Chaplains Chief

"It is a distinct asset for any chaplain to be of such athletic build and temperament that he can execute any task assigned to him in the briefest time possible. . . . Military bearing and neatness are extremely significant. Nothing can more quickly destroy an officer's influence and efficiency than untidy habits of dress or deportment. The chaplain's bearing should be smart and alert, his address prompt and to the point... .Some officers, and unfortunately some of them were chaplains, have spoiled otherwise spotless records by saying or doing tactless things. ... It goes without saying that a chaplain should be possessed of personal integrity and exemplary habits, and should be a man of religious experience with pious instincts and a fervor for service. . . . ' Training Manual, U. S. Army, prepared under the direction of the Chief of Chaplains, 1926.

Attached to the U. S. Army, with officers' rank, uniform and pay, are 125 chaplains. (The rest of some 1,600 full and part-time chaplains are with the CCC, National Guard, Reserve Corps.) There are no Jewish army chaplains because there are not enough Jews in the peacetime establishment; a church to be represented must claim at least 1% of the army on its rolls. Though most chaplains are Protestant, the single church supplying the most men is the Roman Catholic, with 31 chaplains. Last week for the first time in the 146 years of the chaplaincy, a Catholic made ready to hold office for four years as Chief of Chaplains. He. Lieut.-Colonel William Richard ("Father Will") Arnold, 56, was nominated by President Roosevelt, confirmed by the Senate in its closing rush of business.

Smart, alert, pious, neat, athletic, Father Will is also sandy-haired, looks like a Texas ranger. He was born in Wooster, Ohio, studied at a seminary run by Fathers of the Precious Blood, was ordained in 1908 and given a parish in Fort Wayne, Ind., still his home diocese. For a time Father Arnold had the odd task of acting as chaplain for Catholics in the Wallace Circus, in winter quarters at Peru. Ind. In 1913, he applied to the chaplain bishop of his church for an appointment as army chaplain. He was going to try it only for a year, but liked the life so well that he remained, made the round of army posts and rose steadily in rank. Even though he was not sent abroad during the War, at its end he went to France to say the rites of the church over some 3,000 bodies of soldiers about to be shipped to the U. S.

In 1925 Father Will was made director of a U. S. chaplains' school at Fort Leavenworth, where chaplains are familiarized with their religious and secular duties. Every regiment has at least one chaplain, detailed for an indefinite period. Aside from holding services for men of his faith, he must know how to join in with all the soldiers in athletic, theatrical and educational ventures, lecture to them on subjects like "Wearing the Uniform," "Personal Purity," "Don't be a Borrower," "Great Soldiers of America," and must be aware of opportunities like one mentioned in the manual: "May i is the day set aside by the radical element e; our population for anti-American demonstrations. It is well to initiate a flank attack against this evil by holding on that day a pro-American patriotic celebration."

After a trip to the Philippines and work with the CCC in Texas, Father Arnold was lately detailed again to Fort Leavenworth, was there last week. Assuming the rank of Colonel, he becomes Chief of Chaplains in December when Baptist Colonel Alva Jennings Brasted's term is up. Looking forward to his desk job where he will coordinate all chaplains' activities, peruse reports from each & every chaplain every month. Father Arnold said last week: "I like the ordered life; one gets so much more done."

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