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Chaplain school holds last class at Maxwell

  • Published
  • By Carl Bergquist
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  The last formal class of the Air Force Chaplain School to be conducted here was held Sept. 14-25. Following an informal professional continuing education course Oct. 6-8, the school will resume its move to a new facility at Fort Jackson, S.C.

All chaplain training for military members in all services will now be held at the Fort Jackson school, said Chap. (Maj.) John Tillery, AFCS student manager. 

The chaplain said the Fort Jackson facility is beautiful and will be the new home of AFCS students.

"For all the serving Air Force chaplains, Maxwell has been their home because it was here they learned," he said. "I'm looking forward to going to the fort because I think the cross-talk between chaplains from all the different services, with each of us learning the language of all the different services, will aid in our ability to communicate. That will be outstanding. Also, I was originally Army, and Fort Jackson is where I received basic training, so, for me, it's kind of like going home."

Chaplain Tillery said Air Force Phase One Readiness Training for chaplains about to deploy is already being done at Fort Jackson and the move of AFCS to the fort will consolidate all the training. He said so much of AFCS's "corporate identity" has revolved around Maxwell, but now new Air Force chaplains will associate with Fort Jackson in the same way established chaplains associate with Maxwell. 

"There is both sadness and excitement surrounding the move," he said.

Chap. (Maj.) John Kenyan, a new instructor at AFCS, said he is already assigned to Fort Jackson and is here at Maxwell on temporary duty for the last class. He said he is a former wing chaplain but began his Air Force career as a navigator on a B-52 crew at Strategic Air Command. 

"I get a lot of satisfaction out of being an instructor because I enjoy helping students build their tool kit and get the necessary pieces for success," he said. "However, success in the chaplain career field is sometimes hard to measure. As a navigator, putting bombs on target was success, but with the Chaplain Corps, everyone tends to have their own idea of success."

Chaplain Kenyan has been a Chaplain about 15 years and said an inward call to the ministry was responsible for his joining the Chaplain Corps. 

Chap. (Maj.) Eddie Jones, AFCS student and Chaplain at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, said he thinks the course excellent and feels it gives students vital information for their careers. He said he was looking forward to hearing what Chaplain Corps senior leaders, Chap. (Maj. Gen.) Cecil Richardson, Chaplain Corps commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Charles Johnson, Chaplain Corps command chief, will have to say during their addresses to the class.

"I'm really looking forward to hearing what their perspective is and what ideas they have for the corps," he said. "Being in their positions, they get to see the big picture, and it will be a great opportunity to hear what they think the future of the Chaplain Corps is going to be."

Chaplain Jones said he felt a certain sorrow about AFCS leaving Maxwell and moving to South Carolina.

"There is a sadness I have about the school leaving a base that I have known as home all my chaplain career," he said. "But I also think it will be a good thing."

Chap. (Maj.) Obodiah Smith Jr., AFCS student from Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., said he is the Grissom wing chaplain and has benefited greatly from the course.

"I think this is a great course as it has enhanced my ability to supervise subordinates," he said. "Hearing the personal experiences of the instructors, and interacting with other chaplains from the rest of the Air Force also makes this a really great experience. I think making the contacts I have made here, contacts that will last a lifetime, is a key part of how the course helps us."

The last class at Maxwell combined the Intermediate Chaplains Course with the Wing Chaplain Course. Both classes, normally taught separately, are offered three times each year. Between 18 and 24 students attend the WCC, and the ICC has between 20 and 30 students in each class.

"Academically, the move will be pretty seamless, and we will be teaching our courses as always from a strategic perspective," Chaplain Tillery said. "The new facility, with its new technology, will be nice, but I don't think it will have a great influence on learning. When you get down to it, it's what goes on in the classroom that really counts."