What does a great Battalion Chaplain look like?

The best chaplain I ever served with was a small Jewish chaplain. No matter where we were he was there. He humped with us. Sweated and froze with us. He always found away to see the troops on the ground. This guy was everywhere when we were in the field. In garrison he showed up in the motor pool on the range at sporting events in the field Sometimes he would roll up with hot chocolate or a cold soda just when you needed it the most. Help dig a foxhole or sleep in the mud with you He was always there for us. Just to talk just to inspire
Funny I am not Jewish but any day anywhere I would serve with him. He would minster to Protestants Catholics he did not judge you and only wanted to serve the spiritual needs of his soldiers.
What made him different? He walked the walk. Talked the talk and shared every burden. He was the standard by which I measured every other chaplain. No matter your religious preference or lack of religious belief this chaplain was loved by all of us because he was the real deal. I never remember anyone having a negative comment about him. It's
Been decades and I don't remember his name but he made a big impact on me for that I will always be grateful

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Over the years I've seen a few great qualities from several chaplains that's should be emulated:
-one chaplain in Afghanistan had a service dog with her. This wasn't a bomb dog or an attack dog, but a quiet and friendly lab that would fly from FOB to FOB to cheer up the soldiers. We would always put the dog in Row 3 and it would lay between the crew seats and keep the backseaters company. We shut down for a couple hours one day to watch this chaplain and dog at work, and you could instantly see people forget that they were in a war zone just by spending a few minutes with this dog. Everyone would relax and share stories with the chaplain who would quietly listen. We were told that chaplains having service dogs was a trial program. I don't know if it was true or not, but I do hope a program like that gets off the ground.
-one chaplain would always make his rounds to the flight crews after missions. He paid special attention to the Medevac crews if he knew they had a rough day. He even went so far as to call himself the "First Up Chaplain."
- this may see part of the job, but it was reassuring to see a chaplain take his job so seriously and to have a command team stand behind him. I was on staff duty one night and a call came in requesting a chaplain. The phone call came from another unit, but they weren't turned away. This was a second world country where cell phone use was iffy to begin with and we couldn't get a hold of him. Turns out he was out to dinner with other senior officers from the command. After reaching him through a member a the command team, he excused himself and made his way back to the base to be there for this soldier that he did not know in his time of need.

On the flip side, I've also witnessed a few chaplains completely tarnish the respect that soldiers have for these officers. One in particular was ESL, with Vietnamese as his first language. His lack of English skills completely took away from a memorial service for a fallen comrade not once, but twice. The ability to be understood goes a long way with chaplains.

Overall, each branch of the Army has its nuances. Finding ways to be there for your soldiers and not being an office chaplain will go a long way. My current chaplain is known for walking through the hangars and kicking people out (to include the command team) if he catches them working late. It's a simple gesture that goes a long way.

Well, I have seen many.... some good, some great, some not so good.

I believe the key to your success as a Battalion and as a Brigade Chaplain is to simply be present, and hence accessible. The more you are around: PT, ranges, in the field, on patrol, etc... the more likely Soldiers will want to speak with you... which is what we need. You can help fix a wide variety of issues early before they are in fact issues, if you are always present forward.

Soldiers will not come to your office, unless it is really serious, or the chain of command sends them; Usually your office is in the HQ or Command Suite...

If you desire is serve Soldiers and families, you need to be out and about all the time, and visiting with them in/at their daily comings and goings.

This will also gain you huge amounts or respect, which will also make others you would not expect, come to you for counsel.

A good chaplain shows that he's willing to talk to Marines regardless of their religious background. We currently have a chaplain that comes down range almost every week and just walks around asking Marines how they are, how their family is, etc. THAT is what a good chaplain does!

He tends to the spiritual needs of everyone in the battalion, including his own.

I had problems with Chaplains.
They were supposed to be able to advise outside of their primary religious focus, I kept getting one denomination who would only advise as though I were an adherent of that denomination. Didn't work for me at all and was very frustrating.
OTOH, the Single best Chaplain I ever met was of that same denomination and knew his stuff from any angle of any denomination. Guy did Ruck marches with load, was in the field and available if you had time. If all chaplains were like him I'd never have a bad world to say about any of them.

The first requirement should be that a Chaplain has a good grasp of the English language. Many Soldiers I served with would refuse to attend a seminar or meet with a Chaplain who they cannot understand.

I haven't met what I envision as the "best Chaplain", yet CH (MAJ) (Join to see).
Here is what he'd look like to me:
As dirty as the Soldiers he ministered to.
Ready with a smile, or concern.
Ready to help with answers to the unknowable.
Ready to comfort when crisis strikes.
Full of wisdom to guide my Soldiers and commander with issues concerning morale and morals.
Possesed of initiative to find where his services are needed, not waiting for the issues to find him.
Resolute and firm in his convictions, even when they are different from those around him.
Full of knowledge pertaining to the various programs available to those in need, both military and civilian.

The best... My Chaplain in Guantanamo.. Prior service parachute rigger with senior airborne, HALO, and pathfinder wings. Hands down he was the best SOLDIER in the entire battalion. Spent his lunch time in the gym and evenings learning Greek. Sometimes on Sunday there would be 3 of us at service and he gave the simple message of the good news the same as when the room was full. He took care of his family, lived a transparent life, and was always there for any of us. Gave honesty with care and without judgement. All the troops called him Airborne Jesus.