Although it may be one of the smallest departments aboard the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), the command religious ministries department (CRMD) plays a vital role in the well-being of Sailors.

However, like most departments aboard George Washington, the CRMD Sailors have had to adjust as the ship goes through refueling and overhaul complex (RCOH).

"When the ship was underway, one of our main focuses was on providing religious services for Sailors," said Lt. Cmdr. Lee Hatton, the primary assistant chaplain. "While in RCOH, the services are not being held because people can easily go out in town and go to whichever church they desire. So instead, we have shifted our focus to community relations projects. We want to give Sailors the opportunity to give back to the community and make themselves feel good about doing it."

Aside from discontinuing religious services aboard the ship, the CRMD Sailors also no longer operate a movie theater or public computers for Sailors to use, and have slimmed down on the amount of books they keep in their library. However they still maintain their forte; counseling.

"We still do a lot of counseling, but the attention has changed," said Hatton. "Instead of having Sailors come talk to us about dealing with missing their family and the struggles of being apart from them; it's more towards other issues such as marital problems or the problems they are facing at work."

Even though the CRMD Sailors strive to help Sailors anyway they can, they do face a challenge having less than 10 Sailors work in the department.

"I am the career counselor, the work center supervisor and the safety representative for our department," said Religious Programs Specialist 2nd Class Patrick Brutche, the leading petty officer of CRMD, naming just a few of his collateral duties. "We have to function in par with how some of the bigger departments operate. A bigger department might assign just one person to be a work center supervisor or be a career counselor and that is their only job. With me, not only do I perform the collateral duties I am involved with, I also have to perform my duties as an RP [religious program specialist]. It is very challenging but at the same time very rewarding."

To manage the workload while operating as a small department, CRMD allows undesignated Sailors interested in pursuing the RP rate to be temporarily assigned in the department. One such Sailor who is currently temporarily assigned to the department is Airman Dante Pestello.

"I am here to get on the job training as well as to learn more about the rate before I can go apply for it," said Pestello. "I still have to take the exam to pick up the rate, it is not just given to me. I used to work in air department and one day I asked them if I could come here for a bit, because I always knew I wanted to be a RP. I really like job because I am always helping people whether it may be through helping them find information about our community relation projects or helping them set up appointments with one of the chaplains."

Going through a maintenance period can be tough for some Sailors, be it mentally or physically. According to Hatton, who has been in the on multiple ships which have gone through maintenance periods, the current CRMD Sailors are among the best and most professional Sailors he has worked with. The CRMD Sailors are always there to assist the command and most importantly, the Sailors.

To learn more about community relations projects Sailors can attend or to set up an appointment with a chaplain, Sailors can visit the CRMD Sailors on the floating accommodation facility (FAF) attached to the ship in room 321.

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