course taught at the USA Chaplains Center and School (USACHCS) in Fort Jackson, S.C. Instruction at USACHCS is conducted by highly trained, professional, and experienced Army officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs).

CBOLC provides an introduction to the non-combatant common core skills, Army writing and Chaplaincy-specific training. Classroom and field training is dynamic, fun, and interactive. CBOLC is conducted in four phases. Each phase must be taken sequentially. However, the entire course does not have to be taken in the same year.