Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Ala. -- Serving the soul of the airman and their family is the primary focus of our chaplains and religious affairs airmen.
“I call it CARE,” said Chaplain (Capt.) David Kizziah. “We provide services focusing on their spiritual fitness to everyone on base.”
The acronym CARE stands for confidentiality, advisement, religious freedom and equipping. The Chaplain Corps. personnel are the only U.S. Air Force members to have lawful instruction to keep everything said to them with complete confidentiality. They are exempt from being subpoenaed and can only release information discussed during sessions with express written authorization from the person seeking their services.
The Chaplain Corps. is also here to advise the commanders regarding unit morale and how to properly implement every airman’s religious freedom. Chaplains advocate and ensure that our First Amendment religious freedom rights are in effect. It also means that any member with any religious affiliation can seek services of the Chaplain Corps. Lastly, they equip airmen in their spiritual fitness needs, whether it be formal religious services or personal counseling.
“We are here to make sure that the souls of our airmen are strong,” said Kizziah. “Our mission is to make everyone spiritually prepared to go on a mission that they may not return from.”
Chaplains must graduate from Officer Training School and have an approximate five-week specialized schooling requirement. Before they are eligible for military training, Chaplains must possess a minimum educational standard of an undergraduate degree and Master’s of Divinity from a theological institution and then be endorsed by a civilian religious body. The body assesses candidate’s ministry background, the “why” in an applicant’s desire to serve the military and its own ministry competency training. The time frame in obtaining civilian endorsement can take four months to one year.
“We are both an officer and a minister,” said Kizziah. “We must maintain proficiency in our ministry duties, and we also have professional military education just like every other Airmen.”
Kizziah joined our unit about two years ago in his early 40’s having felt a calling to administer his pastoral duties to the military for years before he commissioned. Prior to his service here he had approximately 20 years ministry service in local churches and spent a few years in Africa in both Zambia and Malawi. He considers it an honor to serve here on the Chapel team that is fully staffed and eager to serve the spiritual needs of our airmen.