FORT MYER (BP) — Doug Carver was sworn in as the 23rd U.S. Army Chief of Chaplians and promoted to major general during ceremonies at Fort Myer, Va., on July 12. He is the first Southern Baptist to hold the position of chief of chaplains since Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Ivan L. Bennett held the post in 1954.
Carver said God has called him to serve the needs of soldiers and their families.
“I love our soldiers,” he said. “… We need God's strength for the days ahead. We must provide support to our soldiers and their families.”
It is a chaplain's duty, Carver said, to sustain and strengthen soldiers for another day in the combat zone, pray for them as they are assigned to one more convoy or take one more air mission, and comfort them as they look for hope and courage while facing death.
“Southern Baptist chaplains have always been the largest religious denomination in the military,” said Keith Travis, director of chaplaincy evangelism at the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board and a retired Army chaplain. “It is only fitting that God would appoint a Southern Baptist to be the chief of chaplains for the Army.”