FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pennsylvania - Chaplains from National Guard divisions across the northeast recently came together for a Warfighter exercise with the 42nd Infantry Division at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, Jan. 24 to Feb. 7.
It’s rare for the 12 chaplains and 10 religious affairs Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard’s 42nd Inf. Div. and Pennsylvania’s 29th Inf. Div. Chaplain Corps to convene in person. The Soldiers of these divisions come not just from New York and Pennsylvania but also from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
Capt. Joel Levenson, a chaplain with the 42nd Inf. Div., said the training is a “great opportunity to interact with chaplains from other states, to learn from each other and to hear best practices to learn and to grow.”
He added, “We also represent different faith traditions. Yet in this environment, our job is to serve Soldiers and support them, both in real-time and also in this exercise.”
While conducting the exercise, the chaplains have the additional responsibility of carrying out their regular duties, such as leading religious services and studies.
This training helps chaplains better understand how they work together when deployed, coordinating operations from the division level to battalion, and effectively providing religious support to Soldiers.
Lt. Col. Timothy Miller, the 42nd Inf. Div. chaplain said, “One of the key aspects of that is the will to fight for the soldiers inside the battle itself.”
During operations, the chaplain is responsible for responding to the unit's morale through counsel in difficult times and providing religious services.
“We’re going out and visiting with the troops and encouraging them and helping them to get back out into the battles,” Miller said.
A Warfighter exercise is a simulation built around computer combat simulations against an experienced opposing force, which tests the ability of division and brigade commanders and their staffs to conduct the tasks they would execute in battle.
During the exercise, the chaplains are presented with challenges they could face on a battlefield such as mass casualties, and must react as if it were a real situation.
| Date Taken: | 02.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2025 15:55 |
| Story ID: | 490003 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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