Hello again all.
Just a quick background on myself…
I’m Alex, been in the Army for 7 years as an enlisted “Signal Support Systems Specialist”, and I have very little in the way of college. I’ve served as they layleader for Bagram, AF (04-05) and am currently the layleader for Ft. Drum, NY.

I know there’s plenty of programs to convince civilians to become chaplains, and programs for recent graduates from rabbinical schools to become chaplains, but what’s available to us Joe’s down here who want to become Chaplains? Do I have to wait until the end of my service, get my bachelors degree, go to rabbinical school and THEN come back in as a chaplain?

Ya know, they have “Green to Gold” programs where enlisted soldiers drop from active duty, go to college for 4 years (with ROTC) the come out as an officer. Do we have a program that would allow me to drop from active duty, go to college then rabinical school, the come back as a chaplain? We’ll call it “Green to G-d,” I’d think.

It’s something I’ve been considering for a long time, but right now I don’t have the prereq’s (a college degree) to wait until I get out and go to rabinical school (which I can’t afford)

The main reason I want to be ordained is so I can be an army chaplain. The Jewish chaplains and layleaders I’ve worked with in the past, in addition to my experiences as a jewish layleader have shown me that this is something I would enjoy, and I think I would be good at it, if for no other reason that I want to show our Jewish troops that they’re not forgotten, and that we have people who want to take care of them.

So, anyone heard of this as a possibility, and if not, is it something the JWB could work with an accredited college and rabbinical school to establish, with the approval of the Army? Or amy I asking to much…

So I did almost exactly what you are asking. I was an Air Force line officer for four years. I served as the lay leader at Minot AFB, ND for about 2.5 years. I separated to go to Rabbinical school and now I’m an active duty chaplain at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. I had the advantage of having a batchelors degree via ROTC when I was commissioned.
The short answer is you your question is, unfortunately, no. There is no program in place along the lines of ‘Green (or Blue) to God’ that you are asking about, and, due to separation of church and state, there is not likely to be one in the foreseeable future. Another officer in my squadron got into a program where he was making full active duty pay and benifits as an O-3 and his job was to go to law school for free on the condition that he become a lawyer. Nothing like that exists for Chaplains.
There are a few things you can do to make your journey easier.
#1 GET A DEGREE!!! Even if you weren’t pursuing a career as a chaplain, you must take advantage of the available benifits to you while you are in the Army. It’s less important what your degree is in then it is that you have a degree. Example; my degree is in Astrophysics. Not the typical pre-Rabbinic field of study. I can’t stress it enough, before you leave the Army, get a batchelors degree.
#2 Become a Chaplain Candidate. All services have a training program for seminary students. You must be a full time student in an approved seminary or Rabbinical school (ask JWB for a list of what schools are acceptable). You spend the winters in school and the summers training with the Army. Much of it will be really easy for you, but it’s good money. I don’t know the specifics of the Army, but I think they may offer the most money of any service.
#3 Pick a Rabbinical school. I don’t know if you’re Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, or whatever. It doesn’t matter to me, that’s entirely up to you. But pick a school that fits your beliefs and perspective on Judaism. Then find out what kind program they offer, what their admission requirements are and what kind of financial aid is available. My Yeshiva doesn’t charge tuition, room, or board, to students who can’t pay while they are in the Yeshiva. Once they are out of the Yeshiva they must pay back the ‘loan’ which is interest free. This is an Orthodox Yeshiva and may or may not be the path you want to take, that’s up to you.

There are ways to fulfill the requirements of becoming a chaplain while on active duty, but it is more difficult and the only way I know how is for Orthodox students. There may be similiar paths for the other movements, but you’d need to check with them.
The requirements are:
#1 Batchelors degree in anything (can be done via distance learning)
#2 Masters degree or 72 credit hour equivalent masters credits in divinity/theology/talmud etc. (also can be done via distance learning)
#3 You must be ‘endorsed’ by one of the three Jewish endorsers. JWB, The Aleph-Institute, or Pirchei Shoshanim.
They all require you to be an ordained Rabbi. Ask each of them for information of what schools they will accept.
Pirchei Shoshanim has their own online odrination program. They send you classes via fax or email, you learn the material and take tests. At the end you go to Israel and take the Israeli Rabbinate test. If you pass, you’re a Rabbi.
They are Orthodox, so that’s something you would have to weigh. Check them out at http://www.shemayisrael.com/

I think the best chaplains are the ones who have previous military experience and truly know where their soldiers have been. I hope this information is helpful and if you’d like to discuss things more I’m happy to help you in any way I can.
Good luck
Chaplain Mike Bram

You can often go to a non ROTC school aslong as you do the ROTC program at a school near by. It might be possible to go to YU (Yeshiva University) where you can graduate in four years with a degree and become a rabbi. There is also the Jewish Theological Seminary for those not as inclined towards the Orthodox perspective. You might want to see if this will work.

I’m not sure about JTS, but I’m almost positive YU doesn’t have any agreements with nearby ROTC schools. What I’m actually doing right now is doing my religious studies at the same time as college and ROTC. It’s more intense, to be sure, but if you’re prior-enlisted I’m sure it’ll be easier for you to juggle them all at the same time.

As a civilian, but at the same time as the Jewish Prime Vendor for the military, I would encourage all interested individuals to consider the chaplaincy.

Aside for the mitzvah, it is of upmost importance for the serviceman/woman to have a knowledgable person in charge of their spiritual needs--especially so far from home.  This will also ensure that the proper items are ordered--on time, there is no Jewish individual who doesn’t have a ‘heads up’ on the Jewish holidays!

Although we have worked with extraordinary non-Jewish individuals in the past, I feel that a Jewish chaplain can help in other ways as well.

Dee
JEPV