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| COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION 1730.3 was promulgated in February 1981. It dealt with “U.S. Navy Chaplains serving the Coast Guard.” It discussed both the assignment of active duty and reserve chaplains to duty with the Coast Guard and specified that all chaplains serving with the Coast Guard were to be coordinated and supervised by the Chaplain Coordinator, USCG, and that they were authorized to wear the Coast Guard uniform with a Navy cap device and sleeve, collar and shoulder board insignia of the Navy Chaplain Corps in lieu of Coast Guard insignia.
The recruit training center at Alameda was decommissioned in June of 1982. Chaplain Baker, the last Protestant chaplain to serve at the recruit training center, retired and Chaplain Baldwin, the final Roman Catholic chaplain, was reassigned to the newly created position of District Chaplain for the Twelfth Coast Guard District, headquartered in San Francisco. He continued to work out of the chapel office of the newly-commissioned Support Center, Alameda. Chaplain Norman Ricard’s retirement from active duty on 1 July 1982, while serving at the Reserve Traiing Center in Yorktown, brought to a close an active duty career which touched Coast Guard personnel more than most. Chaplain Ricard had served two tours of duty at the Academy, first in the early sixties and again in the mid-seventies. His last tour of duty had been at the Reserve Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia. 1982 was a significant year for the selected reserve chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard as well. That year, the members of NR USCG RELSUP 106 came under the supervision of their own unit commanding officer rather than the staff chaplain of the Readiness Command. Chaplain John Griffith was the first to fill the newly created billet of Commanding Officer of NR USCG RELSUP 106. CHAPLAIN OF THE COAST GUARD A major milestone occurred in February of 1983 when Chaplain Eddy Moran reported to Coast Guard Headquarters as the first staff “Chaplain, U.S. Coast Guard.” The newly-established billet was a special staff element under the immediate direction of the Vice Commandant and Commandant. During Chaplain Moran’s tour of duty he wrote the first Commandant Instruction (Manual) on “Religious Ministries in the Coast Guard” and discovered and disseminated a provision in the comptroller regulations that allowed the Coast Guard to furnish uniforms for Navy chaplains assigned to it. Chaplain Moran integrated the selected reserve chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard into a more active functional role, even including them in some of the special training conferences held for the active duty chaplains. He also insured that the chaplains were made an integral part of the Coast Guard’s developing family programs. CHAPLAIN OPERATIONS The Seventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami, Florida, became the second District to have a chaplain assigned primary duty as the District Chaplain. Chaplain Daniel Ottaviano reported to Miami in September of 1983 to a position that he saw as a “circuit rider” both afloat and ashore. The Seventh District, which included the Greater Antilles Islands and eastern Caribbean Sea, was heavily involved in the interdiction of drug smuggling and law enforcement. Chaplain Ottaviano spent, on average, three quarters of this time in the field visiting District units. Half of that time was spent riding cutters involved in law enforcement patrols. In reflecting on his tour of duty with the Coast Guard, chaplain Ottaviano described it as “interesting, exciting, with a lot of room for innovation and creativity.” (22) The Thirteenth Coast Guard District, which includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana as well as a large area of the Northern Pacific Ocean extending halfway to Hawaii, became the third District to have a chaplain assigned primary duty as a District Chaplain. Chaplain Virgil J. Tillman reported to Seattle in August of 1984. The District headquarters and staff were located in the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in Seattle but the District Chaplain’s office was located in the Support Center on the waterfront in downtown Seattle at Pier 36 where four major cutters, including two polar icebreakers, were homeported. Chaplain Tillman later gave the following description of his ministry as the Thirteenth District chaplain: “In addition to worship and counseling, religious ministry since that time has involved administrative work in the areas of writing local instructions, requesting and securing office and chapel spaces and educating personnel on the chaplain’s role within the command. This has proven to be very exciting. The ministry is such that the chaplain may find himself driving through the snow covered Cascade Mountains one day, flying about the Olympic Mountains or the Oregon Coast the next and sailing on the Puget Sound the third day. All of this is in order to visit his people during a time of crisis, in isolated duty or mid-deployment. The chaplain is given orders on a quarterly basis which allow for frequent responding to emergency situations anywhere within the Thirteenth District.” (23) One of the major events that occurred during Chaplain Moran’s tour of duty at Coast Guard Headquarters was the entombment of the unknown serviceman from the Vietnam War at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. On Memorial Day of 1984, Chaplain Moran, as the Chaplain of the Coast Guard, was a participant in the entombment ceremony. In April of the following year, Chaplain Martha E. Bradley reported for duty as the first chaplain assigned to the Coast Guard Support Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. Chaplain Bradley also became the first female chaplain to be assigned to duty with the Coast Guard. Much like the chaplain assigned to the Air Station in Cape Cod, this Support Center Chaplain also functioned as the District Chaplain for the Fifth Coast Guard District, with its headquarters located in a different location in Portsmouth. In 1984, the selected Reserve chaplains assigned to NR USCG RELSUP 106 had their first annual meeting as a unit. Chaplain Bill Will, the new commanding officer of the unit, presided at the meeting and worked on unit organization and accountability throughout his tour of command. COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION M1730.4 “Religious Ministries Within the Coast Guard” was promulgated on 7 May 1985. For the first time the Coast Guard had its own manual on religious ministries. In many ways it was a Coast Guard adaptation of the Navy OPNAVINST 1730 series, but it also reflected the establishment of the “The Chaplain, United Stated Coast Guard” and the existence of NR USCG RELSUP 106. In June of 1986, Chaplain Moran departed Coast Guard Headquarters and Chaplain Alan Plishker became the second Chaplain of the Coast Guard. The following year a chaplain billet was established at the Coast Guard Air Station at Borinquen, Puerto Rico. Chaplain Douglas Shamburger reported to the Air Station in July of 1987. During Chaplain Plishker’s tour, the Coast Guard underwent a major realignment which involved merging some Districts and the creation of Maintenance and Logistics Commands for both the Atlantic and Pacific Areas. The goal of this realignment was to increase the number of operational personnel and decrease the number of support personnel. Chaplain Plishker successfully fought the proposal to place all chaplains under the Maintenance and Logistic Commands rather than have them assigned to operational commands. In the end, the only impact his realignment had on the chaplains assigned was in the Twelfth District (headquartered in San Francisco). The realignment merged the Twelfth District with the Eleventh District, which was headquartered at Long Beach. With the Twelfth District no longer in existence, the District Chaplain was reassigned to the staff of Commander, Pacific Area with headquarters on Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Chaplain Plishker was also faced with the proposal for the disestablishment of NR USCG RELSUP 106. It was uncertain whether the reserve chaplains would be converted to Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMAs) and remain assigned to active duty Coast Guard commands, or whether there would no longer be any reserve chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard. After consultations with the Chief of Chaplains and the Commander, Naval Reserve Force, it was decided to leave NR USCG RELSUP 106 intact as a selected reserve unit. Chaplain Plishker retired from active duty in July of 1989. Prior to his departure, Chaplain Plishker revised the “Religious Ministries within the Coast Guard” instruction. COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION M1730.4A was finally promulgated on 8 September 1989. Chaplain James G. Goode reported to Coast Guard Headquarters in July of 1989 to become the third Chaplain of the Coast Guard. THE 1990’S: FULL OF CHALLENGES The year 1990 was special and full of challenges for the nation’s oldest, continuous, seagoing armed service. It was a special time because of the celebrations surrounding the Coast Guard’s bicentennial, marking two centuries of service dating back to 4 August 1790 when Congress authorized a fleet of revenue cutters, forerunners of today’s Coast Guard. During 1990, the Coast Guard was designated as federal on-scene coordinator of the summer 1990 cleanup effort in the wake of the Exxon Valdez massive oil spill in Alaskan waters. The year also saw the Coast Guard respond to Desert Shield and Desert Storm requirements for enhanced security in U.S. and Persian Gulf ports, and to the critical need for experienced boarding personnel for the naval embargo of Iraq. Navy chaplains were very much a part of these celebrations and challenges. For the first time in its fifty-year history, members of the Coast Guard reserve were involuntarily mobilized. Port Security units from Milwaukee, Buffalo and Cleveland were mobilized and deployed to Persian Gulf ports during September and November. Prior to their deployment, these reservists underwent training at Camp Perry, Ohio. Chaplain Goode traveled to Camp Perry and provided training for lay readers and made presentations on family separations and war trauma. Navy chaplains throughout the Coast Guard were involved in training and preparing arrangements for the event of possible mass casualties. 1990 was a very significant year for chaplains serving with the Coast Guard, as well. As the Coast Guard began its third century of service there were twenty-two active duty and seventeen selected reserve chaplains assigned to it. The decade would begin with the realignment of several of the active duty chaplain billets and with a decrease in the number of selected reserve chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard. Eight active duty chaplain billets were realigned to better reflect their functions. The billet assigned to the Support Center in Portsmouth, Virginia was transferred to the staff of the Fifth District with additional duty orders to the Support Center. The billet assigned to the Air Station at Borinquen was transferred to the staff of Commander, Greater Antilles Section with additional duty to the Air Station. A number of chaplains were given additional duty orders to better reflect their actual functions. The chaplain assigned to Air Station Cape Cod was given additional duty orders to the First District. The chaplain assigned to the Support Center at Elizabeth City was given additional duty orders to the Fifth District. The senior chaplain at Support Center Kodiak was given additional duty orders to the Seventeenth District and the senior chaplain at Governors Island was given additional duty orders to both the staffs of Commander, Atlantic Area and Commander, Maintenance and Logistics Command, Atlantic. The Seventh District chaplain was also given additional duty orders to Air Station Miami. While a number of active duty chaplains were realigned, the number of billets authorized for NR USCG RELSUP 106 decreased from seventeen to fourteen during 1990. The year also saw the development and implementation of a lay reader program throughout the Coast Guard. Chaplain Vucinovich, the Commanding Officer of NR USCG RELSUP 106, came on temporary active duty to develop the Lay Reader Manual, based on one developed by Chaplain Goode while he was the force chaplain for the Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet. Chaplain Chadwick at Cape Cod edited the manual. The “U.S. Coast Guard Training Manual for Lay Readers” (COMDTPUB P1731.1) was published in May and thirty-six Protestant and an equal number of Roman Catholic lay reader kits were delivered to District chaplains. At the same time, the religious ministries manual (COMDTINST M1730.4A) was amended with the addition of a fourth chapter giving details of the lay reader program. (24) The first biannual conference for active duty chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard was held at Yorktown during this year of the Coast Guard’s Bicentennial. The conference was developed and promoted by Chaplains Goode, Chadwick and Tundel. The year 1991 marked the transfer of one of the chaplain billets at Governors Island to the Eighth District office in New Orleans. Chaplain Ronald Sturgis reported for duty there in early July. Prior to Chaplain Sturgis’ arrival, a selected reserve chaplain had functioned as the Eighth District chaplain on a part-time basis. The year also saw a new “Memorandum of Understanding Between Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Regarding Management of and Reimbursement of Chaplains Serving with the Coast Guard.” The memorandum of understanding was the first policy document since 1942 that officially connected the Navy and Coast Guard in the management, reimbursement and utilization of chaplains. The memorandum was signed by Vice Admiral Martin H. Daniell, USCG, the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, on 10 December 1990 and by Vice Admiral J. M. Boorda, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower. It detailed the joint services agreement for the management of Navy chaplains to support and meet the religious ministry requirements of the Coast Guard and also provided for the reimbursement for billets of active duty Navy chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard. Further, it made reference to the Chaplain of the Coast Guard and also incorporated the authorization to provide Coast Guard uniforms to Navy chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard. New chaplain billets were approved in 1991 for Group/Air Station St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Eleventh District Office in Long Beach. An additional billet was also approved for a second chaplain at Air Station Cape Cod. In addition, three civilian support staff positions were approved for Borinquen, the Coast Guard Academy and Petaluma. CHAPLAINS AID HAITIAN CRISIS RESPONSE Over 20,000 Haitians were rescued from the Caribbean between October 1991 and May 1992 by Coast Guard cutters and their crews. During this crisis, additional Coast Guard resources and support systems were required to meet the critical circumstance of the Haitian refugees. Noting the increased pressures and demands on the crew, Chaplain Goode arranged for seven active duty and two reserve Coast Guard chaplains to be deployed on a rotating basis. The chaplains served from two to three weeks each. This is the first time chaplains were forward deployed on Coast Guard cutters in a non-wartime situation. Chaplain Clark Prescott from Governors Island was the first and arrived on Thanksgiving Day 1991. He visited all cutters in port providing services for both Haitians and Coast Guard personnel. His services in Spanish enabled larger numbers of Haitians to participate. Chaplain James Duncan from the Fifth District arrived on scene a few days later. In addition to riding the cutters during rescue missions, he developed a handbook on Haitian culture, terms and traditions which was most helpful for chaplains and other support personnel arriving on scene. Chaplain Bruce Maxwell, from Petaluma, relieved Chaplain Duncan just prior to Christmas and was most supportive to Coast Guard personnel and Haitians during Christmas and the New Year. The only Catholic chaplain to serve during this crisis, Chaplain Maxwell provided services aboard Coast Guard Cutters: DURABLE, HARRIET LANE, THETIS, TAHOMA and VIGILANT. Chaplain Maxwell was followed by Chaplain Greg Demarco, Elizabeth City, Chaplain Thomas Kappert, District 7, Chaplain James Ellis, Cape May, Chaplain Richard Inman, Governors Island and two reservists, Chaplain Eric Darrow and Chaplain Francis Bonadonna. May and June 1992 saw the largest exodus and repatriation of Haitians. Coast Guard cutters were involved in rescuing nearly 16,000 during this period. Three additional chaplains provided support for both Coast Guard personnel and Haitians. Chaplain Felix Villanueva of Borinquen, Chaplain Dave Gibson of Yorktown and Chaplain Robert Adair of District 5 were called in for this strenuous period. On the work and ministry they provided, one Task Group Commander wrote, the chaplains “provided much needed spiritual advice and services to the crews of the assigned task units, as well as officiating special services for Haitian migrants. Their worth to the success of this operation is immeasurable. Please continue this support.” NAVY CHAPLAIN OF THE YEAR For his innovative leadership with the Coast Guard in developing a lay reader program, training programs for reserve and active duty chaplains, the realignment of eight billets, staffing sixteen additional billets by 1995 and his immediate response to the Desert Storm and Haitian Crisis, Chaplain Goode was nominated and selected the outstanding Navy Chaplain of the Year by the Military Chaplains Association (MCA) who presented him with the “Distinguished Service Award” in recognition of that honor on 30 April 1992. Admiral Kime stated, “Chaplain Goode has brought vitality and spiritually to the Coast Guard. From preparing units for deployment to the Persian Gulf to responding to the latest exodus of Haitian migrants, he has made outstanding contributions to Coast Guard men and women. He is truly deserving, and I am delighted to see his efforts recognized.” Chaplain Goode departed the Coast Guard in July 1992 and reported to his new assignment at Naval Air Station Pensacola in August. His relief, Captain Thomas Chadwick, who served as chaplain for Air Station Cape Cod, 1987-1990, became the fourth Chaplain of the Coast Guard in July 1992. EXPANDING THE CHAPLAIN CORPS’ REACH Much of Chaplain Chadwick’s tour as Chaplain of the Coast Guard was spent locating and placing additional chaplain billets throughout the service. At that time, as part of the Commandant’s commitment to increase the number of chaplains serving with the Coast Guard, with the goal of one chaplain for every one thousand active duty personnel, new billets were continually established and filled. Chaplain Chadwick was not responsible for creating these billets, but identifying where they should be located. “I spent a lot of time surveying around the Coast Guard—looking for larger concentrations of Coast Guard, maybe not in the same command… but a pocket of [closely-located] units where I could assign the chaplain,” he said. In 1992, Chaplain Karl Lindblad reported to fill the newly-established second billet at Air Station Cape Cod. Chaplain Charles Robinson became the first active duty chaplain assigned to the staff of the Commander, 11th Coast Guard District in Long Beach, California. 1993 began with even more billets filled. Chaplain Wesley Sloat reported as the first chaplain assigned to Group St. Petersburg, Florida. Chaplain Gary Weeden reported to the staff of Commander, 9th Coast Guard District in Cleveland, Ohio. The new billet at Air Station Astoria, Oregon was filled by Chaplain Gary Stewart. Chaplain Chadwick also assigned a chaplain to Charleston, South Carolina, where the Navy had recently removed their chaplain billet. A Catholic chaplain was also added to the staff at Air Station Borinquen. While there had previously been a Protestant billet there, recently realigned to Commander, Greater Antilles Section, there had never been a Catholic chaplain. With a large Coast Guard presence, including families living in Coast Guard housing, Chaplain Chadwick decided both Protestant and Catholic chaplains were necessary to properly serve the community. In addition, there was a large Coast Guard presence in mainland Alaska, near Juneau and Sitka, without chaplain support. The two chaplains stationed on the island of Kodiak would occasionally travel to the mainland on Coast Guard aircraft, but their visits were rare. To better support Alaska’s Coast Guard members and families, Chaplain Chadwick added a chaplain billet at the Seventeenth Coast Guard District in Juneau. In total, 14 new billets were added throughout the Coast Guard during Chaplain Chadwick’s tenure. One of these new billets was a chaplain assigned to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Although the Chaplain of the Coast Guard was also stationed there, his duties were located throughout the geographic United States and abroad, anywhere the Coast Guard took its members. These duties left little time for ministry to the over 1,200 active duty personnel, one of the largest concentrations of Coast Guard personnel in one location, also stationed there. Chaplain Tim Demy reported as the first Coast Guard Headquarters chaplain. In addition to serving as the chaplain for all personnel assigned to Headquarters and nearby Coast Guard units, he also served as the Deputy Chaplain of the Coast Guard. NEW BILLETS IN ACTION After placing the chaplains in their new locations, Chaplain Chadwick then defined how each chaplain would operate. Before this expansion, many of the chaplains were assigned to training commands or other large bases that typically had a chapel. At these locales, the chaplains usually followed a parish model, spending their time running the business of the chapel: conducting regular services, meeting with members, coordinating a choir and organizing Bible studies. With the expansion, more chaplains were stationed in federal buildings or other staff locations without chapels and served Coast Guard members stretched over a large geographic area. Chaplains in St. Louis, Cleveland, Seattle and Honolulu, for example, joined a staff without any material resources. Together with the newly-assigned chaplains, Chaplain Chadwick had to decide how the chaplains would minister to all the members assigned to them. Orders, vehicles, lodging and other logistics were determined as the chaplains traveled to stations and units never before regularly visited by chaplains. “I was always fighting to fund the new billets,” Chadwick said. “Local commands wanted the chaplains, but not the expense.” INCREASED UNIFORM ALLOWANCE Another area of logistics that Chaplain Chadwick addressed during his tenure was chaplain uniform allowance. While the Coast Guard previously provided certain uniform items to Navy chaplains temporarily joining the ranks, the list was minimal. “When I was in my first Coast Guard billet at Cape Cod, I said, if I’m ever Chaplain of the Coast Guard, I’m going to make this list reflect reality,” Chadwick said. Chaplain Chadwick increased the uniform allowance to an amount that could be reasonably worn and washed in one week. He also added a separate uniform allowance for female chaplains, including the addition of blouses and skirts. Previously, the list only mentioned trousers and shirts, leaving local commands to determine what uniforms to provide female chaplains. NEW CHAPELS The early 1990’s also saw new chapels put into service. The Training Center at Petaluma, California dedicated its new religious activity center, Lighthouse Chapel, on 29 May 1992. The building, originally constructed by the Army in 1943, had served as a recreation building. Slated for destruction in 1988, the demolition plans were changed in favor of salvaging and renovating. The principal speaker for the dedication of the renovated building was Chaplain Goode. Located at the center of the Training Center, this new 150-seat chapel replaced the old 75-seat chapel which was located a half mile west, well outside the training center’s busiest area. Directory: chaplain chaplain -> Chaplaincy & Pastoral Care Periodicals Archive – Revision 01-01-02 ~ a near comprehensive list ~ Download 155.54 Kb. Share with your friends:
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