What are you opinions on Chaplain Assistants getting "Special Treatment" from their units?

Well considering that Chaplain Assistants don't work for a company, they're just assigned to an Headquarters Company and they live in battalion, I said let them. If someone came to me seeking spiritual help after doing the things that probably require divine intervention, I'd probably want the weekend to myself to drink more than is humanly possible.

I agree. Chaplins assistants don't do any hard duty, get comp days and get to go on all sorts of awesome trips. They need to make them work way more!! Nah just kidding lol.. Every job in the Army comes with pros and cons. Never seen one with more pros tho, ever.. All you need to do is worry about you and what you're doing. You'll be fine.

If I had subordinates working weekends I would fight to get them time off if possible. It’s called being a leader it’s our job. My point is you are treated the same as any joe would be in the same position.

There are Chaplains Assistants? They Work? Sorry for the teasing and sarcasm. We have lots of duties and jobs in the military, Some you are going to take a bit of ribbing for. Served on a Nuclear Cruiser we had one Chaplain and he had one assistant. I think the Chaplain's assistant was assigned to the Adminitrative/Clerical Division/Department and drew the same garbage that the rest of us in Operations Did. Petty Officer of the Watch, what have you. Never worked for me, I usually drew me a Knarly old Boatswains Mate as my Petty Officer of the Watch when I was Officer of the Deck.

Having been a Chaplain's Assistant, I can tell you it's not all roses and song. You are in effect "on call" for anything the Chaplain needs assistance on. If he needs to make a trip to counsel a soldier and possibly his family, you're going, unless you have a leave already put in. You tend to work 6 days a week, half a day Sunday, and half a day on another day. You usually have Mondays off. If you like to follow sports, like football, on the weekend, well, you can't. You don't have a real weekend, like most troops. If you want to go out on a Friday night, well usually you can't because you have to get the chapel ready Saturday for Sunday. Any letters the Chaplain needs written, you're the one who takes his scribble, and translates it into something that will get processed and through the c-o-c to get done. Most of the upkeep of the Chapel...yeah, you get that too. Bushes trimmed, odd paint jobs, small repairs; you had better be ready to be a jack of all trades, because that's the job.

You can tell me all the reasons why you want them to be a soldier, and I can come up with more reasons why they can't. Unless you've been in their shoes and done that job, you really don't have a clue to their work schedule.

I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman. Sailors contently complained about us not pulling certain duties. Those same whiners would wake one of us up in the middle of the night if they had a headache.

I love a great whine! I mean a great wine.

Ultimately it gets down to the chaplain he or she works for and the NCO or E4s desire to make any influence on the unit. Some chaplain assistants I've seen were not worth a tinkers dam. Others were true professionals eager to serve alongside and "minister to" their colleagues and comrades in arms. Using the status of chaplain assistant to get any special treatment would for those folks violate all they believe and hold dear. No one should ever expect the chaplain assistant to be overt about his or her creed belief systems (it's a definite plus to have some "invisible means of support" as they used to say) but I saw chaplain assistants with every belief world view possible or none at all. What the soldiers should expect is someone there fully committed to assisting the Chaplain in delivering unit ministry consistent with the mission/vision of the Brigade or Bn chaplaincy. My experience with chaplain assistants have been limited--- but my wife has known many of their wives at the base PWOC fellowship. We seem to have or at least my wife and I encountered a few chaplain assistants who came across as irresponsible young men married to manipulative "needy" wives. I do think with only rare exceptions the chaplain assistant should be an MOS restricted to NCOs

are you kidding me so you want me to have more duties then the average soldier such as be on2-3 will your just on 1-2 think before you speak. Also are duty only falls on sat and Sundays so why shouldn't we get time off.

In my opinion they should be treated the same way the BN Commander's driver is -- no touchy touchy. The Chaplain's Assistant has a tough enough job without being stuck on some duty roster for CQ or Fire Watch or even SDNCO. It's not special treatment - the CA has unpredictable duties, many of which run independently of the unit's training and duty schedule. Just try telling the chaplain that he has to set up for Sunday service all by himself because SPC Snuffy had to pull CQ and is asleep. I'll guarantee that it will be a hot topic of conversation the next time the Padre sits down for a cup of coffee with the CSM -- or 1SG or PSG or all three. Don't mess with the Padre's help -- trust me, I was a Padre (okay I was a British Padre - but I was still a Padre).