149th Fighter Wing's Chaplains Office Spotlight

Credit: Senior Airman Katie Schultz | Date Taken: 10/17/2021
00:00:02 The Chaplain's office at the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing, supports the unit by ensuring members remain spiritually resilient. 00:10:08 So as a wing chaplain, my mission is to guarantee that the religious and spiritual needs of every single Gunfighter and their families is met for. That means that when you come into the unit, you are not forsaking your beliefs. My job is to guarantee that you are respected and that you can sustain the beliefs that you had when you came into the unit. 00:46:18 In order to achieve that mission, the Chaplain’s office takes time every drill weekend to go out and visit with members in the unit. They also provide several events for Gunfighters to participate in regardless of religious affiliation. 00:59:38 For example a Coffee connection. That is when we offer the opportunity for the guard member to come and join us here up in the Haven and we offer some food, some coffee, some drinks so they can come and just take a little break. And the helping agencies come out and introduce themselves so they can understand the member and for the member to understand what we do. 01:34:54 The coffee connection gives Airmen the opportunity to connect with each other and receive mentorship. 01:41:49 I think the coffee connection offers Gunfighters a lot of knowledge on the helping agencies that the 149th has to offer. There’s just so many avenues of help that we can get, just from this 3rd floor “the Haven.” And so I think that’s a great way for people to find out where they can go for help and all through coffee and empanadas and I personally love it and I hope everyone enjoys it just as much as I do. 02:13:21 ~As if we actually committed the sin~ On Sundays we have an 0730 Protestant or nondenominational service. We have some music and some worship opportunities, some bible studies, for people to practice their faith and to validate their faith. We also do a lot of counseling and the beautiful thing about a chaplain conducting a counseling session is that it is 100% in confidentiality. Some people ask, “well how do I make an appointment?” and you can call us or you can walk into our offices, but many times our counseling takes place when we are out and about doing unit visitations. 03:15:37 Spiritual resiliency is the ability to stay strong mentally and emotionally and understand what affects yourself internally. We want to pay attention to that and chaplains are good in providing a good eye and good advice on how to remain spiritually strong. 03:51:43 Reporting from the 149th Fighter Wing, I’m Staff Sgt. Katie Schultz. Music accreditation Mixaund https://www.free-stock-music.com/mixaund-uplifting-energy.html