[AnAmericanMother]

As I have recent experience with this, perhaps I can answer.

Canon 844 (4) of the Code of Canon Law provides:

§4 If there is a danger of death or if, in the judgement of the diocesan Bishop or of the Episcopal Conference, there is some other grave and pressing need, catholic ministers may lawfully administer these same sacraments to other christians not in full communion with the catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who spontaneously ask for them, provided that they demonstrate the catholic faith in respect of these sacraments and are properly disposed.

When we left the Episcopal Church because it finally and unmistakeably tipped over the edge into heresy, we conferred at length with the rector of our new (Catholic) parish. Because the archbishop here has permitted "high" (i.e. crypto-Catholic) Episcopalians to receive the Eucharist when their own church is not available, and in our rector's judgment our church was no longer "available" to us, we did receive the Sacraments before we were received into the communion. (We did, however, go to Confession first!)

The situation of a military chaplain in a war is plainly a "grave and pressing need" and probably also "danger of death." So administration of the Sacraments in that context is permitted.

[american colleen]

I guess I can see 'a grave a pressing need' in some cases IF Confession as the Catholic faith teaches is embraced as well and utilized before receiving.

I'll look some more out of curiosity, but if I was a Catholic chaplain ministering to a dying soldier, the first sacraments I would think of would be Baptism and Extreme Unction. I agree. To die with unconfessed sin.... tragic... but for a non-Catholic to die without receiving the Eucharist which he probably really doesn't understand anyway (or he would have become a Catholic) isn't on the same level.

But let's face it... the wording is big enough to drive a Mack truck through if one wishes to do that. For one thing 'a Catholic minister' - well, is that an ordained priest only or does it include EEMs, commonly referred to by most priests/parishes/some dioceses as 'Eucharistic ministers' or 'ministers of the Eucharist'.

It's all in the language - which should be precise and abundantly clear to everyone.