§2004c Detail as Students at Schools for Education Required for Appointment as a Chaplain: Commissioned Officers; Certain Enlisted Members

Summary

Each military department can send officers and enlisted members to accredited U.S. colleges, universities, or theology schools to get the graduate degree needed to become a military chaplain. The department may pay education costs under its rules, but no more than 25 people per department may start funded training in any fiscal year. The department may also send people without paying their school costs, and those people do not count toward the 25-person limit. To be chosen, a person must be a U.S. citizen and meet service rules: officers must have 2–8 years of active duty and be O–3 or below when training starts; enlisted members must have 4–10 years of active duty and be E–5 or above and be eligible for commissioning. They must sign an agreement to finish the training and to serve afterward. Officers who complete the training get no more than four years of constructive service credit when first appointed as a chaplain. The agreement normally requires two years of active duty for each year (or part) of training, up to six years total. If some obligation is left after leaving active duty, it can be completed in the Selected Reserve at three years in the Reserve for each year (or part) of training, up to nine years in the Reserve. Selection is competitive and based on the service’s needs. Costs come from department funds. If someone is dropped for poor conduct or study, they may be required to serve on active duty (no more than one year for each year or part of the program) or repay training costs. No new agreements may be made while the President is authorized to draft people into service. The Secretary of Defense must report by March 31, 2027, and then annually for five years, with data on how many were sent, completed, and appointed as chaplains (by department and faith), the length and cost for each person, barriers for faiths with longer or nontraditional training and steps to fix shortages, and any recommendations for changes.