Photo By Jean Graves | Col. Alisa Wilma, commander of Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, presents Capt....... read more read more
FORT JOHNSON, La. - Capt. James Walker, a dedicated spiritual leader and chaplain at Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, has achieved a significant milestone by earning a Doctor of Ministry and receiving board certification from the National Association of Veterans Affairs Chaplains. This accomplishment enhances his ability to provide compassionate ministry and support to Soldiers and Families at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson, reinforcing his commitment to their spiritual well-being.
Col. Michael Jefferies, senior command chaplain for the JRTC and Fort Johnson, said Walker is a unique and talented minister with a high emotional IQ.
“His extended and additional education has refined him and has helped him grow into an even better chaplain,” he said. “His additional education and expertise build confidence and credibility with his peers and clients.”
Jefferies said Walker’s board certification illustrates Walker’s high level of competency.
“James is amazing in and of himself,” he said. “His extra efforts in education and certification demonstrate his commitment to professionalism. Walker continually does all that he can to ensure the best quality of care possible for the people he serves. He is committed to doing his best to serve the Lord and to serve the people of his flock.”
Walker, an Arizona native, spent 12 years farming and serving local congregations after earning a Master of Divinity from the Phoenix Seminary before joining the Army Chaplain Corps in 2018.
“When I was an undergraduate at Grand Canyon University, I was at a chapel service and was feeling overwhelmed that God was going to use me in that setting,” he said. “I was already on my way to law school, and I resisted that call for a year before I realized I needed to switch gears, leave law school and go to seminary.”
Serving Soldiers and veterans was never part of the plan, Walker said.
“A defining moment came in 2017 when I reunited on a ski trip with a college friend stationed at Fort Carson,” he said. “As we enjoyed chili dogs at the top of the mountain, my friend suggested becoming an Army Chaplain. At the time it seemed like a crazy idea, I knew nothing about the Army, but the decision to join was affirmed repeatedly by family, friends, and parishioners.”
Walker said it was a blind faith step for him to join the Army at age 38.
Walker’s first assignment was with 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.
“While at Fort Riley, I applied and was accepted for clinical pastoral education,” he said. “Most people associate it with hospitals, but it’s a clinical chaplain role which can be used anywhere there are high amounts of trauma: embedded with special forces, in hospitals, or in prisons.”
According to Walker the CPE residency program is accredited by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). The program supports the Army Chief of Chaplain's requirement for clinically trained spiritual care specialists during the yearlong course.
“I did my residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas,” he said. “During that year, I earned a certification in clinical education and began working towards my doctorate degree.”
Walker said upon completion of the CPE, his guidance from mentors at the U.S. Army Institute for Religious Leadership, school for Spiritual Care, was either earning a doctorate degree or become board certified to earn an additional skill identifier.
“The U.S. Army and Wesley Theological Seminary have a partnership that recognizes elective credits based on experience as an Army Chaplain during clinical pastoral education,” he said. “During my residency, I took online courses, and I continued my research and presented my thesis on the ‘Spiritual Healing from Internal Battles through guided meditation’ during my first year assigned to BJACH.”
In 2023, Walker earned a Doctor of Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary.
“For me, participating in the graduation ceremony at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. was a pinnacle moment in my life,” he said.
Walker said competition and mutual motivation with a fellow chaplain drove him to pursue board certification through the national Association of Veterans Affairs Chaplains.
“I only needed the doctorate or the board certification to earn the additional skill identifier, but I wanted both,” he said. “I love school, and the board certification process encourages professional collegiality, personal growth, and the professional development of chaplains who serve service members and veterans.”
Walker said the board certification illustrates his practical competence and best practices, versus the theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom.
Col. Alisa Wilma, hospital commander, said BJACH is lucky to have Walker.
“Pastoral care is a specialized skill. His dedication to all the nuances of providing care in a medical setting, both for patients and staff is outstanding,” she said. “He meets our patients and staff where they work and worship, not just when they come in for care.”
Wilma said Walker’s ministry reaches beyond the hospital walls and serves the entire Fort Johnson community through on call, support to installation chapel services, and supporting units and Families of deployed Soldiers.
Wilma said earning a doctorate and board certification speaks to Walker’s dedication to constant personal and professional development.
“The skills he’s honed through these achievements are applied to the problems that our staff and patients have here at BJACH,” she said, “That drive for improvement, that need to be even better at what he does, means that we as a hospital and community benefit from his ever-growing skills and abilities.”
Wilma said, chaplains in general, bring an added element to the healthcare environment for patients and providers.
“He is a gem, and he brings so much to the fight,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2025 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 490973 |
| Location: | FORT JOHNSON, LOUISIANA, US |
| Hometown: | CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Faith in Action: Army chaplain earns doctorate, board certification to strengthen spiritual care, by Jean Graves, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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