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Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz will become the first Muslim division-level chaplain in the history of the U.S. military – a Muslim spiritual leader for more than 14,000 mostly Christian soldiers [I am re-posting to include information on Shabbazz's connection to Ft. Hood terrorist Nidal Hasan. (Link and information in comment below).] Original Post

In January, Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz received the call every Army chaplain dreams of, the call that validates years of intense study and hard work toward keeping the U.S. military in good spiritual health. He was offered the job of chaplain for an entire division, an honor for anyone in his field but a milestone in his case. After a ceremony this summer, Shabazz will become the first Muslim division-level chaplain in the history of the U.S. military – a Muslim spiritual leader for more than 14,000 mostly Christian soldiers. He’d like to think his transition will be as smooth...

NEW HOPE, Minnesota, JUNE 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Father Timothy Vakoc, an Army chaplain who was injured in Iraq in 2004, passed away Saturday at the age of 49. The priest's personalized CaringBridge Web site reported that he was "surrounded by family and friends who prayed him into heaven" at St. Therese nursing home in New Hope He was wounded on May 29, the 12th anniversary of his priestly ordination, when his humvee was struck by roadside bomb while returning from celebrating Mass for the soldiers in Mosul. The chaplain was transported through Germany back to Washington D.C., having lost an...

An evangelical chaplain serving in Iraq has been forbidden to preach at chapel services after his comments about military intolerance toward certain Christian expressions got him into hot water with the Army. Capt. Jonathan Stertzbach, a field artillery chaplain with the Army's 10th Mountain Division in Iraq, was silenced soon after his comments appeared in a Jan. 23 article in The Washington Times. The chaplain criticized one of his supervisors, Lt. Col. Phillip Wright of Fort Drum in New York, by name and gave details about how chaplains of all faiths were being pressured to offer up only nonsectarian prayers....

Father Tim Vakoc was severely injured in Iraq on May 29, when the Humvee he was driving back to his base at Mosul Airfield in Iraq detonated an explosive device. He continues to recover at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Vakoc is believed to be the first military chaplain wounded in Iraq. Vakoc suffered a severe brain injury and lost his right eye. He will most likely be permanantly paralyzed on the right side of his body. As of 9/22/04 he was in critical but stable condition.