Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain celebrated the Navy Chaplain Corps’ 243rd birthday with a dinner gathering at Downtown Rotana in Manama, Bahrain, Nov. 28.

The dinner sought to honor chaplains, who have been serving service members since the Navy’s founding.

“The Chaplain Corps has provided ministry and counseling services to Sailors and Marines since 1775. So numerous have been the pastors, priests, rabbis, and imams who left the safety of their homes and the comfort of their places of worship to wear the uniform of this country's Navy and go to wherever their men and women are asked to serve, be that in war or peace, in danger or safety,” said Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Reardon, command chaplain for NSA Bahrain.

In a birthday video message, Rear Adm. Brent Scott, chief of chaplains for the U.S. Navy, elaborated on the importance of the Navy Chaplain Corps’ role.

“Birthdays are a time of reflection. For the last 243 years, chaplains have provided religious ministry in the sea services. Chaplains have sailed to serve our nation’s treasured Sailors, Marines and Coastguardsmen. We’ve served in times of peace and during the dark days of war. Side-by-side religious ministry teams have brought the presence of God into the struggles our people face to include combat operations,” Scott said. “This year, as we focus religious ministry at and from the sea, we reflect on that heritage. We remember the legacy of those who demonstrated what right looks like so that when we face the next fight alongside those who go down to the sea, we get it right.”

According to the Navy.com career website, the Navy Chaplain Corps “boasts more than 800 Navy Chaplains from more than 100 different faith groups, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and many others […] Chaplains offer everything from faith leadership, to personal advice, to much-needed solace – all while living up to the guiding principles of the Chaplain mission.”

For more information about NSA Bahrain’s Chaplain Corps, visit building 100 or call the on-base number 439-6393.

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