1

A History of Navy Chaplains Serving 

with the U.S. Coast Guard

1983 and 1993 Editions by C. Douglas Kroll, CDR, CHC, USNR (retired)

2010 Edition by Heather Murphy
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World War I ................................................................................................... 4

Between the Wars ............................................................................................ 4

World War II .................................................................................................. 4

Enlisted Training Stations .............................................................................. 5

Enlisted Women .......................................................................................... 6

Officer Training .......................................................................................... 6

District Offices ........................................................................................... 6

Operational Units ........................................................................................ 7

Coast Guard Headquarters .............................................................................. 7

The Chaplain’s Assistant ............................................................................... 7

Post World War II ............................................................................................ 8

The 1960’s: Time for Change .............................................................................. 9

Vietnam ....................................................................................................... 11

The 1970’s: Continued Growth ........................................................................... 12

Chaplain Coordinator .................................................................................. 13

Selected Reserve ....................................................................................... 14

Uniforms and Restructuring ........................................................................... 15

Chaplain Coordination Expands ..................................................................... 16

The 1980’s: New Organization ........................................................................... 17

Billet Changes .......................................................................................... 17

Chaplain of the Coast Guard .......................................................................... 18

Chaplain Operations ..................................................................................... 18

The 1990’s: Full of Challenges ........................................................................... 20

Chaplains Aid Haitian Crisis Response ............................................................. 22

Navy Chaplain of the Year ............................................................................ 23

Expanding the Chaplain Corps’ Reach .............................................................. 23

New Billets in Action .................................................................................. 24

Increased Uniform Allowance ........................................................................ 25

New Chapels ............................................................................................ 25

Operation Able Manner ............................................................................... 26

Recognition Outside the Coast Guard ................................................................ 26

Mitigating Disaster: The 9/11 and Katrina Era ......................................................... 27

Chaplains’ Crisis Response ........................................................................... 27

Public Emergencies Build Relationships ............................................................ 27

9/11 ...................................................................................................... 28

The Aftermath of 9/11 ................................................................................. 29

Beyond Disasters ....................................................................................... 30

A New Chapel ........................................................................................... 30

New Challenges ........................................................................................ 31

Responding to the Changing Face of the Coast Guard ............................................ 32

Supporting the Chaplain Corps ....................................................................... 33

Preparing for the Future .................................................................................... 33 

Balancing Administrative Duties with Pastoral Care .............................................. 33 

Sending Help to Haiti ................................................................................. 33

Sheparding the Service ................................................................................ 34

Administering for the Chaplains Corps ............................................................. 34
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Billeting reflects the Service .......................................................................... 34

Notes .......................................................................................................... 36

Appendix ..................................................................................................... ##

Coast Guard Chaplains Roster ........................................................................ ##

CHC Religious Organizations ........................................................................ ##

Previous Editions’ Additional Information .......................................................... ##

Chaplains Known to have Served with the Coast Guard During World War II ........... ##

Selected Reserve Chaplains Known to have been Assigned to the Coast Guard ......... ##

Foreword, 1993 Edition ........................................................................... ##

Preface, 1983 Edition .............................................................................. ##

Preface, 1983 Edition .............................................................................. ##

Prologue ............................................................................................. ##
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WORLD WAR I

On 6 April 1917, the same day the United States declared war on Imperial Germany, the entire 

Coast Guard (approximately 200 officers and 5,000 enlisted men) was transferred into the 

Department of the Navy. As a result of that transfer, Coast Guard personnel automatica lly fell 

within the scope of Navy chaplains’ responsibilities; however, no chaplains were assigned to 

Coast Guard units or commands. 

Because of pressures to keep the Coast Guard permanently in the Navy (one of the strongest 

pressures coming from the young Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt), after 

the war, the Coast Guard did not immediately return to the Treasury Department. On 18 January 

1919, Carter Glass, Secretary of the Treasury, in a communication to Congress, pressed for the 

passage of a resolution that the Coast Guard should return to the Treasury Department, thus 

ending any official ministry of Navy chaplains with the Coast Guard. 

BETWEEN THE WARS

While Coast Guard personnel had come under Navy jurisdiction and therefore under the care of 

Navy chaplains during the First World War, any involvement ended with the transfer of the 

Coast Guard back to the Department of the Treasury in late August 1919. Any official ministry 

by Navy chaplains with the Coast Guard did not resume until July 1929 when Chaplain Roy L. 

Lewis, whose primary duty was at the submarine base, was given additiona l duty orders to the 

Coast Guard Academy, then located at Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut. Prior to his 

departure on 24 September 1932, just four days after the Academy’s relocation to its present site, 

Chaplain Lewis wrote to the Chief of Navy Chaplains describing his extra duties:

“I have arranged to conduct morning prayers at the Academy during the period of Lent; 

also to conduct a Bible study class during this season. I am convinced that the value of 

these services is worth all the extra effort it costs me.”

As early as 14 January 1932, Admiral Billard, Commandant of the Coast Guard, officially 

requested that the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation assign a full-time chaplain to the Academy. 

The admiral asserted that the detailing of Chaplain Lewis to such duty would be most agreeable 

to the Superintendent of the Academy and to him. 

While budgetary technicalities between the Department of the Navy and the Treasury 

Department prevented the Department of the Navy from acceding to this request, similar 

additional duty orders were issued to Lewis’ successors at the submarine base until the Coast 

Guard was transferred into the Department of the Navy during World War II.

WORLD WAR II

As U.S. involvement in the European war became more probable, various Coast Guard units 

were placed under the control of the Navy. The personnel of Coast Guard-manned Navy ships, 

such as transports, had been under Navy operational control since the vessels had first gone into 

service. Hawaiian units were transferred by executive order to the Navy on 16 August 1941. 
5

Shortly thereafter, those cutters in the Atlantic operating with the Navy, including the Greenland 

Patrol, were transferred. On 1 November 1941, in Executive Order 8929, the President directed 

that, until further orders, “the Coast Guard operate as part of the Navy.”

By the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the enlisted personnel of the Coast Guard had 

increased, through volunteer enlistments, from about 17,000 to nearly 30,000. With the gradual 

increase of the personnel of the Coast Guard during the war, chaplains were assigned to the 

service as the occasion demanded and as the supply of available chaplains permitted. 

ENLISTED TRAINING STATIONS

Basic training of enlisted men before the war had been conducted at Port Townsend, 

Washington; New Orleans, Louisiana; and at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland. 

These training stations were augmented in the first six months of the war by the addition of 

training stations at Alameda, California and Manhattan Beach, New York. It was at the training 

station at Manhattan Beach that the first Navy chaplain was assigned full time to the Coast 

Guard. Chaplain Raymond F. McManus, a Roman Catholic priest, reported for duty there on 15 

April 1942. By the end of 1943, Manhattan Beach was served by three Navy chaplains, a Roman 

Catholic, a Protestant and a Jewish Chaplain. Training Station Manhattan Beach holds the 

distinction of not only having the first Navy chaplain assigned to the Coast Guard as primary 

duty, but as the first, and only Coast Guard command to have had a Jewish chaplain assigned. 

Chaplain Samuel D. Soskin reported on 23 November 1943 and was relieved by Chaplain 

Solomon “E” Cherniak in October of 1944. Chaplain Cherniak’s departure in October 1945 

brought to a close the ministry of Jewish chaplains with the Coast Guard. 

The training station at Alameda had been a maritime service officers' school until 15 December 

1942 when it was turned over to the Coast Guard. Chaplain Will-Mathis Dunn had been assigned 

to the Coast Guard base at Alameda since June 1942, but Chaplain Anthony T. Wallace, the 

chaplain assigned to the maritime service officers’ school, became the first chaplain assigned to 

the Coast Guard Training Station when it was established on 15 December. Throughout the war, 

Alameda had both a Roman Catholic and a Protestant chaplain assigned. 

As more and more men were brought into the service, the existing recruit training stations were 

augmented by many district training stations. For example, Atlantic City had a chaplain assigned 

from 7 January 1943 when Chaplain Sander “J” Kleis reported, until 15 May 1946 when 

Chaplain John H. Burt was detached. Atlantic City and other district training stations operated 

during periods of peak recruitment and were decommissioned when the need had passed. 

The other major training station for recruits was at Curtis Bay, Maryland. Chaplain Joseph M. 

Crandall reported to the training station on 22 April 1943, and was joined the following 

November by Chaplain Damian B. Cragen. The training station at Curtis Bay was served by both 

a Roman Catholic and a Protestant chaplain until June 1946. Then it was moved to Mayport, 

Florida with only one chaplain. George P. Reeves became the first chaplain to serve the new 

training station. 

During the war, the Coast Guard also operated receiving stations at San Francisco, California;

Ellis Island, New York; and Boston, Massachusetts, all with chaplains assigned to them. 
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Advanced training for enlisted personnel was conducted at the training station in Groton, 

Connecticut. Shortly after its establishment, Chaplain Thomas P. Dunleavy reported on 8 

September 1942 and Chaplain Robert A. Vaughn reported a few days later on 19 September. 

Thoughout the war, both a Roman Catholic and a Protestant chaplain were assigned to Groton. 

ENLISTED WOMEN

In the summer of 1942, the women of America received an opportunity to participate directly in 

the war effort as members of the armed services. On 23 November 1942, the President signed 

Public Law 773, which amended the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Reserved Act of 1941, and 

established the Women’s Reserve as a branch of the Coast Guard Reserve, with authority to 

enlist and appoint women to serve during the war, and for six months thereafter. 

In the early months, members of the Women’s Reserve (known as SPARS, the term being 

derived from the Coast Guard motto “Semper Paratus” and its translation “Always Ready”) were 

trained in Naval training schools established for the Women’s Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency

Service (WAVES). In June 1943, when the Coast Guard Training Station for enlisted SPARS 

was opened at a Palm Beach hotel, recruiting officers were able to offer the prospect of boot 

training “under the glorious Florida skies.” (2) Chaplain Charles E. Page, who reported to Palm 

Beach on 16 June, was the first to serve there. A chaplain was assigned to the training station at 

Palm Beach until 19 February 1945 when Chaplain Marshall E. Brennemen was detached. 

OFFICER TRAINING

With the early expansion of the officer corps, necessitated by the country’s entry into the war, 

the need arose for basic training for reserve officers. 

Between February 1942 and September 1945, the vast majority of men selected for 

commissioning were first sent to the Academy for a four-month reserve training course. When 

the war began, Chaplain John W. Moore was serving as the chaplain at the Academy in an 

additional duty status. On 27 July 1942, his orders were changed to primary duty at the 

Academy, thus he became the first full-time Navy chaplain assigned to the Academy. During the 

peak of the recruiting effort in early 1944, there were two Protestant chaplains assigned to the 

Academy. Chaplain Albert E. Stone and Chaplain Scott F. Bailey were assigned from December 

1943 until July 1944. 

Basic training of officers was also conducted at the training station in St. Augustine, Florida. It 

provided an indoctrination course for commissioned officers without previous training. 

Beginning in September 1942, instruction was given in such fundamentals as customs and 

traditions of the service, military drill, use of firearms and military courtesy. When the program 

ended in April 1944, some 1,078 officers had completed the courses. (3) Chaplain Budde F. 

Janes was the first to serve at St. Augustine, reporting on 6 January 1943. He was soon joined by 

Chaplain Thaddeus J. Tillman, who arrived on 5 March of that year. St. Augustine continued to 

be served by two chaplains until its disestablishment in 1944. 

DISTRICT OFFICES
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Coast Guard district commanders became known as District Coast Guard officers throughout 

most of the war. Coast Guard Districts were made coextensive with, and became part of, their 

respective Naval Districts. Throughout much of the war, Navy chaplains were assigned to the 

staff of these District Coast Guard officers, from which it was possible to serve many small 

Coast Guard units. Chaplain Hugh M. Miller was the first to be assigned to the Coast Guard in 

the 12th Naval District. When he reported in March 1943, he found that there were approximately 

6,300 Coast Guard enlisted personnel in that District. Two years later, the chaplains’ work there 

had so expanded that five Navy chaplains were on duty serving approximately 62,000 personnel 

scattered along a 900-mile coast line. (4)

OPERATIONAL UNITS

In addition to training commands, District headquarters and Coast Guard manned transport ships, 

Navy chaplains were also assigned to the Coast Guard Air Station in Elizabeth City, North 

Carolina; Coast Guard Section and Group offices; Coast Guard bases such as Alameda, 

California; Mobile, Alabama; Rockland, Maine; Wilmington, California; Staten Island, New

York; and Galveston, Texas. Navy chaplains were also assigned to some Coast Guard stations 

(e.g. Sandy Hook, East Moriches and Portland), Coast Guard barracks and, at the close of the 

war, to Coast Guard personnel separation centers. 

COAST GUARD HEADQUARTERS

The first chaplain to be ordered to the Coast Guard in Washington, D.C. was Monroe Drew, Jr., 

who reported in October 1944. He had the unique opportunity of ministering to personnel 

attached to Coast Guard Headquarters and approximately 1,000 SPARS on duty in the 

Washington area. 

THE CHAPLAIN’S ASSISTANT

Early in 1942, the Navy Department took the first steps which eventually led to the establishment 

of a new rating, that of Specialist (W) (the “W” referring to Welfare), for chaplain’s assistant. 

The new rating was limited to Naval Reserve only, or, in other words, for the duration of the war. 

The Bureau of Naval Personnel ruled against Specialists (W) serving aboard ship. 

The first member of the Coast Guard to receive the rating of Specialist (W) was Emil Zemarel, 

who transferred from yeoman rating in November 1943. Thirty five men and 12 women of the 

Coast Guard were given this rating, of which 30 attended indoctrination school at the Naval 

Chaplains School in Williamsburg, Virginia. Two of these specialists, Zemarel and Charles C. 

Tingley, became chief petty officers. The Coast Guard, working under different policies than 

those which guided the use of specialists in the Navy, assigned some male specialists to ships. 

(5)

The large number of Navy chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard during the war can be 

attributed not only to its transfer into the Navy Department but also to the enormous expansion 

of the service during this time. By June 1944, the Coast Guard had reached a peak strength of 

175,000 regular and regular reservists. When the war began, the Coast Guard had 168 vessels 

which bore names and were 100 feet or over in length. During the war, 156 more vessels of the 

name class and 339 of the numbered class were acquired. In addition, both the Army and the 

Navy needed Coast Guard personnel to man many of their vessels. In all, 351 Navy vessels and 
8

288 Army craft were so manned. Navy craft manned by the Coast Guard included 22 transports, 

9 auxiliary transports, 15 cargo ships, 5 auxiliary cargo attach ships, 18 gasoline tankers, 28 

landing crafts (infantry), 76 landing ships (tank), 30 destroyer escorts, 75 patrol frigates and 33 

miscellaneous small craft.

The Coast Guard was returned to the Treasury Department on 1 January 1946, pursuant to 

Executive Order 9666, dated 28 December 1945. Hindsight indicates that the return to the 

Treasury was much too soon. Although the war was over, the emergency was not, and the Coast

Guard was still performing war-related duties for the Navy. It was not until seven months later, 

on 30 June 1946, that the Coast Guard completed the manning of Navy vessels for the war with 

the decommissioning of the Naval frigate EL PASO (PF 41).

POST WORLD WAR II

With the transfer of the Coast Guard back to the Treasury Department in 1946 and the 

accompanying demobilization following the end of the war, its number of personnel had shrunk 

to approximately 23,000 active duty military personnel by 1948. Also, by that year, the number 

of Navy chaplains serving with the Coast Guard was reduced to four, although for the first time 

they were serving during peacetime and assigned to Coast Guard commands as their primary 

duty. All of these chaplains were serving at training commands, with individual chaplains being 

assigned to the training center in Groton, Connecticut, the Coast Guard Academy and at the 

recruit training centers in Alameda, California and Mayport, Florida. 

In 1946, the Coast Guard training station at Cutis Bay, Maryland moved to the abandoned Naval 

Air Station at Mayport, Florida. At the request of the Commanding Officer, Captain W. J. 

Austermann, Chaplain Paul Reeves accompanied the move. For some months, divine services 

were held in the station theater. Captain Austermann was eager to have a proper chapel; although 

funds were available for alterations to existing buildings, there were none for new construction. 

However, through the efforts of Captain Austermann, Chaplain Reeves and Chief Carpenter Earl 

Kissinger, a plan was worked out to remodel an old frame dwelling which stood on the property. 

In the process of remodeling, all of the original structure vanished, and a lovely, simple chapel 

arose. Chief Kissinger designed the building and supervised the construction, all of which was 

done by station personnel. 

The chapel was designated “The Chapel of the Holy Spirit” and was dedicated on 17 July 1947. 

Among those present at the dedication was Chaplain Francis L. Albert, senior chaplain at Naval 

Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida. Many photographs and an accompanying article were sent to 

Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the event was publicized as the building of 

the first chapel in the history of the nation’s oldest continuous seagoing service. Reliable 

informants then recall that Captain Austermann was ordered to Headquarters, whose leaders 

wanted that honor to go to the Memorial Chapel at the Academy, the fund drive for which was 

authorized one week after the chapel at Mayport was dedicated. Captain Austermann was 

reportedly crushed by the reprimand, when he felt he should have received a commendation. (6)

The Academy Superintendent’s “Report to the Congressional Board of Visitors” for 1947 noted 

that the Navy chaplain assigned to the Academy held Protestant services at the Connecticut 
9

College Chapel each Sunday and the Navy chaplain assigned to the Coast Guard Training Center 

in Groton helped with Roman Catholic services at the Academy. 

On 31 May 1948, the Coast Guard closed its recruit training activities at Mayport, Florida, and 

relocated them to Cape May, New Jersey. Chaplain James K. Snelbaker, who had reported to 

Mayport in April 1948, moved with the training center to Cape May the next month, becoming 

the first chaplain to serve there. The facilities at Cape May had also been a Naval Air Station 

during World War II and had been deactivated for a number of years. When the Coast Guard 

arrived, the base was badly deteriorated. Money for repairs was quite limited; Chaplain 

Snelbaker, like everyone else at the command, did the best he could with what little was 

available. With the arrival of the Coast Guard, the former enlisted men’s club (built in 1918 as a 

YMCA) was converted to the training center’s chapel. Chaplain Snelbaker had brought about 20 

pews and a Hammond electronic organ with him from Mayport to furnish the chapel. (7)

The completion and dedication of the Coast Guard Memorial Chapel at the Coast Guard 

Academy in New London occurred in 1952. It was the first chapel to be built by the Coast 

Guard. (The chapels at other Coast Guard installations were either converted buildings or chapels 

inherited for the previous tenant.) In July 1947, Congress had authorized the Coast Guard to 

build a chapel at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut “... for religious 

worship by any denomination, sect, or religion...” and provided the authority to raise the money 

necessary through public subscription. A nationwide fund drive was launched in October 1948,

with the smallest contribution being a penny and the largest gift of $172,000 coming from the A. 

W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The magnificent 

structure that stands atop a hill at the south end of the reservation met a need that had long been 

felt and discussed. Ever since the establishment of the forerunner of the present Academy, the 

school of instruction, there had never been a chapel, as such, where religious services could be 

held. Chaplain Fendlon Dobyns Hewitt saw the construction of the chapel through to its 

completion and was the first to serve in it. 

In 1956, a second chaplain billet was added to the Training Center, Cape May, bringing the total 

number of chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard to five. Chaplain Joseph T. Dimino arrived at 

Cape May in October 1956.

THE 1960’S: TIME FOR CHANGE

The 1960’s were not only a time of change for American society, they were also a time of 

change for the ministry of Navy chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard. During this decade, the 

number of chaplains serving with the Coast Guard more than doubled. But perhaps more 

significantly, they were utilized in new ways. 

A second chaplain billet was added to the recruit training center at Alameda, California in 1960. 

The arrival of Chaplain John T. Moore in November of that year brought the total number of 

chaplains up to six. 

Less than two years later, a second chaplain billet was added at the Coast Guard Academy in 

New London, which had previously been served by the Roman Catholic chaplain assigned to the 
10

training center across the river in Groton. In January of 1962, Chaplain Norman A. Ricard 

reported as the Academy’s first full-time Roman Catholic chaplain. 

By this time, the Coast Guard’s three major training commands, the Academy and the recruit

training commands at Cape May and Alameda, each had both a Roman Catholic and Protestant 

chaplain assigned. In addition, a chaplain was assigned to the training center at Groton. 

All of these chaplains serving with the Coast Guard were at training commands dealing primarily 

with student personnel, either enlisted or cadet. However, since there were no other chaplains 

assigned to the Coast Guard, these chaplains would frequently provide for the religious needs of 

all Coast Guard personnel in the area. They would make regular visits to nearby Public Health 

Service hospitals and occasional visits to nearby Coast Guard stations. If Coast Guard cutters 

were homeported in the area, they too would be visited. The chaplains at the Recruit Training 

Center at Alameda would periodically even ride a cutter for several days, either making a short 

patrol or sailing to a scheduled port on deployment. 

1964 marked the establishment of “The Ensign Joseph Henry Hughes, III, Memorial Award” at 

the Coast Guard Academy. This award, an engraved silver service, was presented to two 

graduating cadets, selected by the Roman Catholic and Protestant chaplains, who contributed the 

most to the chapel program. When it was originally awarded, it was unique among all armed 

services academies. This award honored the memory of Ensign Joseph Henry Hughes, III, who 

was killed in an automobile accident shortly after his graduation from the Coast Guard Academy 

in June of 1963. (9) The award was presented until 2009, when it was discontinued and all funds 

were returned to the family at their request. (10)

Commander, Western Area published the “United States Coast Guard Lay Leader’s Manual” in 

1966 for distribution to Western Area units. The manual was prepared by the chaplains at the 

training center in Alameda, with Chaplain Beryl L. Burr writing the Protestant section and 

Chaplain Casimir A. Derengowski writing the Roman Catholic section. 

A significant change in the Coast Guard’s utilization of Navy chaplains took place in 1966. On 

30 June of that year, Rear Admiral I. J. Stephens accepted Governors Island for the Coast Guard. 

The Coast Guard suddenly became the operator of a major base with over 20 tenant commands, 

including Commander, Atlantic Area, the Third Coast Guard District offices, five shore 

commands and over twelve ships. The island community, located in New York harbor, and 

accessible only via ferry boats, provided married housing for over 4,000 individuals. 

The Coast Guard also took possession of the island’s three chapels—St. Cornelius the Centurion 

(Protestant—a beautiful granite structure built in 1902 by Trinity Parish), Our Lady Star of the 

Sea (Roman Catholic) and the only Jewish chapel in the Coast Guard. To serve this newly 

acquired community, the Coast Guard added three chaplain billets. Chaplain Samuel R. Hardman 

served as the first senior chaplain at Governors Island. With the acquisition of Governors Island, 

the training center at Groton was moved to the island in 1967 and its last chaplain, Chaplain 

Charles W. Rugg, was transferred to Governors Island as well. 
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A chaplain billet was created at the Reserve Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia in 1968. The 

Training Center was the home of the Coast Guard’s Officer Candidate School and various officer 

and enlisted training schools. It had previously been served by the chaplain assigned to the 

neighboring Naval Weapons Station. The first chaplain assigned to Yorktown was Chaplain 

Jerry D. Moritz. 

The following year, a fourth chaplain billet was added at Governors Island. That billet had 

previously been at the Training Center at Groton. By the end of the decade, the number of Navy 

chaplains serving with the Coast Guard had grown to eleven and they were no longer limited to 

training commands. 

VIETNAM

1965 marked the entry of the Coast Guard into the war in Vietnam. The Coast Guard was asked 

to participate by the Army, Navy and Air Force and performed a variety of duties. 

The men of the Coast Guard Port Security and Waterways Detail traveled throughout Vietnam 

inspecting ports and harbors for security against enemy attack and safe storage of hazardous 

materials. Coast Guard Explosive Loading Detachments were established at major ports to 

supervise the off-loading of ships. Coast Guard LORAN C (long range radio navigation) stations 

were established in Lampang, Sattahip and Udorn, Thailand and in Con Son and Tan My, 

Vietnam to aid U.S. Air Force warplanes. The Coast Guard also established an Aids to 

Navigation Detail and a Merchant Marine Detail. Coast Guard pilots flew combat search and 

rescue with the Air Force, under an inter-service exchange program. A squadron of 26 82-foot 

cutters was sent to Vietnam for shallow water, inshore operations. All of these Coast Guard

personnel were ministered to by chaplains of the Army, Air Force and Navy, depending on their 

location. No chaplain was assigned to serve Coast Guard personnel serving in South Vietnam. 

Early in 1967, recognizing a requirement for additional Naval assets to assist in Naval gunfire 

support missions in support of Allied ground forces, the Navy requested that five Coast Guard 

High Endurance Cutters be assigned for duty with the Cost Surveillance Force engaged in 

Market Time Operations. 

In response to this request, Coast Guard Squadron Three was established on 24 April 1967 and 

assumed the identity of Task Unit 70.8.6. Squadron Three usually consisted of five high 

endurance cutters on ten month deployments from their U.S. homeports. The cutters generally 

averaged between 70% to 83% of their time underway. They participated in every possible phase 

of the war including Naval Gunfire Support, Enemy Trawler destruction, barrier patrol, civic 

action projects, MEDCAPS and the Vietnamization Program. (11)

Squadron headquarters were at Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines. With the establishment of 

this squadron, the full-time services of a chaplain were sought to meet the specific needs of 

Coast Guardsmen in this combatant situation, primarily because of the length and type of 

Vietnam patrols. 
12

The first chaplain to serve with Squadron 3 was Chaplain Robert R. Mitchell. He reported for 

duty with the squadron on 1 July 1967 and became the first Navy chaplain to be assigned sea 

duty with the Coast Guard. 

Chaplain Mitchell’s duties consisted of circuit riding the ships of the squadron, hopping from 

cutter to cutter as they patrolled on Operation Market Time. With Naval Station Subic as a base 

of operations, the chaplain frequently rode SERVPAC 3 ships to and from the cutters. His 

principal mode of transportation from one ship to another was a boatswain’s chair on a manila 

highline. 

The chaplain normally spent about one week aboard each of the five cutters before returning to 

Subic to begin the next circuit. Chaplain Mitchell later reflected:

“My billet as chaplain was unique in several respects: First, although I was with a 

squadron of Coast Guard cutters, my tour of sea duty was classified as “In Country”; my 

senior chaplain was Captain James J. Killeen, on the staff of Commander, Naval Forces 

Vietnam in Saigon. I was his only chaplain afloat. Secondly, I was the first seagoing 

chaplain ever assigned to the Coast Guard. That came about as follows: While it is true 

that Coast Guard ships were active in World War II, they were always integrated into 

Navy commands. In the case of Squadron 3 in Vietnam, it was an independent unit under 

7

th fleet.”

Chaplain Mitchell was relieved in June 1968 by Chaplain Leslie Reiter. Chaplain Reiter was 

relieved in June 1969 by Chaplain Robert S. Borden, the last chaplain to serve with the Coast 

Guard in Vietnam. 

In February 1969, the Coast Guard began Vietnamizing its operations in Southeast Asia. All 26 

of the 82-foot cutters were turned over to the Republic of Vietnam by mid-August 1970. A 

similar program of training South Vietnamese Naval personnel on how to operate Coast Guard 

vessels resulted in the turnover of the cutters BERING STRAIT and YAKUTAT on 1 January 

1971. With their turnover and the resulting reduction of Coast Guard personnel in the squadron, 

Chaplain Borden detached the same month. The turnover of CASTLE ROCK and COOK INLET 

in December 1971 ended the Coast Guard involvement in Vietnam.

Chaplain Borden, in reflecting on his service with Squadron 3, said:

“During the course of my tour, I was aboard some 18 cutters, most of them big white 

ones, but a couple of the 82 footers. My duties required that I ‘hitchhike’ from Song On 

Dak in southwestern Vietnam to Da Nang at least twice quarterly and return to Subic Bay 

each time a new cutter inchopped from the United States. The ministry was somewhat 

similar to that referred to in the Chaplain Corps as the ‘circuit’ ministry on destroyers. 

When I detached, the squadron was down to about two AVP-types and they were painted 

grey, although with the racing stripe intact.”

THE 1970’S: CONTINUED GROWTH
13

The 1970’s saw the number of chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard increase even more. The 

decade also marked the beginning of the history of Naval Reserve chaplains serving with the 

Coast Guard.

In August 1971, the Coast Guard established a training center at the former Army security base 

in Petaluma, California. The following month, Chaplains Joseph A. Ferraro and Merrill C. 

Leonard reported. Less than a year later, in June 1972, the Coast Guard took possession of the 

former Naval Station on Kodiak Island in Alaska and established a Coast Guard base there. 

Kodiak was a situation similar to Governors Island with family housing and a number of tenant 

commands. The chaplains assigned to the Naval Station, Chaplain Bashford S. Power and 

Chaplain George S. Macho, were transferred to the Coast Guard base on the day it shifted from 

Navy to Coast Guard property. Chaplain Macho later reflected:

“The first year was tough going. The Coast Guard realized the importance of the base but 

the cost of operation was beyond all expectations. As one of the officers told me in the 

first few weeks of transition, ‘Thank God for the chaplains, they are the only nonproblem area.’”

COMMANDANT NOTICE 7301 of 19 November 1975 authorized Coast Guard funding for the 

ministry of chaplains to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard, by a joint service agreement, had

always reimbursed the Navy for pay and allowances of chaplains detailed to the Coast Guard for 

duty. It was not until 1972 that the Coast Guard officially agreed to fund the chaplains’ 

programs. However, that decision was never officially promulgated in either a Commandant 

instruction or in the Coast Guard Comptroller Manual. The notice, published in 1975, stated that 

necessary supplies needed by Navy chaplains serving with the Coast Guard could be properly 

charged to Coast Guard operating expenses. Unfortunately, the notice was rather restrictive in its 

wording and did not specifically include funding for travel, purchase of organs or other major 

chapel equipment or funding for the construction of chapels out of appropriated funds. 

On 27 May 1976, The Chapel of Our Lady of the Sea on Governors Island was rededicated by 

Terence Cardinal Cooke, Archbishop of New York and Military Vicar. The chapel had been 

transformed from a stereotyped Army chapel to a modern place of worship. The transformation 

had begun almost four years earlier when it was found that the wiring in the chapel was 

dangerous, the walls were not fireproof and the exterior needed painting. Since this would 

involve major reworking, it was decided to go ahead with a complete renovation which would 

bring the chapel up to date with modern trends in the Roman Catholic Church following Vatican 

II. Present at the rededication were Chaplain Peter R. Pilarski, the Roman Catholic chaplain on 

Governors Island, and his predecessor, Chaplain Richard M. Mattie, who had begun the 

renovation project. 

CHAPLAIN COORDINATOR

With the number of Navy chaplains serving with the Coast Guard increased to fifteen, the need 

for official coordination of the chaplains became apparent to the Navy Chaplain Corps. The 

Chief of Chaplains proposed that the senior Navy chaplain assigned to the Coast Guard Academy 

(at that time the senior ranking Navy chaplain serving with the Coast Guard) be designated as the 

“Chaplain Coordinator” for all chaplains assigned to Coast Guard commands. The Commandant 
14

of the Coast Guard responded with the alternative proposal for designating the senior chaplain 

billet at Support Center New York (Governors Island) as “Chaplain Coordinator for Chaplains 

serving with the Coast Guard.”

On June 22, 1976, the Chief of Chaplains advised the Commandant of the Coast Guard that the 

Chief of Naval Operations concurred with the Commandant’s recommendation. Shortly after 

that, Chaplain Eli Takesian, who, as a commander was the senior chaplain at Governors Island, 

was designated as the “Chaplain Coordinator for the Coast Guard.” The position was unique in 

that it was the only coordinator who was not stationed with and, as a primary duty, assigned to 

the headquarters of his claimancy; nor did he serve in a position where his primary and collateral

duties fit hand in glove. 

A further challenge faced by Chaplain Takesian was convincing a number of senior Coast Guard 

offices of the need for a “Chaplain Coordinator.” Coast Guard units generally act independently 

and not as part of a squadron, carrier group, or battle group. As a result, they do not think in 

terms of “coordination” as much as their Navy counterparts. They also tend to be more self 

reliant. Chaplain Takesian liked to compare the Navy to “a school of fish” and the Coast Guard 

to “hermit crabs.” He was successful in winning the support of these offices. (15)

In August of 1977, Chaplain Takesain flew to San Francisco to join Vice Admiral Austin 

Wagner, USCG, Commander, Western Area, on a WESTPAC tour. His visits to isolated Coast 

Guard LORAN Transmitting Station on islands in the western Pacific made him aware of the 

need for developing a lay leader program to train people and provide materials so that Coast 

Guard personnel might be provided with religious ministry. He returned with the hopes of 

starting a lay leader training program at the Academy and at the recruit training centers in Cape 

May and Alameda. He also wanted to have active duty chaplains assigned to each of the District 

Offices, who would provide a circuit-riding ministry and facilitate lay reader programs. 

Aware of the need for more chaplains to provide religious ministry to the Coast Guard, Chaplain 

Takesian approached the Chief of Chaplains’ office about securing selected reserve chaplains to 

drill and mobilize with the Coast Guard.

SELECTED RESERVE

In 1977, seventeen Naval Reserve (SELRES) billets were authorized to augment chaplain 

services to the Coast Guard in the event of mobilization. These billets were formed into a 

SELRES unit named “Naval Reserve U.S. Coast Guard Religious Support Detachment Number 

106” (NR USCG RELSUP 106). For administrative purposes, these reserve chaplains were 

assigned to the Naval Reserve Center at Adelphi, Maryland, with training and supervisory 

responsibility delegated to the staff chaplain of Naval Reserve Readiness Command Region Six 

as an additional duty. Chaplain Daniel Stone served in that capacity at the time the unit was 

established. 

The unit was unusual in that its members were scattered across the United States and drilled at 

active duty Coast Guard commands near their homes, most often at Air Stations, Group 

Commands or District offices. In the early years, the only time members of this reserve unit saw 
15

each other was if they were able to attend meetings of all the reserve chaplains in the Readiness 

Command. 

With so few active duty chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard, the role of selected reserve 

chaplains in providing religious ministry to Coast Guard personnel was vitally important. Many 

of these reserve chaplains served in areas where no active duty chaplain was assigned. Drilling 

on weekdays at active duty Coast Guard commands, frequently doing far more than their 

required two days per month, these chaplains functioned more as part time active duty chaplains 

than as typical Naval Reserve chaplains. 

UNIFORMS AND RESTRUCTURING

COMMANDANT NOTICE 1020 of 14 June 1978 authorized Navy chaplains detailed to serve 

with the Coast Guard to wear the Coast Guard uniform. In 1976, the Coast Guard had adopted a 

new, distinctive uniform. Prior to that time, Coast Guard personnel had worn the same uniforms 

as the Navy, only with Coast Guard insignia. This Notice specified that when Navy chaplains 

wear the Coast Guard uniform they “will wear the cap device, sleeve insignia, and insignia on 

shoulder marks of the Navy Chaplain Corps in lieu of Coast Guard insignia. ”

During this time, the Religious Program Specialist (RP) rating was being established in the 

Navy. Chaplain Takesian advised the Chief of Chaplains against trying to establish the rating in 

the Coast Guard because of the extremely small numbers that would be involved. He suggested 

either detailing Navy RPs to duty with the Coast Guard or continuing to utilize Coast Guard 

yeoman. Chaplain Takesian thought that the latter would be preferable since Navy petty officers 

would likely be perceived as “outsiders.”

Chaplain Takesian, because of his responsibilities as the senior chaplain at Governors Island, 

found it difficult to devote the time necessary to being the “Chaplain Coordinator for the Coast 

Guard.” While he was able to visit Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on occasion 

and work on developing a budget, he also knew that a staff chaplain there was a necessity. 

Thus, he recommended to the Commandant of the Coast Guard in February of 1979 that a new 

billet, “Chaplain, United States Coast Guard” be established in Headquarters, with additional 

duty as “Assistant to the Chief of Chaplains for Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Chaplains,” 

and a collateral function as “Chaplain Coordinator for the Coast Guard.” He further 

recommended that the senior chaplain billet (which was a Captain’s billet) at Support Center 

New York be deleted and transferred to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. (16)

The following May, the Commandant of the Coast Guard requested an additional chaplain billet 

to establish the position of a staff “Chaplain, USCG” at Coast Guard Headquarters. He also 

requested that if this was not possible that the senior chaplain at Support Center New York be 

given Additional Duty (ADDU) orders to the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard as staff “Chaplain, 

USCG.” Chaplain Takesian advised the Commandant not to pursue his latter recommendation 

“as this will only complicate matters.” (17)

Realizing that Governors Island was in many ways a microcosm of the Coast Guard, Chaplain 

Takesian approached the Commanding Officer of the Training Center on Governors Island about 
16

the possibility of setting up a two-week orientation course for Naval Reserve chaplains that 

would introduce them to the Coast Guard. Working together with the Training Center’s 

Commanding Officer and with Chaplain Theodore Granberg, a reservist from New Jersey who 

was assigned to NR USCG RELSUP 106, Chaplain Takesian developed a curriculum. 

A Coast Guard orientation course for Naval Reserve chaplains was conducted at Governors 

Island for the first time in 1979. Chaplain Granberg served as the course director. The two-week 

course was designed to introduce reserve chaplains to the organization, missions, uniforms and 

programs of the Coast Guard in order to enable them to provide better service should they be 

mobilized for ministry in the Coast Guard. Active duty chaplains en route to the Coast Guard 

began attending this course in Spring 1990. 

Rear Admiral John J. O’Connor, the Chief of Chaplains, United States Navy, commented very 

favorably about Chaplain Takesian’s performance as the first Chaplain Coordinator for the Coast 

Guard:

“Wherever I have visited Coast Guard (personnel), including the Washington 

Headquarters, I have heard his praises sung. For his own efforts of the past two and one 

half years and the efforts of his fellow chaplains in the outstanding ministry they provide 

on a daily basis—a ministry too little known and appreciated—I am sincerely grateful.” 

(18)

CHAPLAIN COORDINATION EXPANDS

In 1979, Stanley J. Beach took over as the second Chaplain Coordinator of the Coast Guard, with 

additional duty as the Senior Chaplain at U.S. Coast Guard Support Center, Governors Island. At 

Governors Island, Chaplain Beach’s work was very specific and focused on serving the members 

stationed there. He supervised three other chaplains and two enlisted personnel. He also 

conducted worship, counseled and provided professional advice to the Commanding Officer. In 

addition, Chaplain Beach identified a need for, and subsequently established, family assistance 

programs at Governors Island. 

“I discovered that the shorter but more frequent U.S. Coast Guard deployments tended to be 

more disruptive of family life,” Beach wrote. “[They were more] difficult than the longer and 

less frequent deployments experienced in other services.”

In his role as Chaplain Coordinator, Chaplain Beach conversely addressed the continuing larger 

needs of the chaplain corps throughout the service. His duties in that job were many and varied, 

highlighting the immediate importance of that relatively new position.

“I traveled to U.S. Coast Guard units with chaplains to inspect and advise commands. [I] 

advised the Commandant via the Director of Personnel. I worked with U.S. Coast Guard, 

U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense to establish four new U.S. Coast Guard 

chaplain billets... I conducted memorial services for the Blackthorn in Tampa, Florida, 

conducted two flag officer funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, established a U.S. 

Coast Guard Orientation Training Course for the Naval Reserve chaplains, and arranged 

for the first chaplains to accompany cadets on their summer cruise,” Beach wrote. (19)
17

With so many responsibilities and duties, the job of Chaplain Coordinator was becoming 

increasingly demanding. As the Coast Guard and its chaplain corps grew, it seemed more 

difficult for one person to balance the coordinator job as well as fill a regular chaplain billet.

THE 1980’S: NEW ORGANIZATION

Fifteen chaplains were assigned to the Coast Guard at the beginning of 1980; but before the year 

ended, three additional chaplain billets had been authorized and filled. However, securing those 

billets was a difficult process. 

“[There were] major challenges in securing new billets. DOD had a restriction on the 

numbers of personnel assigned to outside agencies—which required frequent 

communications with DOD representatives to explain the “arrangement” of the Navy 

Chaplain Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard. DOD had continued to insist that the Coast 

Guard establish their own chaplains,” Beach said. (20)

Despite that challenge, the 1980s would have the most growth in numbers of any decade thus far 

and would see significant improvements in the supervision of both regular and reserve chaplains 

assigned to the Coast Guard. 

BILLET CHANGES

Chaplain David L. Pearcy reported to Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, at Otis Air Force Base, 

Massachusetts in June of 1980. The Air Station, commissioned in August of 1970 as a tenant 

command aboard Otis Air Force Base, became the largest active duty military installation in the 

Otis complex when the Air Force left the site in December 1973. The last Air Force chaplain 

departed Otis in 1975. Until Chaplain Pearcy’s arrival in 1980, there was no active duty military 

chaplain presence at the complex.

At the time, the Coast Guard was the host command and managed base housing for 

approximately 2,200 people in over 600 units. It also provided support services such as medical 

care, base exchange, movie theater and many other family-oriented activities. 

The chaplain billet at Cape Cod was justified not only because of the personnel at the Air 

Station, but also because of the need to provide for the religious needs of the personnel of the 

First Coast Guard District, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Chaplain Pearcy functioned 

not only as the Air Station chaplain but also as a “circuit rider”, providing ministry to over 75 

small, remote stations and a large number of floating units, including a number of large cutters. 

In effect, the chaplain assigned to Air Station Cape Cod had served as the chaplain to Coast 

Guard personnel and their dependents throughout the First Coast Guard District (New England), 

with the Air Station being the base of operations. 

The U.S. Navy Chaplains Manual (OPNAVINST 1730.1), which had been previously distributed 

as an information document to Coast Guard commands and which authorized active duty 

chaplains and mobilization chaplain billets, became effective for Coast Guard use in the fall of 

1980 with the promulgation of Commandant Instruction M1730.2 on 29 October 1980. The 
18

notice also noted that requests for information, resources and any assistance pertaining to the 

religious support program or chaplains’ ministry in the Coast Guard was to be addressed to 

Commandant (G-PS) via the Coast Guard Chaplain Coordinator at Support Center New York. 

COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION 1730.3 was promulgated in February 1981. It dealt with 

“U.S. Navy Chaplains serving the Coast Guard.” It discussed both the assignment of active duty 

and reserve chaplains to duty with the Coast Guard and specified that all chaplains serving with 

the Coast Guard were to be coordinated and supervised by the Chaplain Coordinator, USCG, and 

that they were authorized to wear the Coast Guard uniform with a Navy cap device and sleeve, 

collar and shoulder board insignia of the Navy Chaplain Corps in lieu of Coast Guard insignia. 

The recruit training center at Alameda was decommissioned in June of 1982. Chaplain Baker, the 

last Protestant chaplain to serve at the recruit training center, retired and Chaplain Baldwin, the 

final Roman Catholic chaplain, was reassigned to the newly created position of District Chaplain 

for the Twelfth Coast Guard District, headquartered in San Francisco. He continued to work out 

of the chapel office of the newly-commissioned Support Center, Alameda. 

Chaplain Norman Ricard’s retirement from active duty on 1 July 1982, while serving at the 

Reserve Traiing Center in Yorktown, brought to a close an active duty career which touched 

Coast Guard personnel more than most. Chaplain Ricard had served two tours of duty at the 

Academy, first in the early sixties and again in the mid-seventies. His last tour of duty had been 

at the Reserve Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia. 

1982 was a significant year for the selected reserve chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard as 

well. That year, the members of NR USCG RELSUP 106 came under the supervision of their 

own unit commanding officer rather than the staff chaplain of the Readiness Command. Chaplain 

John Griffith was the first to fill the newly created billet of Commanding Officer of NR USCG 

RELSUP 106.

CHAPLAIN OF THE COAST GUARD

A major milestone occurred in February of 1983 when Chaplain Eddy Moran reported to Coast 

Guard Headquarters as the first staff “Chaplain, U.S. Coast Guard.” The newly-established billet 

was a special staff element under the immediate direction of the Vice Commandant and 

Commandant.

During Chaplain Moran’s tour of duty he wrote the first Commandant Instruction (Manual) on 

“Religious Ministries in the Coast Guard” and discovered and disseminated a provision in the 

comptroller regulations that allowed the Coast Guard to furnish uniforms for Navy chaplains 

assigned to it. 

Chaplain Moran integrated the selected reserve chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard into a 

more active functional role, even including them in some of the special training conferences held 

for the active duty chaplains. He also insured that the chaplains were made an integral part of the 

Coast Guard’s developing family programs. 

CHAPLAIN OPERATIONS
19

The Seventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami, Florida, became the second District 

to have a chaplain assigned primary duty as the District Chaplain. Chaplain Daniel Ottaviano 

reported to Miami in September of 1983 to a position that he saw as a “circuit rider” both afloat 

and ashore. The Seventh District, which included the Greater Antilles Islands and eastern 

Caribbean Sea, was heavily involved in the interdiction of drug smuggling and law enforcement. 

Chaplain Ottaviano spent, on average, three quarters of this time in the field visiting District 

units. Half of that time was spent riding cutters involved in law enforcement patrols. In reflecting 

on his tour of duty with the Coast Guard, chaplain Ottaviano described it as “interesting, 

exciting, with a lot of room for innovation and creativity.” (22)

The Thirteenth Coast Guard District, which includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho 

and Montana as well as a large area of the Northern Pacific Ocean extending halfway to Hawaii, 

became the third District to have a chaplain assigned primary duty as a District Chaplain. 

Chaplain Virgil J. Tillman reported to Seattle in August of 1984. The District headquarters and 

staff were located in the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in Seattle but the District Chaplain’s 

office was located in the Support Center on the waterfront in downtown Seattle at Pier 36 where

four major cutters, including two polar icebreakers, were homeported. 

Chaplain Tillman later gave the following description of his ministry as the Thirteenth District 

chaplain:

“In addition to worship and counseling, religious ministry since that time has involved 

administrative work in the areas of writing local instructions, requesting and securing 

office and chapel spaces and educating personnel on the chaplain’s role within the 

command. This has proven to be very exciting. The ministry is such that the chaplain 

may find himself driving through the snow covered Cascade Mountains one day, flying 

about the Olympic Mountains or the Oregon Coast the next and sailing on the Puget

Sound the third day. All of this is in order to visit his people during a time of crisis, in 

isolated duty or mid-deployment. The chaplain is given orders on a quarterly basis which

allow for frequent responding to emergency situations anywhere within the Thirteenth 

District.” (23)

One of the major events that occurred during Chaplain Moran’s tour of duty at Coast Guard 

Headquarters was the entombment of the unknown serviceman from the Vietnam War at the 

Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. On Memorial Day of 1984, Chaplain 

Moran, as the Chaplain of the Coast Guard, was a participant in the entombment ceremony.

In April of the following year, Chaplain Martha E. Bradley reported for duty as the first chaplain 

assigned to the Coast Guard Support Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. Chaplain Bradley also 

became the first female chaplain to be assigned to duty with the Coast Guard. Much like the 

chaplain assigned to the Air Station in Cape Cod, this Support Center Chaplain also functioned 

as the District Chaplain for the Fifth Coast Guard District, with its headquarters located in a 

different location in Portsmouth. 
20

In 1984, the selected Reserve chaplains assigned to NR USCG RELSUP 106 had their first 

annual meeting as a unit. Chaplain Bill Will, the new commanding officer of the unit, presided at 

the meeting and worked on unit organization and accountability throughout his tour of command. 

COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION M1730.4 “Religious Ministries Within the Coast Guard” 

was promulgated on 7 May 1985. For the first time the Coast Guard had its own manual on 

religious ministries. In many ways it was a Coast Guard adaptation of the Navy OPNAVINST 

1730 series, but it also reflected the establishment of the “The Chaplain, United Stated Coast

Guard” and the existence of NR USCG RELSUP 106.

In June of 1986, Chaplain Moran departed Coast Guard Headquarters and Chaplain Alan 

Plishker became the second Chaplain of the Coast Guard.

The following year a chaplain billet was established at the Coast Guard Air Station at Borinquen, 

Puerto Rico. Chaplain Douglas Shamburger reported to the Air Station in July of 1987. 

During Chaplain Plishker’s tour, the Coast Guard underwent a major realignment which 

involved merging some Districts and the creation of Maintenance and Logistics Commands for 

both the Atlantic and Pacific Areas. The goal of this realignment was to increase the number of 

operational personnel and decrease the number of support personnel. Chaplain Plishker 

successfully fought the proposal to place all chaplains under the Maintenance and Logistic 

Commands rather than have them assigned to operational commands. In the end, the only impact 

his realignment had on the chaplains assigned was in the Twelfth District (headquartered in San 

Francisco). The realignment merged the Twelfth District with the Eleventh District, which was 

headquartered at Long Beach. With the Twelfth District no longer in existence, the District 

Chaplain was reassigned to the staff of Commander, Pacific Area with headquarters on Coast 

Guard Island in Alameda. 

Chaplain Plishker was also faced with the proposal for the disestablishment of NR USCG 

RELSUP 106. It was uncertain whether the reserve chaplains would be converted to Individual 

Mobilization Augmentees (IMAs) and remain assigned to active duty Coast Guard commands, or 

whether there would no longer be any reserve chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard. After 

consultations with the Chief of Chaplains and the Commander, Naval Reserve Force, it was 

decided to leave NR USCG RELSUP 106 intact as a selected reserve unit. 

Chaplain Plishker retired from active duty in July of 1989. Prior to his departure, Chaplain 

Plishker revised the “Religious Ministries within the Coast Guard” instruction. 

COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION M1730.4A was finally promulgated on 8 September 1989.

Chaplain James G. Goode reported to Coast Guard Headquarters in July of 1989 to become the 

third Chaplain of the Coast Guard.

THE 1990’S: FULL OF CHALLENGES

The year 1990 was special and full of challenges for the nation’s oldest, continuous, seagoing 

armed service. It was a special time because of the celebrations surrounding the Coast Guard’s 
21

bicentennial, marking two centuries of service dating back to 4 August 1790 when Congress 

authorized a fleet of revenue cutters, forerunners of today’s Coast Guard. During 1990, the Coast 

Guard was designated as federal on-scene coordinator of the summer 1990 cleanup effort in the 

wake of the Exxon Valdez massive oil spill in Alaskan waters. The year also saw the Coast 

Guard respond to Desert Shield and Desert Storm requirements for enhanced security in U.S. and 

Persian Gulf ports, and to the critical need for experienced boarding personnel for the naval 

embargo of Iraq.

Navy chaplains were very much a part of these celebrations and challenges. For the first time in 

its fifty-year history, members of the Coast Guard reserve were involuntarily mobilized. Port 

Security units from Milwaukee, Buffalo and Cleveland were mobilized and deployed to Persian 

Gulf ports during September and November. Prior to their deployment, these reservists

underwent training at Camp Perry, Ohio. Chaplain Goode traveled to Camp Perry and provided 

training for lay readers and made presentations on family separations and war trauma. Navy 

chaplains throughout the Coast Guard were involved in training and preparing arrangements for 

the event of possible mass casualties. 

1990 was a very significant year for chaplains serving with the Coast Guard, as well. As the 

Coast Guard began its third century of service there were twenty-two active duty and seventeen 

selected reserve chaplains assigned to it. The decade would begin with the realignment of several 

of the active duty chaplain billets and with a decrease in the number of selected reserve chaplains 

assigned to the Coast Guard. 

Eight active duty chaplain billets were realigned to better reflect their functions. The billet 

assigned to the Support Center in Portsmouth, Virginia was transferred to the staff of the Fifth 

District with additional duty orders to the Support Center. The billet assigned to the Air Station 

at Borinquen was transferred to the staff of Commander, Greater Antilles Section with additional 

duty to the Air Station. 

A number of chaplains were given additional duty orders to better reflect their actual functions. 

The chaplain assigned to Air Station Cape Cod was given additional duty orders to the First 

District. The chaplain assigned to the Support Center at Elizabeth City was given additional duty 

orders to the Fifth District. The senior chaplain at Support Center Kodiak was given additional 

duty orders to the Seventeenth District and the senior chaplain at Governors Island was given 

additional duty orders to both the staffs of Commander, Atlantic Area and Commander, 

Maintenance and Logistics Command, Atlantic. The Seventh District chaplain was also given 

additional duty orders to Air Station Miami. 

While a number of active duty chaplains were realigned, the number of billets authorized for NR 

USCG RELSUP 106 decreased from seventeen to fourteen during 1990. 

The year also saw the development and implementation of a lay reader program throughout the 

Coast Guard. Chaplain Vucinovich, the Commanding Officer of NR USCG RELSUP 106, came 

on temporary active duty to develop the Lay Reader Manual, based on one developed by 

Chaplain Goode while he was the force chaplain for the Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet. 

Chaplain Chadwick at Cape Cod edited the manual. The “U.S. Coast Guard Training Manual for 
22

Lay Readers” (COMDTPUB P1731.1) was published in May and thirty-six Protestant and an 

equal number of Roman Catholic lay reader kits were delivered to District chaplains. At the same 

time, the religious ministries manual (COMDTINST M1730.4A) was amended with the addition 

of a fourth chapter giving details of the lay reader program. (24)

The first biannual conference for active duty chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard was held at 

Yorktown during this year of the Coast Guard’s Bicentennial. The conference was developed and 

promoted by Chaplains Goode, Chadwick and Tundel. 

The year 1991 marked the transfer of one of the chaplain billets at Governors Island to the 

Eighth District office in New Orleans. Chaplain Ronald Sturgis reported for duty there in early 

July. Prior to Chaplain Sturgis’ arrival, a selected reserve chaplain had functioned as the Eighth 

District chaplain on a part-time basis. 

The year also saw a new “Memorandum of Understanding Between Chief of Naval Operations 

and Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Regarding Management of and 

Reimbursement of Chaplains Serving with the Coast Guard.” The memorandum of 

understanding was the first policy document since 1942 that officially connected the Navy and 

Coast Guard in the management, reimbursement and utilization of chaplains. 

The memorandum was signed by Vice Admiral Martin H. Daniell, USCG, the Vice 

Commandant of the Coast Guard, on 10 December 1990 and by Vice Admiral J. M. Boorda, 

USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower. It detailed the joint services agreement 

for the management of Navy chaplains to support and meet the religious ministry requirements 

of the Coast Guard and also provided for the reimbursement for billets of active duty Navy 

chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard. Further, it made reference to the Chaplain of the Coast 

Guard and also incorporated the authorization to provide Coast Guard uniforms to Navy 

chaplains assigned to the Coast Guard.

New chaplain billets were approved in 1991 for Group/Air Station St. Petersburg, Florida, and 

the Eleventh District Office in Long Beach. An additional billet was also approved for a second 

chaplain at Air Station Cape Cod. In addition, three civilian support staff positions were 

approved for Borinquen, the Coast Guard Academy and Petaluma. 

CHAPLAINS AID HAITIAN CRISIS RESPONSE

Over 20,000 Haitians were rescued from the Caribbean between October 1991 and May 1992 by 

Coast Guard cutters and their crews. During this crisis, additional Coast Guard resources and 

support systems were required to meet the critical circumstance of the Haitian refugees. Noting 

the increased pressures and demands on the crew, Chaplain Goode arranged for seven active 

duty and two reserve Coast Guard chaplains to be deployed on a rotating basis. The chaplains

served from two to three weeks each. This is the first time chaplains were forward deployed on 

Coast Guard cutters in a non-wartime situation. 

Chaplain Clark Prescott from Governors Island was the first and arrived on Thanksgiving Day 

1991. He visited all cutters in port providing services for both Haitians and Coast Guard 

personnel. His services in Spanish enabled larger numbers of Haitians to participate. Chaplain 
23

James Duncan from the Fifth District arrived on scene a few days later. In addition to riding the 

cutters during rescue missions, he developed a handbook on Haitian culture, terms and traditions 

which was most helpful for chaplains and other support personnel arriving on scene. Chaplain 

Bruce Maxwell, from Petaluma, relieved Chaplain Duncan just prior to Christmas and was most 

supportive to Coast Guard personnel and Haitians during Christmas and the New Year. 

The only Catholic chaplain to serve during this crisis, Chaplain Maxwell provided services

aboard Coast Guard Cutters: DURABLE, HARRIET LANE, THETIS, TAHOMA and 

VIGILANT. Chaplain Maxwell was followed by Chaplain Greg Demarco, Elizabeth City, 

Chaplain Thomas Kappert, District 7, Chaplain James Ellis, Cape May, Chaplain Richard Inman, 

Governors Island and two reservists, Chaplain Eric Darrow and Chaplain Francis Bonadonna. 

May and June 1992 saw the largest exodus and repatriation of Haitians. Coast Guard cutters were 

involved in rescuing nearly 16,000 during this period. Three additional chaplains provided 

support for both Coast Guard personnel and Haitians. Chaplain Felix Villanueva of Borinquen, 

Chaplain Dave Gibson of Yorktown and Chaplain Robert Adair of District 5 were called in for 

this strenuous period. 

On the work and ministry they provided, one Task Group Commander wrote, the chaplains 

“provided much needed spiritual advice and services to the crews of the assigned task units, as 

well as officiating special services for Haitian migrants. Their worth to the success of this 

operation is immeasurable. Please continue this support.” 

NAVY CHAPLAIN OF THE YEAR

For his innovative leadership with the Coast Guard in developing a lay reader program, training 

programs for reserve and active duty chaplains, the realignment of eight billets, staffing sixteen 

additional billets by 1995 and his immediate response to the Desert Storm and Haitian Crisis, 

Chaplain Goode was nominated and selected the outstanding Navy Chaplain of the Year by the 

Military Chaplains Association (MCA) who presented him with the “Distinguished Service 

Award” in recognition of that honor on 30 April 1992. 

Admiral Kime stated, “Chaplain Goode has brought vitality and spiritually to the Coast Guard. 

From preparing units for deployment to the Persian Gulf to responding to the latest exodus of 

Haitian migrants, he has made outstanding contributions to Coast Guard men and women. He is 

truly deserving, and I am delighted to see his efforts recognized.”

Chaplain Goode departed the Coast Guard in July 1992 and reported to his new assignment at 

Naval Air Station Pensacola in August. His relief, Captain Thomas Chadwick, who served as 

chaplain for Air Station Cape Cod, 1987-1990, became the fourth Chaplain of the Coast Guard in 

July 1992.

EXPANDING THE CHAPLAIN CORPS’ REACH

Much of Chaplain Chadwick’s tour as Chaplain of the Coast Guard was spent locating and 

placing additional chaplain billets throughout the service. At that time, as part of the 

Commandant’s commitment to increase the number of chaplains serving with the Coast Guard, 

with the goal of one chaplain for every one thousand active duty personnel, new billets were 
24

continually established and filled. Chaplain Chadwick was not responsible for creating these 

billets, but identifying where they should be located.

“I spent a lot of time surveying around the Coast Guard—looking for larger concentrations of 

Coast Guard, maybe not in the same command... but a pocket of [closely-located] units where I 

could assign the chaplain,” he said. 

In 1992, Chaplain Karl Lindblad reported to fill the newly-established second billet at Air 

Station Cape Cod. Chaplain Charles Robinson became the first active duty chaplain assigned to 

the staff of the Commander, 11th Coast Guard District in Long Beach, California.

1993 began with even more billets filled. Chaplain Wesley Sloat reported as the first chaplain 

assigned to Group St. Petersburg, Florida. Chaplain Gary Weeden reported to the staff of 

Commander, 9th Coast Guard District in Cleveland, Ohio. The new billet at Air Station Astoria, 

Oregon was filled by Chaplain Gary Stewart.

Chaplain Chadwick also assigned a chaplain to Charleston, South Carolina, where the Navy had 

recently removed their chaplain billet. A Catholic chaplain was also added to the staff at Air 

Station Borinquen. While there had previously been a Protestant billet there, recently realigned 

to Commander, Greater Antilles Section, there had never been a Catholic chaplain. With a large 

Coast Guard presence, including families living in Coast Guard housing, Chaplain Chadwick 

decided both Protestant and Catholic chaplains were necessary to properly serve the community. 

In addition, there was a large Coast Guard presence in mainland Alaska, near Juneau and Sitka,

without chaplain support. The two chaplains stationed on the island of Kodiak would 

occasionally travel to the mainland on Coast Guard aircraft, but their visits were rare. To better 

support Alaska’s Coast Guard members and families, Chaplain Chadwick added a chaplain billet 

at the Seventeenth Coast Guard District in Juneau. In total, 14 new billets were added throughout 

the Coast Guard during Chaplain Chadwick’s tenure.

One of these new billets was a chaplain assigned to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, 

D.C. Although the Chaplain of the Coast Guard was also stationed there, his duties were located 

throughout the geographic United States and abroad, anywhere the Coast Guard took its 

members. These duties left little time for ministry to the over 1,200 active duty personnel, one of 

the largest concentrations of Coast Guard personnel in one location, also stationed there. 

Chaplain Tim Demy reported as the first Coast Guard Headquarters chaplain. In addition to 

serving as the chaplain for all personnel assigned to Headquarters and nearby Coast Guard units, 

he also served as the Deputy Chaplain of the Coast Guard.

NEW BILLETS IN ACTION

After placing the chaplains in their new locations, Chaplain Chadwick then defined how each 

chaplain would operate. Before this expansion, many of the chaplains were assigned to training 

commands or other large bases that typically had a chapel. At these locales, the chaplains usually 

followed a parish model, spending their time running the business of the chapel: conducting 

regular services, meeting with members, coordinating a choir and organizing Bible studies.
25

With the expansion, more chaplains were stationed in federal buildings or other staff locations 

without chapels and served Coast Guard members stretched over a large geographic area. 

Chaplains in St. Louis, Cleveland, Seattle and Honolulu, for example, joined a staff without any 

material resources.

Together with the newly-assigned chaplains, Chaplain Chadwick had to decide how the 

chaplains would minister to all the members assigned to them. Orders, vehicles, lodging and 

other logistics were determined as the chaplains traveled to stations and units never before 

regularly visited by chaplains. 

“I was always fighting to fund the new billets,” Chadwick said. “Local commands wanted the 

chaplains, but not the expense.”

INCREASED UNIFORM ALLOWANCE

Another area of logistics that Chaplain Chadwick addressed during his tenure was chaplain 

uniform allowance. While the Coast Guard previously provided certain uniform items to Navy 

chaplains temporarily joining the ranks, the list was minimal. 

“When I was in my first Coast Guard billet at Cape Cod, I said, if I’m ever Chaplain of the Coast 

Guard, I’m going to make this list reflect reality,” Chadwick said.

Chaplain Chadwick increased the uniform allowance to an amount that could be reasonably worn 

and washed in one week. He also added a separate uniform allowance for female chaplains, 

including the addition of blouses and skirts. Previously, the list only mentioned trousers and 

shirts, leaving local commands to determine what uniforms to provide female chaplains.

NEW CHAPELS

The early 1990’s also saw new chapels put into service. The Training Center at Petaluma, 

California dedicated its new religious activity center, Lighthouse Chapel, on 29 May 1992. The 

building, originally constructed by the Army in 1943, had served as a recreation building. Slated 

for destruction in 1988, the demolition plans were changed in favor of salvaging and renovating. 

The principal speaker for the dedication of the renovated building was Chaplain Goode. Located 

at the center of the Training Center, this new 150-seat chapel replaced the old 75-seat chapel

which was located a half mile west, well outside the training center’s busiest area. 

Command Chaplain Bruce C. Maxwell, in the dedication benediction said, “The chapel will 

provide a space of quiet in a world that moves so quickly, a space to return to our source of 

strength. Like a solid pointer in a storm, the chapel will be our lighthouse of strength.”

A new construction chapel was completed at the Reserve Training Center in Yorktown and 

dedicated on 1 July 1993. Named the “Olde Yorke Chapel,” it occupies a site on the training 

center that was once inhabited by early Virginia settlers in the first establishment of the town of 

Yorktown in the 1630s. The Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral J. William Kime, and the 

Chief of Chaplains, Rear Admiral David White, were the keynote speakers. A large A-frame

construction overlooking Wormley Creek, the chapel is situated in the woods, on a small knoll 

just opposite the Aids to Navigation School. It seats 150 worshippers and has overflow capacity 
26

of an additional 50 seated in the narthex. The complex includes a office and fellowship hall, also 

of A-frame construction.

In addition, Chaplain Chadwick looked in to funding a new chapel in Elizabeth City, North 

Carolina, but construction did not begin during his tenure.

OPERATION ABLE MANNER

On 15 January 1993, the Coast Guard began Operation Able Manner in an attempt to prevent 

massive loss of life by Haitians seeking to flee the United States in unworthy seacraft. A 

squadron of 15 cutters was initially deployed. A chaplain billet was soon added to the rotating

squadron staff. 

In February 1993, in a separate event, Coast Guard chaplains were deployed to assist the Navy 

SPRINT team in the Critical Incident Stress debriefing of Coast Guard crews. These crews 

assisted in the retrieval of bodies following the disastrous ferry boat accident in Haitian national 

waters. Three chaplains were deployed to this event: Commander Tim Demy, Lieutenant Jim 

Weibling and Lieutenant Commander Greg Demarco. 

In both responses, the chaplains provided limited ministry to Haitians, mostly because of the 

language barrier. However, the chaplains provided ample post traumatic stress and other 

counseling to Coast Guard members working there. 

“Coast Guard crews had to do difficult work, rescuing live people, but also dealing with a lot of 

death,” said Chaplain Chadwick. (25)

The following chaplains participated in Operation Able Manner or the response to the Haitian 

ferry boat accident, each serving a two or three week period circuit-riding on the cutters and 

ministering to the Aviation Detachment at the Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba:

CDR Timothy Demy HQ, USCG

CDR Robert Adair CGDS

LCDR Greg Demarco AirSta Elizabeth City

LT James Weibling CGD7

LT Karl Lindblad AirSta Cape Cod

LT Ronald Sturgis CGD8

LT Robert Freiberg SUPRTCEN Governors Island

LT David Gibson RTC Yorktown

RECOGNITION OUTSIDE THE COAST GUARD

Chaplain Skip Blancett became the fifth Chaplain of the Coast Guard in 1995. One major crisis 

affecting the service occurred about one year later. On July 17, 1996, TWA flight 800 crashed 

into the Atlantic Ocean, south of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 passengers and crew 

onboard. The Coast Guard response was huge and immediate. In total, 18 cutters, 28 small boats, 

11 aircraft, 1,100 active duty service members and 121 reservists participated in the response. 

(26) The chaplain corps responded to this tragedy as well, with a senior reserve chaplain on Long 

Island becoming the lead chaplain. 
27

Besides disaster ministry, Chaplain Blancett and his Deputy, Chaplain Ronald Swafford, focused 

on ensuring their chaplain corps received the recognition they deserved for their dedication and 

effort. At least one billet, the Pacific Area Chaplain, was upgraded to O-6. Also, Chaplains 

Blancett and Swafford devoted a significant amount of time to ensuring their chaplains’ fitness 

reports accurately reflected their chaplains’ work. 

“Probably the most important thing we did... was to work hard to elevate the ministry of USCG 

chaplains in the eyes of our USN/USMC colleagues,” Swafford wrote. “The increased promotion 

rate of USCG chaplains became the talk of the USN CHC. Most of our guys ‘made the cut’ most 

of the time. We started having chaplains coming to us to get a USCG billet!” (27)

MITIGATING DISASTER: THE 9/11 AND KATRINA ERA

CHAPLAINS’ CRISIS RESPONSE

Chaplain Leroy Gilbert began his second tour with the Coast Guard when he became the sixth 

Chaplain of the Coast Guard in 1998. Having already served as the senior chaplain at the Coast 

Guard Academy from 1993 – 1995, Chaplain Gilbert was familiar with the missions, nature and 

operations of the Coast Guard before he assumed his new billet in Washington D.C. 

Going into the job, Chaplain Gilbert considered the role of the chaplains serving in the Coast 

Guard to be different than that of those serving with the Navy or Marine Corps. Because of the 

Coast Guard’s humanitarian missions and more frequent interaction with the community, 

Chaplain Gilbert felt the chaplain corps could have a more intimate, unique role with the public. 

As a result, he took steps to prepare the entire chaplain corps for any type of community-wide 

disaster. 

“It was in appreciation for what the Coast Guard did,” Gilbert said. “The Coast Guard involved 

themselves when there was a crisis. How can we involve ourselves as a chaplain community? 

We had the skills and leadership that we could provide support to the community. [Therefore], 

we developed a crisis ministry.”

Chaplain Gilbert established relationships with the Red Cross and other disaster response 

agencies, which provided disaster response training to the chaplain corps. Little did he know, 

these relationships and training would be invaluable for the unusual events that unfolded 

throughout his tenure as Chaplain of the Coast Guard. 

PUBLIC EMERGENCIES BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

One high profile event the Coast Guard was involved with during this time was the fatal private 

plane crash of John F. Kennedy, Jr., off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. As Coast 

Guard pilots and cuttermen searched for survivors, area chaplains prepared to minister to service 

personnel involved as well as the local community. 

Their response was typical of the standard procedure that had developed among the chaplain 

corps: When the Coast Guard responded to a disaster, the chaplains responded as well. (28)
28

A second airplane crash occurred in early 2000, when Alaska Airlines Flight 261 went down off

the Southern California coast, killing all 88 passengers and crew onboard. (29) The Pacific Area 

chaplains from Alameda, San Diego, Astoria and Seattle as well as several reservists were 

involved in the response. These chaplains were led by Chaplain Ronald Swafford, the Pacific 

Area Chaplain at the time.

“I coordinated the ministry and worked closely with the President of Alaska Air and Gray Davis, 

the Governor of California, who came for the memorial service, at Pepperdine University’s 

auditorium,” Swafford wrote. (30)

Experiences like this one continued to elevate the Coast Guard chaplain corps’ exposure and 

availability to help with disaster ministry.

“[Over the course of] several airplane crashes... and emergencies, we created a relationship with 

other agencies and community organizations,” Gilbert said. “When the Coast Guard responded in 

a public manner, we tried to respond. Before there was no pastoral involvement.”

As Chaplain Gilbert provided leadership for chaplain response during emergencies, local active 

duty and reserve chaplains operated on the ground, assessing the needs of those involved in the 

situation and providing a ministry presence. Chaplains also served as resource guides, helping 

victims and family members find the help they needed according to their specific situation.

In addition to providing pastoral care to emergency responders and the local community, Coast 

Guard chaplains also found themselves taking a leadership role in local public ministry. 

“We became involved with community leaders and organizations,” Gilbert said. “We wound up 

training local clergy in how to involve all those who wanted to help.”

Coast Guard chaplains who responded to community-wide emergencies found that locals weren’t 

always used to working together to respond to spiritual needs in an interfaith way. As a result, 

Coast Guard chaplains devised an operations plan to automatically include the chaplain corps in 

disaster response in the community. This plan outlined ways in which chaplains could respond to 

post-disaster pastoral needs: conducting services, providing a presence, directing victims to 

support services, counseling, augmenting the local community’s care, providing training and 

leadership and helping local clergy.

To adequately fill the community service role described in the new operations plans, all 

chaplains in the Coast Guard received all of the training they could potentially need, including 

critical incident stress debriefing.

9/11

The chaplains’ training and new role as disaster responders were soon put to the test in a disaster 

unlike one anyone had seen: 9/11.
29

On September 11, 2001, terrorists crashed passenger planes into the two towers of the World 

Trade Center in New York, New York and the Pentagon, outside of Washington, D.C., killing 

thousands and generating an immediate Coast Guard response. 

Within one hour of the plane hitting the Pentagon, Chaplain Gilbert was on scene, providing 

leadership and pastoral support. 

“For the first day, I was in charge of pastoral cases and response,” Gilbert said. “I was almost the 

first [chaplain] on scene, helping chaplains respond to that critical situation by being with the 

rescue workers. They were going in, bringing out bodies and we were there with them.... We 

[also] dispersed chaplains in the area where families were gathered—they were distressed and 

we provided care.”

In the days that followed, Chaplain Gilbert mobilized the Atlantic Area Chaplain, Chaplain 

Wilbur Douglass, to lead the Coast Guard chaplain response at Ground Zero. Chaplain Douglass 

immediately began to develop connections with agencies there like the Red Cross and the 

Salvation Army. Because of previously-established relationships with those organizations, Coast 

Guard chaplains were able to get the credentials to access disaster areas right away, enabling 

them to serve a wide range of people beyond Coast Guard members. 

“We provided pastoral care for those families coming into the area. We connected with... the 

local community to see what was needed,” Gilbert said. “We got on the ferry at Staten Island,

rode with the [victims’ families] and provided ministry and presence to deal with the places the 

devastation happened.”

For two months, Coast Guard chaplains served at the disaster sites. Active duty and reserve 

chaplains stationed across the country took turns on scene, for approximately two weeks to a 

month at a time. There were about 15 Coast Guard chaplains serving simultaneously. 

The chaplains provided care to the workers, firemen, victims and service personnel in the area. 

They wore coats with “Coast Guard Chaplain” written on them so the public would know who 

they were. Every night, every chaplain participated in a critical stress debriefing to mitigate the 

strain of that critical experience. 

THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11

After 9/11, chaplains in the Coast Guard maintained contact with agencies and faith communities 

they had directly served with during the crisis. Some chaplains were invited to speak at memorial 

services and other church functions. 

Chaplain Gilbert conducted an assessment of the chaplains’ response to the situation, and 

determined that chaplains should continue to be involved in Coast Guard disaster response. 

“We made a point that chaplains should be involved with... every aspect of the crisis situation,” 

Gilbert said. “There was a demand for our services and we needed to be written into the plan.”
30

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York recognized the work of Coast Guard chaplains during 9/11 

in a ceremony on Capital Hill. She presented Coast Guard chaplains with a Military Chaplain 

Association (MCA) award to thank them for their service. 

BEYOND DISASTERS

During this time, the role of the Coast Guard was expanding and their chaplain corps adjusted 

accordingly. Several new billets were added throughout the service to help cover the vast 

geography most chaplains traveled, visiting service members. With the addition of these billets, 

the chaplains’ budget increased, mostly paying for the needs of the new chaplains as well as 

chaplain-wide training imperative at the time. 

Chaplain Gilbert also worked on acquiring chaplain’s assistants (RPs), used throughout the Navy 

and Marine Corps. At the time, the Navy was downsizing the RP rating, so additional billets 

were not approved for the Coast Guard. However, this process ensured all Coast Guard chaplains 

received assistants. These assistants were sent to Navy RP school to learn the skills necessary to 

adequately help chaplains in their duties. 

In addition, Chaplain Gilbert developed a video and accompanying brochure detailing chaplains’ 

services and the uniqueness of chaplains in the Coast Guard. Coast Guard commands, members, 

chaplains and the general community used these resources to better understand how chaplains 

could serve them. (31)

A NEW CHAPEL

One new chapel was built during Chaplain Gilbert’s tenure. Wings of Faith Aviation Memorial 

Chapel was dedicated in Elizabeth City, North Carolina on September 24, 1999. (32)

When Chaplain Alan Andraeas reported as the Support Center Elizabeth City Chaplain in 1997, 

there were very little resources for him to use on the old Navy World War II-era base. There was 

no official chapel, just some offices on the second floor of the gymnasium with “bits and pieces 

from old chapels,” Andraseas said. “It was unsatisfactory.”

After pursuing some possible leads for new chapel construction without positive results, 

Chaplain Andraeas presented the need for a new chapel to the District Five Admiral at the time, 

who was meeting with all local department heads regarding current projects. Chaplain Andraeas 

proved the need for construction by detailing the numbers of people who would use such a 

facility. He compiled totals of people seeking counseling, worship, Sunday school and other 

chaplains’ services. With the Admiral’s approval of the idea of a new chapel, Chaplain Andraeas 

began work with the base facilities engineer, CDR Mike Valerio, to turn the idea into a reality. 

By using facilities engineering as the main laborers, no contracting was necessary. Therefore, the 

entire project cost under $150,000, a sum entirely funded locally and through donations. Local 

commands as well as groups like the Pterodactyls and the Coast Guard Evergreen Fund 

contributed. The greater aviation community also pitched in, raising money for a memorial, 

leading to the Chapel’s name.

“There was a great desire to have one consolidated Aviation Memorial,” Andreaeas said. 
31

From Chaplain Andraeas’ original structure idea, drawn on a napkin during lunch with the 

facilities engineer, to base employees’ plumbing, electric and construction work, building of this 

chapel was a team effort that came together very quickly. The chapel was designed, constructed 

and dedicated all in one year. 

“The response was fascinating,” Andraeas said. “All of the engineering shops were working 

together. They pulled together and were proud of what they were doing.”

Their efforts resulted in a Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation ribbon for all civilians 

and military members who worked on the project. The military members also received a 

Meritorious Unit Commendation award. Most rewarding for all those involved in construction, 

when the chapel was dedicated, there was standing room only. (33)

NEW CHALLENGES

Chaplain Wilbur C. Douglass III became the seventh Chaplain of the Coast Guard in 2002. This 

was his second consecutive tour in the Coast Guard, having just left his billet as chaplain for 

Atlantic Area and District 5, where he had served since 1997. While in this billet, Chaplain 

Douglass was integral to the Coast Guard chaplain response to 9/11. He led a team of chaplains 

at Ground Zero in New York City for several months and directly ministered to the first 

responders there.

This crisis experience proved invaluable to the biggest challenge he faced during his tenure as 

Chaplain of the Coast Guard: Hurricane Katrina. (34)

On Monday August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a strong Category 3 hurricane 

on the Louisiana coast, causing massive destruction as the storm moved north. Many homes and 

small towns were destroyed in the storm’s wake, but the most significant damage occurred in the 

city of New Orleans, where levees built to keep the city dry were breached for the first time in 

history. According to Coast Guard historian Scott Price, “That led to flooding of over 80 percent 

of the city to a depth of up to 20 feet, leaving 50,000 citizens who were still there trapped.” (35) 

The Coast Guard response was historic and enormous, with over 5,000 Coast Guard personnel 

deployed in response to devastation in the area. (36) Many of these responders were 

unexpectedly away from home for an undetermined amount of time. Some had families in the 

area affected by the hurricane and left their loved ones in emergency shelters or hotels while they 

deployed. The need for chaplain support was huge and the chaplain corps responded in kind. 

Almost all of the chaplains serving with the Coast Guard at the time spent about a week on 

scene, ministering to Coast Guard personnel and their families. Chaplains were temporarily 

stationed out of Gulfport, Mississippi; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as 

well as in Florida and Texas.

Chaplain Douglass coordinated the chaplains’ efforts while Chaplain Kal McAlexander, the 

Deputy Chaplain of the Coast Guard, coordinated logistics. 
32

“I had experience of leading a team during 9/11, so I knew what to ask for in Katrina,” Douglass 

said. “I went [to the affected area] twice; First to check on the chaplains and next time as part of 

an assessment team, to see how the Coast Guard was doing.”

For 9/11, the Incident Command System (ICS), an organized method of disaster response and 

responsibility allocation, was new, but used during the effort at Ground Zero. Chaplain Douglass 

and his peers had already learned ICS and knew where they fit into the response model. 

“When we realized how important it was for 9/11, we did training for all the chaplains,” 

Douglass said. “Two months later, Katrina hit. Chaplains were [stationed all over the Gulf Coast] 

and they knew what to do.”

RESPONDING TO THE CHANGING FACE OF THE COAST GUARD

Though their job description stayed the same, the post-9/11 and Hurricane Katrina chaplains had 

to adjust to the changing nature of the Coast Guard as a service. After these disasters, the Coast 

Guard evolved to better respond to a variety of natural and manmade disasters. Port Security 

Units (PSUs) were established to defend against terrorist threats and the marine safety field 

grew, while traditional Coast Guard missions like search and rescue and ice breaking continued 

to be important, but somewhat less visible to the general public. 

“As the Coast Guard changed its image, we had to ensure chaplains changed with the image,” 

Douglass said. “We had more emphasis on disaster ministry and [we were] more visible in the 

public eye. There was a whole new focus and we had to adapt to the ever changing Coast Guard 

and provide ministry to the newly-focused Coast Guard.”

Chaplain Douglass used every chaplain serving at the time to respond to the needs of Coast 

Guard members. 

“We had 49 chaplains—and I say 49, because we had 49 total chaplains—with the reserves 

working just as hard as the active duty, to provide mentoring and leadership,” Douglass said. 

While no new active duty chaplains were assigned to the Coast Guard during his tenure, 

Chaplain Douglass reorganized the reserve chaplains to better reflect the increasingly operational 

tone of the Coast Guard. He reassigned all of the reserve chaplains from specific units to District 

staffs, increasing their breadth of responsibility and the number of personnel they served. 

After this reorganization, two chaplains still needed billets. Chaplain Douglass reassigned them 

to the Headquarters staff as the Officer in Charge (OIC) and Assistant Officer in Charge (AOIC)

of reserve chaplains, coordinating the efforts of their peers. These new billets fell under the 

responsibility of the Commandant and Chief of Staff, respectively.

“I was trying to protect billets and make them operational. They were out there doing it, covering 

[territory] and helping the active duty chaplains,” Douglass said. “My reserve chaplains got to all 

the little boat stations that I had never been too. When I visited one, my reserve chaplain had to 

introduce me.”
33

SUPPORTING THE CHAPLAIN CORPS

As part of his effort to support the ever changing Coast Guard and needs of the chaplain corps, 

Chaplain Douglass also brought the chaplains up-to-date with training. A new training manual 

for chaplains was written and distributed. All chaplains received ICS, as well as suicide 

prevention and other wellness trainings. In addition, Chaplain Douglass visited every chaplain at 

their duty station. 

“I wanted to see everybody in their space—visiting a chaplain at a conference didn’t count,” 

Douglass said. “I needed commands to see that Washington was interested in their chaplains. I 

wanted to see how they were doing, how I could help, what the issues were. I tried to advocate 

for the chaplain as far as the command was concerned.” (37)

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

BALANCING ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES WITH PASTORAL CARE

The second half of the 2000’s saw very few major incidents affecting the Coast Guard and 

chaplain corps. Therefore, more time was spent ensuring the administrative needs of the chaplain 

corps were fully met, while addressing the many ministerial needs of Coast Guard members. The 

chaplain corps leader throughout this period was Chaplain William F. Cuddy, Jr., who took over 

as the first Roman Catholic and eighth Chaplain of the Coast Guard in 2006.

Like other Chaplains of the Coast Guard before him, Chaplain Cuddy had served with the Coast 

Guard before. Officially, he served at the Coast Guard Academy from 1996 – 1998. Unofficially, 

he served as a Chaplain Reservist to Group Boston and the cutters assigned there from 1980 –

1988. Also, while assigned to Florida with the Navy from 1998 – 2001, Chaplain Cuddy 

provided pastoral assistance to the cutters that visited Mayport for inspection, along with a full 

range of chaplain support to Group Mayport and MSO Jacksonville. 

After these diverse tours with the Coast Guard, Chaplain Cuddy was eager to return to the 

service. 

“I wanted to come back to the Coast Guard,” Cuddy said. “It’s a very positive experience, a great 

opportunity to work with a great group of people.”

SENDING HELP TO HAITI

Only one major disaster occurred during Chaplain Cuddy’s tenure that required supplemental 

chaplain support. (38) On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Port-auPrince, Haiti, leaving an estimated three million people in need of emergency aid. (39) The Coast 

Guard was one of the first to arrive and provide assistance in an effort entitled Operation Unified 

Response, and later, Operation Southeast Watch. Cutters delivered medical supplies and cleared 

obstructed harbors. Air assets also provided relief supplies, delivered disaster management 

personnel and provided search and rescue coverage. (40)

“In response, we devised and implemented a Coast Guard Chaplain rotation schedule, involving

both Active Duty and Reserve Chaplains, enabling our chaplains to provide pastoral care and 

support to the various cutters and their crews,” Cuddy said. 
34

Chaplain assistance lasted for several weeks, with chaplains riding cutters, going into port and 

providing support to Coast Guard personnel.

SHEPARDING THE SERVICE

While chaplains provided for the spiritual needs of Coast Guard members serving in crises, they 

also continued to provide for the needs of all members doing the routine work of the Coast 

Guard, day in and day out. 

“We do four things: provide, facilitate, advise and care,” Cuddy said. 

As the chaplains served Coast Guard members in this manner, Chaplain Cuddy similarly served 

the Headquarters staff, flag officers and various Coast Guard personnel he encountered in his 

travels. Due to his denomination, he also provided Sacramental ministry of Baptism, Marriage, 

Mass and Penance to Roman Catholic Coast Guard personnel.

ADMINISTERING FOR THE CHAPLAIN CORPS

During the rest of his tenure as Chaplain of the Coast Guard, Chaplain Cuddy provided 

leadership and mentoring for Coast Guard chaplains and focused on bringing the administrative 

needs of the chaplain corps up-to-date. He reviewed, updated and established policy and doctrine 

in support of the Coast Guard’s religious ministry program. He also oversaw and advocated for 

budget requirements to fund Coast Guard chaplain functions and ministry.

After his predecessors ensured the chaplain corps was written into operational plans, Chaplain

Cuddy took the next step in integrating chaplains with Coast Guard operations and secured a 

“place at the table” for chaplains at all major Coast Guard conferences. He and other chaplains 

provided valuable presentations detailing chaplains’ services and roles at Cutters’, Sectors’, 

Command Master Chiefs’ and Flag conferences. These conferences provided an opportunity for 

chaplains to talk directly with Commanding Officers and share the benefits chaplains can 

provide them and those who serve at their units. Conversely, these conferences allowed 

chaplains additional access to information on trends, issues and developments throughout the 

Coast Guard, allowing them to tailor their service to better fit the needs of Coast Guard 

members.

In addition, Chaplain Cuddy conducted an annual symposium for all active duty and reserve 

chaplains to conduct training, review policies and share news from all corners of the Coast 

Guard. Flag officers were frequent guest speakers, remarking on their philosophy of the use of 

chaplains. The symposium was held alternatively at Pacific or Atlantic Area with all 50 

chaplains invited to participate.

BILLETING REFLECTING THE SERVICE

During this time, a thorough review of the Coast Guard’s billeting was conducted, ensuring all 

Coast Guard members had adequate access to chaplain support. 

As part of this billeting review, Chaplain Cuddy obtained two new chaplain billets from the 

Department of the Navy. Both billets were established in remote areas where previously, the 
35

closest chaplain had been located several hours of travel away. One was added at Sector Key 

West and filled by Chaplain Douglas Grace in 2009. The second billet was established at Sector 

Northern New England in Portland, Maine. That billet was filled by Chaplain Cynthia Kane in 

2010. 

Other previously-established billets were realigned to better reflect the needs of Coast Guard 

members. The Integrated Support Command St. Louis billet was transferred to Sector Upper 

Mississippi. The Air Station Cape Cod Protestant billet was transferred to Sector Southern New 

England in Providence, Rhode Island while the Air Station Cape Cod Roman Catholic billet was 

moved to District 5 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Also, one of the District 1 billets was moved from 

Boston, Massachusetts to District 5. 

“Prior to this change, the Atlantic Area Chaplain was responsible for providing pastoral care and 

support for D5 while also supervising all Chaplains assigned to the AOR [Area of 

Responsibility] and providing direct reporting to the Atlantic Area Commander and Staff,” 

Cuddy said.

After this change, Chaplain Gary Weeden became the first Atlantic Area chaplain, while 

Chaplain James Goodbow became the first District 5 chaplain. Both chaplains assumed their new 

billets in 2008. The change benefited members serving in the Portsmouth, Virginia area, as well 

as those throughout the District and Area.

“The addition of the two new billets, the creation of the D5 Chaplain position and placing greater 

emphasis on the supervisory/staff office role of the Atlantic Area Chaplain billet have 

dramatically improved the delivery of chaplain services to the Coast Guard,” Cuddy said. 

As the Coast Guard expands in size and mission breadth, the Chaplain corps needs to respond. 

Two manpower studies were conducted during this time to evaluate chaplain corps coverage and 

billeting. One study, internal to the Coast Guard, evaluated the manpower of all billets necessary 

at the sectors. The second study, contracted by the U.S. Navy, conducted a manpower analysis 

for the entire chaplain corps and all its components serving with the Navy, Marine Corps and 

Coast Guard. Both studies helped determine the need requirement for chaplain support. 

Chaplain Cuddy provided Coast Guard leadership with the results of these two studies to help 

develop additional chaplain billets in the Coast Guard. He is hopeful that more chaplains will be 

assigned to the Coast Guard in the future. There are many geographic challenges in the Coast 

Guard, with members spread across the country, often in remote units without nearby chaplain 

support. 

“We need more chaplains to benefit mission requirements and with personal issues,” Cuddy said. 

“We do the best with what we have, but everybody is very busy and working hard.” (41)
36

NOTES

1. Walter C. Capron, The U.S. Coast Guard (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1965), p. 63.

2. Malcom F. Willoughby, The U.S. Coast Guard in World War II (Annapolis: U.S. Naval 

Institute, 1957), pp. 18-19.

3. Ibid., p. 17.

4. Clifford M. Drury, The History of the Chaplain Corps, United States Navy, Volume Two, 

1939-1949 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, n.d.), p. 243.

5. Ibid., p. 80.

6. Paul Reeves, letter of May 1982 to C. Douglas Kroll, CDR, CHC, USNR (retired).

7. James K. Snelbaker, letter of 19 July 1981 to C. Douglas Kroll, CDR, CHC, USNR (retired).

8. Gregory Pokladowski, “Recruit Training Ministry – Alameda” in Navy Chaplains’ Bulletin

(Winter 1979), p. 11.

9. The story of Ensign Hughes and the establishment of this unique award is told by Joseph 

Hughes, Jr. in A Covenant With Honor (Lawndale, CA: Aaron/Jenkins Press, 1982).

10. Judith Zakutansky, Executive Assistant, Command Religious Program, U.S. Coast Guard 

Academy, email of 12 April 2010 to Heather Murphy.

11. Richard E. Hoover, U.S. Coast Guard Squadron Three (undated Coast Guard publication on 

file at Coast Guard Headquarters).

12. Robert R. Mitchell, “U.S. Coast Guard Gets First Sea-Going Chaplain,” (unpublished article 

submitted to the Chief of Chaplains).

13. Robert S. Borden, letter of 30 July 1981 to C. Douglas Kroll, CDR, CHC, USNR (retired).

14. George S. Macho, letter of 4 August 1981 to C. Douglas Kroll, CDR, CHC, USNR (retired). 

15. Oral interview of Eli Takesian, CAPT, CHC, USN (retired) on 9 July 1991.

16. Chaplain Coordinator for the Coast Guard letter 5320 of 15 February 1979 to Commandant 

(G-PS-2/62).

17. Chaplain Coordinator for the Coast Guard letter 1750 of 27 July 1979 to Commandant (GPS/62).
37

18. RADM John J. O’Connor, CHC, USN made these comments in his prologue to the Winter 

1979 issue of the Navy Chaplains’ Bulletin.

19. Stanley J. Beach, CAPT, CHC, USN (retired) email of 11 March 2010 to Heather Murphy.

20. Ibid.

21. Robert C. Schall, cassette tape of 5 August 1981 to C. Douglas Kroll, CDR, CHC, USNR 

(retired).

22. Telephone conversation between Chaplain Daniel Ottaviano and C. Douglas Kroll, CDR, 

CHC, USNR (retired) on 3 July 1991. 

23. Virgil L. Tillman, “13th Coast Guard District, Seattle, Washington” on pages 34-41 of the 

Winter 1985 issue of the Navy Chaplains’ Bulletin.

24. Commandant Notice 1730 of 14 May 1990.

25. Telephone conversation between Thomas Keith Chadwick, CAPT, CHC, USN (retired) and 

Heather Murphy on 2 February 2010.

26. Hillary Viders, Ph.D, “The United States Coast Guard at Group Moriches” in SORTIE: 

Special Operations Rescue Tactical Interdiction Expeditions

(http://www.wateroperations.com/sortie/issue1/article07.htm).

27. Ronald L. Swafford, Sr., CAPT, CHC, USN (retired) email of 21 April 2010 to Heather 

Murphy.

28. Telephone conversation between Leroy Gilbert, CAPT, CHC, USN (retired) and Heather 

Murphy on 2 April 2010.

29. Freebase, “Alaska Airlines Flight 261” 

(http://www.freebase.com/view/en/alaska_airlines_flight_261).

30. Ronald L. Swafford, Sr., CAPT, CHC, USN (retired) email of 21 April 2010 to Heather 

Murphy.

31. Telephone conversation between Leroy Gilbert, CAPT, CHC, USN (retired) and Heather 

Murphy on 2 April 2010.

32. Mark Tanis, LCDR, CHC, USN email of 15 April 2010 to Heather Murphy.

33. Telephone conversation between Alan Andraeas, LT, CHC, USN (retired) and Heather 

Murphy on 19 April 2010.
38

34. Telephone conversation between Wilbur C. Douglass III, CAPT, CHC, USN and Heather 

Murphy on 3 March 2010.

35. Scott Price, Deputy Historian, U.S. Coast Guard, “A Bright Light on the Darkest of Days: 

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Response to Hurricane Katrina” 

(http://www.uscg.mil/History/katrina/DarkestDay.pdf), p. 15.

36. Ibid., p. 2.

37. Telephone conversation between Wilbur C. Douglass III, CAPT, CHC, USN and Heather 

Murphy on 3 March 2010.

38. William F. Cuddy, Jr., CAPT, CHC, USN email of 3 March 2010 to Heather Murphy.

39. Foxnews.com, “FAST FACTS: Haiti Earthquake” 

(http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/01/13/fast-facts-haiti-earthquake/, 13 January 2010).

40. Christopher, Lagan, “UPDATE: Coast Guard response to Haiti earthquake” in The Coast 

Guard Compass (http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/index.php/2010/01/update-coast-guard-responseto-haiti-earthquake/, 15 January 2010).

41. Telephone conversation between William F. Cuddy, Jr., CAPT, CHC, USN and Heather 

Murphy on 3 March 2010.