United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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spiritual, and religious values consistent with the religious beliefs of the individuals concerned. To this end, itis the duty of com- manding officers in every echelon to develop to the highest possible degree the conditions and influences calculated to promote the health, morals, and spiritual values of the personnel under their command. This traditional responsibility of command is of especial importance at this time when the Congress is preparing to broaden the base of inductions into the armed services. The people of this country have made it plain to both Houses of Congress, that they are determined that adequate effort be made both in military installations and in adjacent com- munities to safeguard the moral welfare of members of the Armed Forces. The Depart- ment of Defense, sharing this determination, directs that increased efforts of commanding officers be directed to insure the accomplish- ment of this objective. General Marsha1l's Memorandum to the Chief of Naval Operations was forwarded through official channels to Chaplain Salisbury, Chief of Navy Chaplains, for proper implementation. This took form as a joint letter signed bythe Chief of Naval Personnel and the Commandant of the Marine Corps to all commanding officers under their jurisdiction. This letter dated Z4 October 1951 appeared in the Navy Department Bulletin of 31 October. The main point of the new directive is to be found in paragraph 3, which reads as follows: The protection and development of moral standards is a direct responsibility of every general and flag officer, commanding officer, and subordinate officer. Noncomznissioned officers and petty officers must be required to share in and assume this responsibility of leadership. It is obvious that vulgarity and the cheapening of moral standards must in- evitably result in the lowering of morale and in the undermining of legitimate authority. Every means must be exercised to strengthen the moral, spiritual, and religious lives of the officers and men of the Naval Establish- ment in order that the service may not fall into disrepute and to assure the country of a responsible and disciplined naval component. To implement this policy, the directive stated 'that Commanding Officers in every echelonwill: a. Insure that all personnel are reachedby group instruction and by personal interview on all matters that promote the realization and development of moral, spiritual, and religious values consistent with the religious beliefs of the individuals concerned. b. Take a personal interest in the off-duty activities of personnel and insure the availa- bility of a well-rounded program of religious, educational, and recreational activities. c. Insure that the type of entertainment presented, the contents of publications sold or circulated, including ship, station, and post newspapers, and the activities of offi- cers' and enlisted men's clubs conform to established moral standards. d. Cooperate with agencies, civilian and military, which may contribute to the moral and social well-being of personnel. Subsection a of the above provided an addi- tional basis for the character guidance program which the chaplains were already carrying on. Subsection c ' dealt directly with a problem which has long been a concern of the Chaplain Corps. This directive will continue to be of tre- mendous help to chaplains since they know that the official stand of the highest authorityis solidly behind their efforts to promote and protect the moral standards of naval personnel. Sections five and six of the same directive ern- phasize the responsibility of the commanding officer and places special emphasis upon the work of the chaplain. These sections read as follows: It is emphasized that the protection of moral standards is and must remain the responsi- bility of the commanding officer. Certain sub- ordinate officers, by virtue of their specific functions and professional training, are par- ticularly well qualified as advisors to the command and can be expected to contribute materially to the establishing and conduction of an adequate program. Among these officers are the chaplain, the specialservices or wel- fare and recreation officer, the medical offi- cer, the training or information and education officer, the personnel officer, the legal offi- cer, the public information officer, and the provost marshal. as a specialist in the field of religious guidance and as an advisor to the command- ing officer on moral matters, the chaplain is one of the key officers in promoting the moral, spiritual, and religious welfare of personnel. District, fleet, and force chaplains are available to assist commands to which chaplains are not assigned and to advise, counsel, and offer suggestions to unit chap- lains concerning their work. This directive spells out the position of the chaplain and the importance of his work more precisely than has ever been done before. Older and more general regulations about maintaining moral standards are herein sharpened and given implementation. CHARAC TER GUIDANCE PROGRAM Character Guidance has been promoted by chaplains in the United States Navy as long as there have been Navy Chaplains. Through the years, however, it has been an individual project

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SECTION Hel COMMANDERS' DUTIES OF EX- AMPLE AND CORRECTION All commanding officers and others inau- thority in the naval service are required to show in themselves a good example of virtue, honor, patriotism, and subordination, to be vigilant in inspecting the conduct of all persons who are placed under their command, to guard against and suppress all dissolute and immoral prac- tices, and to correct, according to the laws and regulations of the Navy, all persons who are guilty of them, and to take all necessary and proper measures, under the laws, regulations, and customs of the naval service, to promote and safeguard the morale, the physical well- being, and the general welfare of the officers and enlisted persons under their command, or charge. SECTION 7Qdj DIVINE SERVICE The commanders of vessels and naval activities to which chaplains are attached shall cause divine service to be performed onSunday, whenever the weather and other circumstances allow it to be done, and it is earnestly recom- mended to all officers, seamen, and others in the naval service diligently to attend at every performance of the worship of Almighty God. SECTION 7Qel REVERENT BEHAVIOR All persons in the navy are enjoined to behave themselves in a reverent and becoming manner during divine service. Thus the provisions found in the old Articles for the Government of the Navy, familiarly known as Rocks and Shoals, regarding Conduct and Morals in general and divine services inpartic- ular were preserved in the new regulations with but few changes. These quotations given above, Section 7c to 7e inclusive, are to be found in Ap- pendix Z, page 454 of the Manual for Courts- Martial, United States. 1951. PROTECTION OF MORAL STANDARDS President Truman, in October 1948, appointed nine men and women to The President's Com- mittee on Religion and Welfare in the Armed Forces. This number was later increased to eleven. All were volunteers and all were promi- nent in public affairs and social welfare activities. Mr. Frank L. Weil of New York served as chair- man. The Committee was appointed to encourage and promote the religious, moral and recreational welfare and character guidance of persons in the Armed Forces. One reason for sucha committee was the fact that the Armed Services at the end of 1948 had 630,000 young men under the age of Zl. In other words, at that time, about 505k of all serv- ice personnel were minors, a larger percentage than ever before in the peacetime history of the nation. The Committee sought to stimulate a public awareness of the needs of the peacetime service- man. Such matters as adequate housing for de- pendents of service personnel, programs of recreational activities in communities adjacent .to military establishments, and the work of the chaplains in the various branches of the Armed Services came under the study of the Comrnittee. The Chaplains Division of the Navy furnished de- tailed information regarding the status of the Navy's Chaplain Corps and of the activities of its chaplains. The function of the Committee was wholly in- vestigative and advisory. Under date of 1 October 1950 the Committee issued its report inapamphlet entitled The Military Chaplains, AReport to the President by the President's Committee on Reli- gion andWelfare in the Armed Forces. The Report set forth a number of suggestions for a closer liaison between the chaplains in the Armed Serv- ices and the civilian churches and clergy. The Committee reported: It is to the credit of the three Chief of Chaplains and to the entire chaplaincy in all three services, that there is nothing funda- mentally wrong with the chaplaincy, except for the acute shortage of these exceptionally well-qualified candidates for the chaplaincy who are so vitally needed. And, finally, the Committee stated: It would be unfair to conclude this report without a word about the generally satisfac- tory state of affairs in the military chaplaincy. Our Armed Forces are doing a highly com- mendable job meeting their responsibilities to military personnel and their families. The chaplains are a positive influence for good and they serve to promote the spiritual wel- fare of the armed forces in a manner calcu- lated to promote the best interests of the Nation. The country's citizens should be proud of their chaplaincy in the armed forces and extend to chaplains their fullest support. The Committee concluded its activities on Feb- ruary Z8, 1951. Never before had the chaplaincies of the Armed Services such a powerful advocate to speak in their behalf. For the first time in the history of the nation, an agency of civilians con- cerned with the spiritual and moral welfare of service personnel had made a serious study ofthe situation and had made definite recommendations to the President and to the Secretary of Defense. There is evidently a connection between the work of the President's Committee and the fol- lowing important memorandum sent under date of 26 May 1951, by General George C. Marshall, Secretary of Defense, to the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, to Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Air Force, andto the Chief of Naval Operations: It is in the national interest that personnel serving in the Armed Forces be protected in the realization and development of moral, 262022 1 h-Rf! 7

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dependent largely upon the interest and initiative of the individual chaplain and the opportunities afforded him by the nature and organization ofthe command to which he was attached. Since the con- clusion of World War II, Character Guidance has become a matter of service -wide interest and con- cern. As such it was discussed by the Armed Forces Chaplains Board as well as by conferences of Navy Chaplains. From these discussions auni- fied Character Guidance Program at the Recruit Level was developed by the Chaplains Division. The basic lectures for the Recruit Level to- gether with the equipment consisting of a Black Magic Board and symbols were disserninated to Training Centers, Recruit Depots and larger in- stallations in May of 1951. Because ofthe enthu- siasm with which these lectures were received and the general interest evidenced by the line officers as well as the chaplains, further develop- ments on an'official basis were undertaken. Chap- lains in key positions and those taking post- graduate work were ordered to a conference in Washington in December 1951. As a result of this conference, selected chaplains were directed to devote their efforts toward the development of Phase ll of the Character Guidance Program de- signed primarily for Service Schools. Six chaplains were ordered to duty at the Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland, for the purpose of developing this second series ofChar- acter Guidance lectures. This series, having been approved by the Training Division of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, is now in its final stage of development and it is anticipated that the lectures and the necessary materials will be available for Navy-wide distribution sometime during the sum- mer of 1953. In additionto these official activities in the field, individual chaplains throughout the service have shown great initiative in developing their own series of lectures along similar lines. CHAPLAINS' CONFERENCES AND SUPERVISORY CHAPLAINS The place of the Supervisory Chaplain has been greatly strengthened since the close ofWorld War ll. The first conference ofDistrict Chaplains was held in Washington, D. C. in April, 1946. From December 1949 through March 1950, Chief of Chaplains, Stanton W. Salisbury, Assistant Di- rector Daniel F. Meehan, and Chaplain Edward J. Hemphill, in charge of special projects and mate- riel, made extended trips through the country, meeting with groups of Navy Chaplains, both Regu- lars and Reserves. They explained the new devel- opments which had taken place in the Navy of special interest to Chaplains and the organization and plan of operation followed in the Chaplains Division. They visited chaplains at Norfolk, Annapolis, New York, Cherry Point, N. C., San Diego, Long Beach,and San Francisco. Altogether a total of 478 Regular and Reserve Chaplains, both active and inactive, were contacted. Such confer- ences did much to create and maintainacontinuing interest on the part of the Reserves in the chap- lains work. In order to give Supervisory Chaplains a deeper insight into the work of the Chaplains Division, Fleet and District Chaplains were called to Wash- ington for a conference 10- 13 January 1950. A similar conference was held in Washington from 30 January to Z February 1951, when more time was given to panel discussions of pertinent sub- jects. The 1951 Conferenceincluded all chaplains on active duty with the rank of Captain and most of the Force Chaplains. The 1950 Conference was centered on a discussion of the framework in which the chaplain's programis conducted. The 1951 Conference, with the Korean War inthe back- ground, stressed how the chaplain was to do his job with the greatest effectiveness. The recommendations of the 1951 Conference were sent to the Commandants of all Districts and to the Commanding Officers of all chaplains in attendance. Among the interesting replies re- ceived was one from Vice Admiral Felix B. Stump who, writing on 7 March 1951, commented on the importance of a chaplain being interested in the over-all life of the ship or station. Admiral Stump closed his letter with these words: IfI want to make a ship into an outstandingly efficient combat organization, the three most important people I could choose are a good captain, a good executive officer and a good chaplain. Following the 1950 Conference with Fleet and District Chaplains, Chaplain Salisbury made a trip to the Far East, leaving Washington on 15 March 1950. He visited Pearl Harbor, Guam, Iwo Jima, Tokyo and environs, Manila and envi- rons, Okinawa, and returned to the West Coast on 17 April.' These personal contacts with the chap- lains in the field were most helpful in acquainting them with the functions and policies of the Chap- lains Divisions as well as giving the Chief of Chaplains a direct insight into the problems of the field. The major result of the 1952 Conference for Supervisory Chaplains was the production of a Standard Operating Procedure for Supervisory Chaplains. This was published and distributed to Supervisory Chaplains. It represented the com- bined thinking and efforts of the Conferees who put into a finished form the procedures to be fol- lowed in the several areas of religious and pro- fessional supervision. The major work of the 1953 Supervisory Chap- lains Conference was accomplished by six panels. These panels made a thorough study of various phases of the chaplains work. Three ofthe panels dealt with the Character Guidance Program ofthe Navy as to its content and presentation, its in- fluence upon officers and men of the Navy, and its relationship to similar programs in high schools and colleges. The other three panels dealt with the chaplain in his devotional life, his performance