The Naval Chaplaincy School and Center (NCSC) will move from Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, to Naval Station (NS) Newport, Rhode Island, beginning in October 2018 with an expected completion by March 2019.

NCSC, one of 12 learning centers under Naval Education and Training Command, moved to Fort Jackson in 2009 as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission when the school was known as the Naval Chaplains School and only trained officers. NCSC today has evolved into a headquarters that develops and delivers religious ministry training both in traditional classrooms and at 13 locations through mobile training teams, spanning initial to more advanced courses for the U.S. Navy’s chaplains and enlisted religious program specialists (RP).

RP “A” School, or initial skills training following boot camp, will begin at Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi, through a NCSC learning site in February 2019. Resident officer training under NCSC’s Naval Chaplains School will return to its former home at NS Newport’s Brett Hall in March 2019.

Both relocations allow new officer and enlisted personnel the opportunity to develop as leaders and Sailors alongside their Navy counterparts attending other training at both locations.

Of NCSC’s staff, 14 military and seven civilian positions will move to Newport, and five military positions will move to Meridian.

Almost 200 chaplains and 200 RPs graduate from NCSC residence courses each year to prepare them to deliver professional religious ministry to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Merchant Marine. Another 600 chaplains and 300 RPs receive professional development training annually through mobile training teams.

Chaplains and RPs play a critical role in helping the Department of the Navy achieve and maintain a ready force. Religious ministry and compassionate pastoral care are characterized by cooperation, tolerance, mutual respect and respect for diversity, as well as an emphasis on understanding the pluralistic military environment. Chaplains and RPs are embedded within commands operating at sea and ashore to ensure 24/7 availability for service members and their families.

For more information on NCSC, visit https://www.public.navy.mil/netc/centers/chaplain/Default.aspx.

Interested media may contact Cmdr. James Stockman, public affairs officer, Naval Education and Training Command, at 850-452-4858 or james.d.stockman1@navy.mil.

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