Courtesy Photo | Capt. Alexander A. Aimette, chaplain for the Pennsylvania National Guard's 56th...... read more read more
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Every year on Feb. 3, a public observation is held known as Four Chaplains Day, honoring four Army chaplains who sacrificed their own lives to save their fellow service members during World War II.
In honor of that event, today we spotlight Capt. Alexander A. Aimette, chaplain for the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
According to Aimette, the Chaplain Corps has three core competencies: nurture the living, care for the wounded and honor the fallen, and they exercised through two required capabilities: perform religious support and advise command.
“Sure, that is quoted from doctrine, but it is good doctrine," Aimette said. "Performing religious support is mostly seen through the nurture/care/honor work we do, counseling Soldiers, and participating in memorial ceremonies. Advise command doesn’t happen as much, and then usually occurs when commanders are working with Soldiers who have physical, mental or disciplinary problems.”
Some of the missions of a National Guard chaplain take place outside of drill weekends and annual training, Aimette said.
“We also do wellness checks and hospital visits, the most common aspect of ‘care for the wounded,'" he said. "It tends to be mostly caring for sick Soldiers or their family members. That may also include intervening in mental health crises such as suicidal ideations. Chaplains are familiar with the processes that the Army's physical and mental care team members use to keep Soldiers safe and fit. Combine that with the Soldier's familiarity with the chaplain and you get better Soldier care."
Visits to prisons, rehabilitation facilities and a few weddings occur less frequently but are important between-drill activities, Aimette said.
“At times like those, chaplains can be a big help to both the Soldier and the full-time staff to provide Soldier care,” he said.
Aimette took a roundabout journey to join the Pennsylvania National Guard. He spent seven years in the Pennsylvania State Police before he resigned to go to seminary full-time.
Several classmates suggested that he would be “perfect” as a National Guard chaplain, but Aimette believed that he had done his service to society in the police already. After seminary, he served for seven years as an associate pastor at a church in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, then as a senior pastor for two suburban churches. During that time, a guardsman he knew pushed him to at least meet with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard State Chaplain at the time, Col. Bert Kozen.
“I finally gave in to this guy’s persistence toward the end of my second pastorate,” said Aimette, laughing. “It was a good meeting. Chaplain Kozen gave me good information and straight answers to pointed questions, so I was able to really talk to my wife about it. Guard chaplaincy wasn’t like I thought it was. With encouragement from my wife Jennifer – who has been supportive all along - I started the spiritual process to change my vocation and pursue the endorsement to reserve chaplaincy.”
March 17, 2021, will mark Aimette’s sixth year in the National Guard. During his time in the Guard, he has supported annual training events for units without a chaplain, gone to Texas for Hurricane Harvey, run religious support operations during COVID-19 missions and civil unrest in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
“The role of the chaplain is very important during these events," he said. "Soldiers are just as likely to experience internal conflict and stress in Defense Support of Civil Authority missions as in foreign deployments. In many ways, it is worse since domestic operations have a ‘this could be my family or my community’ aspect to them."
Asked about Four Chaplains Day, Aimette remarked that the history reminds us all of important aspects of military chaplaincy. He noted that the four chaplains came from two different religions -- Judaism and Christianity -- and three different denominations -- Methodist, Roman Catholic and Dutch Reformed.
"All four knew God well enough to understand the sacrifice of self for others," Aimette said. "That was seen during the sinking of the SS Dorchester in 1943. They gave their life vests to other Soldiers so they would live while they went down with the ship. Their actions show the sanctity -- the value in God's eyes -- of human life. That may be the most important work of the Army Chaplain Corps: reminding Soldiers that God is with them and values human life.”
Though it took Aimette 11 years to join the Guard, he has no regrets. Presently, he is on temporary duty orders supporting chaplain recruiting and supports the commander of the 56th SBCT, Col. Jon Farr, and the staff and Soldiers of the brigade.
| Date Taken: | 02.03.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2021 13:22 |
| Story ID: | 388230 |
| Location: | PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 667 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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