United States Air Force Chaplain Corps

The Chaplain Corps of the United States Air Force (USAF) is composed of both clergy, commissioned officers who have been endorsed and ordained by a religious organization, and enlisted chaplain assistants. As military chaplains, their main purpose is to support the free exercise of religion by members of the military service, their dependents, and other authorized personnel. They also provide advice on spiritual, ethical, moral, and religious accommodation issues to the leadership of the United States Department of Defense.

Air Force chaplains come from a variety of religious backgrounds including Buddhism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Protestantism, and any other religious organization with an endorser that has been recognized by the Armed Forces Chaplains Board.

While serving as a visible reminder of the Holy, the Air Force Chaplain Corps provides spiritual care and the opportunity for Air Force members and their families to exercise their constitutional right to freedom of religion.

The first American military chaplaincy was established by the Continental Congress on 29 July 1775. Chaplains were paid $20 per month, a captain's salary, and required no formal ordination or endorsement by a religious organisation. During the American Civil War, attempts were made by both government and church organization to increase professionalism. Ordination by an authorized ecclesiastical body became a legal requirement and the non-combatant status of chaplains was officially recognised.

The first Air Chaplain of the United States Army Air Force was Captain Charles I. Carpenter, appointed 28 July 1942. Although the United States Air Force became a separate department on 18 September 1947, following the passage of the National Security Act, the Army opposed the creation of a separate Air Force chaplaincy as it would violate the Spaatz-Eisenhower Agreement, which stated that parallel organizations in the Army and the Air Force would not be approved unless organically necessary, and would serve as a precedent for the separation of other services. Carpenter, on the other hand, emphasized the need for a shared sense of identity between chaplains and the men they served and favored a separate Air Force chaplaincy. On 10 May 1949, after consulting with Carpenter, General Carl Spaatz ordered the institution of a separate Air Force chaplaincy; fewer than 10 of the 458 active duty chaplains elected to remain in the Army. Carpenter was promoted to major general and was appointed the first Air Force Chief of Chaplains, serving from 1949 to 1958.

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