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480th ISRW Chaplain Corps inspires across the globe

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ashley Gardner
  • 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing
The 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing Airmen resiliency religious support team held a virtual joint service training event with 30 Ukraine military chaplains at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia on March 13, 2021.

The meeting assisted the Ukrainian chaplains by providing some guidance on how to work with other caregivers as well as how to effectively provide spiritual care to people in the military. Lt. Col. Matthew Boyd, 480th ISRW chaplain and Master Sgt. Scotty Duncan, 480th ISRW religious affairs superintendent coached their counterparts on process development to help them succeed.

“We wanted to help provide training to Ukrainian military chaplains on effective ministry practices in the military context,” said Boyd. “The military chaplaincy in the Ukraine is only 5-years old, they do not have a chaplain school or a system of formalized training for their chaplains.”

Since this was a newly created program, Boyd and Duncan covered various subjects taught at the Air Force Chaplain Corps College Basic Chaplain course.

“The most important message we gave to the attendees was the vital importance of a chaplain’s relationship with their line commander and how to communicate the mission impact the chaplain’s support to that commander,” said Duncan.

Due to the positive response to the first round of training, another meeting is planned for the near future.

“The meeting went really well,” said Duncan. “The audience was very receptive and had great questions. We went over the allotted time and have even been asked to return in May.”

The 480th ISRW, provides a comprehensive set of ISR capabilities for the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System, as well as the national cryptologic, information technology, cyber ISR, tactical analysis, Combined Forces Air Component Commander support, and national-to-tactical signals intelligence integration. The wing comprises six groups, 22 squadrons, and three detachments operating in four locations. Not only is the wing stretched out across the globe but so is the support from the ART.