The Naval Chaplaincy School and Center (NCSC) held a graduation ceremony for 27 of the Navy's newest chaplains and religious program specialists (RP) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Aug. 5.

NCSC training prepares the students for institutional ministry to the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

The graduates of the Professional Naval Chaplaincy-Basic Leadership Course (BLC) and RP "A" School will go on to serve the fleet in the active and reserve components.

"This is what we are about at the Naval Chaplaincy School and Center, sending professionally prepared Religious Ministry Teams out to the fleet," said Capt. Mark Smith, commanding officer for NCSC. "Graduating religious program specialists and chaplains in the same ceremony reminds us of the whole team that strengthens the spiritual well-being of every Sailor, Marine, Coast Guardsman and family member. Through programs and pastoral care which nurture the whole person, they will help our people be ready for the mission our country demands of them."

Chief of Navy Chaplains Rear Adm. Margaret Grun Kibben, guest speaker for the graduation, explained that she expects great things from the graduates.

"You will serve as a reminder of the presence of God; a God who is always there, where and when it matters. You will be there alongside our people, eating, breathing and enduring the same challenges as our people," Kibben said. "Embedded in the command, you will bring what matters to our people as they face the danger inherent to the military mission."

The chaplains attending BLC have diverse backgrounds. Lt. Ronald Johnson, a reserve chaplain, is an assistant professor of history at Texas State University and a former State Department diplomat, CIA analyst, and Air Force chaplain assistant.

"After becoming a professor, I missed hands-on ministry," Johnson said. "As a minister, I wanted to give back and support our young men and women in the Navy for all of the sacrifices they make for our country."

Chaplains are often called on by Sailors and Marines to give support and counsel on personal issues.

"I have learned that confidentiality is an important tool of a naval chaplain," Johnson said. "[It] breaks down walls and gives [us] access to the sacred areas of people's lives that we are called to guard and to hold."

RP "A" School Honor Graduate Seaman Apprentice Clancy Hopper will attend Marine Corps Combat Expeditionary Skills Training, then report to his first tour of duty with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Units in Twenty-nine Palms, California.

"I value the experience, education, and the opportunities to learn and grow," Hopper said. "I feel very prepared to serve as an RP and to test out what I now know. Sharing a class with the chaplains was very valuable. I learned that chaplains have a lot of responsibilities and how they rely on us as much as we rely on them [within the] Religious Ministry Team."

Lt. Aaron Walling was a full-time minister with the Church of Christ for 19 years and felt a call to ministry outside the walls of the church.

"As a chaplain, pluralism is exciting," Walling said. "Operating in a pluralistic environment affords me the opportunity to get outside the church bubble as I gain a broader perspective concerning world religions and how vital religious beliefs and expression is to assorted faith communities."

During the graduation ceremony, Walling was named as the recipient of the Stanley Beach Leadership Award for exhibiting exceptional potential for leadership in ministry. The award is named for retired Navy Chaplain Capt. Stanley Beach who served with the Marine Corps during Vietnam. He sustained severe leg and stomach injuries while ministering to wounded Marines, carrying them to aid stations.

For Religious Program Specialist Seaman Ashley Chandler, a reservist from Fredericksburg, Virginia, learning how to support other faiths was key.

"Getting awareness of all kinds of religions and observing how people of various faith groups can work together was the most meaningful part of our training," said Chandler.

For more information on the Naval Chaplaincy School and Center visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/chaplain/ .

For more news on the Navy Chaplain Corps visit http://www.chaplain.navy.mil and http://chaplaincorps.navylive.dodlive.mil

For more news from Naval Education and Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.