Chaplains join air advisor team on a wing and a prayer

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Victor Walker, 36th Wing chaplain corps non-commissioned officer in charge of readiness and training, practices clearing an airway during Tactical Combat Casualty Care at the USAF Expeditionary Center on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, August 30, 2022. This marked the first religious support team (RST) to go through air advisor training together. (Courtesy photo)

While the Air Force has been in the business of sending air advisors across the globe to advance the training of our ally and partner nations in an array of areas, training chaplains as air advisors has not been tried… until now.

“As far as rarity goes, we are the first religious support team to go through air advisor training together and I’m the first religious affairs Airman to go through this training specifically for the chaplain corps,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Victor Walker, 36th Wing chaplain corps non-commissioned officer in charge of readiness and training.

Walker and two chaplains were trained to augment as air advisors with the 36th Contingency Response Group to bolster regional key leader engagements in the Pacific Air Forces major command. Their training took place at the USAF Expeditionary Center on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, during the summer of 2022.

Air advisors plan, execute, evaluate, and advise operations that increase partner nation and coalition air power capabilities and relations. These components align with a high priority of the chaplain corps in PACAF.

“The PACAF Chaplain Corps’ second priority and goal is to ‘equip religious support teams to inspire readiness, promote spiritual resiliency, and cultivate international religious affairs with allies and partners, and utilize PACAF RSTs in strategic key leader engagement opportunities to strengthen alliances and further new partnerships,’” said Maj. Kelvin Francis, 36th Wing chaplain corps wing chaplain.

The Air Force was faced with two options regarding the chaplain corps, now fresh to the air advisor program. Create a standard operating procedure from whole cloth before embarking on a new path forward, or forge ahead and do both concurrently. So, they decided to ‘build the plane while flying it’.

“We are designing and strategizing the role of the chaplain corps air advisors on the run,” said Maj. Aaron Thorne, 36th Wing chaplain corps deputy wing chaplain. “People around the world tend to trust their local spiritual leaders, and we will meet with them on the same level. It’s not a commander talking to local leaders. It’s our ministers with theirs, building relationships that way. The chaplain corps can support the commander’s priorities in this area of responsibility by partner relationship building through trust.”

Benefits of chaplain corps air advisors extend beyond just to foreign religious leaders. The unique confidentiality protection of the chaplaincy and its mobile ready ability provides a unique asset in their area of responsibility.

“We’re the most mobile helping agency out there,” said Walker. “It’s far more difficult for mental health to go to a spoke because of the legal requirements in which they can operate. We have no such obligations or restrictions. It’s the same thing for a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office. Many of them tend to be GS employees and they’re not going to all of the hubs and spokes like we are. While we’re not doing SAPR or mental health jobs, we can, however, help triage and care for the Airmen while they’re on deployment or TDY until they can get back to the hub and receive expeditionary medical support. Also, the commanders have a certain trust with the chaplain corps because we are uniquely embedded in their units.”

Under the high stress and dangerous situations which deployments can bring, that extra ear to listen and that extra skilled triage consultant to assists medics can prove life-changing and life-saving.

“As a chaplain, I could talk to another clergy member about things like crisis intervention, crisis counseling, solution-focused counseling, or dealing with suicidal ideation,” said Thorne. “In addition, we can also do airman-to-airman talks or airman-to-pastor talks.

“Tech. Sgt. Walker is also equipped to do intervention, mitigation and triage. He can also help with suicide intervention and care for the dead and dying. So, expect us working with medics in trauma or combat situations with coalition partners.”

A sense of purpose and mission fuel these RSTs to continue exploring new avenues to serve. For this team of chaplains, crisis counseling is highly rewarding.

“Throughout my career, I felt called to serve the people who are on the ground,” said Thorne. “And that started with my RED HORSE deployment and being around special tactics. They’re the very point of the end of our spear here at Andersen AFB. I’ve always been drawn to the operational side. Oftentimes, they’re in harm’s way getting so much of the mission on the ground accomplished. I would argue that it can take a different type of care. It can be a long and slow process of building trust required be before they open up. That time is so important and it lays the groundwork for when someone’s in trouble and I get a call, ‘hey ‘Chap,’ can we talk?’ This is why we do what we do.”

The chaplain corps entering the realm of air advisors is another innovation to drive success in the mission of the U.S. Air Force as it looks for ways to build ever stronger bonds with other nations.

“Here at the local level, gaining the training will allow us to augment the CRG air advisor mission and provide a low-density asset that is able to get after the soft messaging with key leaders of partner nations and allies as religious leaders that others may not be able to do,” said Francis. “Simply put, our goal is to add a new capability to assist the 36th Wing mission as well as the USINDOPACOM and Department of State’s mission to increase partnerships, enhance security cooperation and increase stability in the region by what we as chaplains bring to the table. Aside from that, the training was extremely valuable and a whole lot of fun.”