A Unified Chaplain Insignia?
Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, a retired military chaplain who served as command chaplain for the U.S. European Command, has proposed that the military adopt a universal lapel insignia for all chaplains.
The intent is to have a symbol that will be universally recognized, and not be specific to each individual religion. Right now, chaplains wear their own faith symbol on their uniform: a cross for priests, the Stone Tablets for rabbis, and a crescent for imams. [Clarification: Rabbi Resnicoff is suggesting a universal symbol that will have a space where the individual faith symbol can also be incorporated, not one devoid of said symbols.]
When he was a military chaplain, Resnicoff said he was often asked what the Torah scrolls on his uniform meant. Maj. Ibraheem Raheem, a Muslim Army chaplain, has joked that soldiers who see the crescent moon on his uniform sometimes ask him if he is an astronaut.
Top brass at the Pentagon have endorsed Resnicoff’s idea of a universal-yet-denominational insignia, if not his actual sketches.
“I like the idea of developing a new chaplain insignia that represents both the unity and diversity of the chaplain corps,” said Major Gen. Cecil Richardson, chairman of the Armed Forces Chaplains Board.
Full story at the Washington Post.
It appears that the main push behind the change is the growing diversity in the chaplain corps. The Army is set to commission its first Hindu chaplain, and as our country and its military become more and more spiritually diverse, there are sure to be other religious leaders that desire to serve. Instead of developing, approving, and manufacturing individual symbols for each new group, the idea is to have one symbol that can represent everyone and be easily recognizable.
We have previously discussed issues regarding insignia conflicts, specifically what symbol a “messianic” Jewish chaplain should wear. I’m not sure whether this new proposal would make things better or worse in that regard.
Even if the Pentagon decides to go along with the plan, there is sure to be some serious debate on what symbol is used. I imagine that priests will be just as unwilling to give up their cross as rabbis are their tablets [This is not actually part of the proposal]. I can only imagine the committee meeting where some poor artist draws and erases in a frenzy while priests, rabbis, imams, maharajes, etc. try to argue over something that represents each of them equally, but excludes no one. Oy gevalt!
Personally, I can see the benefit to something like this but there are clear downsides to it as well. In the end, I don’t know if it would wind up causing more problems than it might solve.
I want to add an important correction to this note. As the person who recommended the insignia change, I am NOT recommending that we go to one “universal symbol” for all chaplains — so that Christians give up the cross, Jews give up the Tablets of the Ten Commandments, etc. I have said that these insignias symbolize the diversity of our faiths – but not the unity of our chaplains, especially when it comes to their responsibility to “care for all,” IN ADDITION TO their responsibility to minister to their own. So, a Catholic Priest will always be a Priest to Catholics, but a chaplain to everyone; a rabbi will be a rabbi to Jews, but a chaplain to everyone, etc.
Therefore my recommendation is to create a universal symbol – instantly recognizable as that of a chaplain – but within that shared symbol, chaplains CONTINUE TO WEAR the individual symbol of their faith. I am recommending a book (symbolizing both the wisdom of our faiths and the founding documents of our nation) that contains a shepherd’s crook (the first insignia for U.S. military chaplains, used from 1880-1888) as the universal “template.” Then, within that shared symbol, the cross, tablets, crescent, prayer wheel, etc.
Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff
Thanks for taking the time to reply to this Rabbi Resnicoff. Apologies if I misrepresented your proposal. I updated the story above with a clarification on the matter.
The incorporation of the individual symbols will certainly make the idea more palatable to many, though I’m sure there will still be hold-outs.
As I’ve experienced over the years, any uniform change is a giant headache to get approved and adopted. On a practical note, I wonder how difficult it would be to produce the new insignia with a variety of symbols. I’m sure most of the chaplain insignia are special order items as it is (since they are so rare), so it might not be an issue at all.
One other option might be to wear the one universal symbol on the lapel, like you suggest, and then have the faith symbol displayed above the breast pocket, like aviator/jump wings. You would still get the easy recognition of the chaplain, along with his or her faith, and it would have less of an impact on the supply system (by being able to use currently available insignia).
Hi, CAPT Rubin — and thanks for the correction to your initial blog. I do think that suggesting that faith symbols like the cross be eliminated would just produce another gigantic controversy and be a non-starter. However, besides that problem, I think that an insignia that symbolizes both unity and diversity — the chaplain’s responsibility to care for all, in addition to ministering to those of his or her own religion — would be an important step forward.
In terms of the supply system, nothing would change — because the number of insignias would stay the same. Instead of a cross, there would be the new symbol with the cross; instead of the Tablets, there would be the new insignia with the tablets; etc. Changing supplies would be much simpler than the alternative you are suggesting – which would be a change in uniform policy throughout the military, making chaplains wear two separate symbols.
The challenge as I see it is to have one symbol that immediately connects the growing number of faith symbols with a symbol that will immediately be recognized (after some education and training) as the symbol of a chaplain.
I was on the Navy Blue Ribbon Panel which recommended that the Jewish Chaplain insignia be changed from Tablets of the Ten Commandments with Roman numerals to Tablets with Hebrew letters. The recommendation was made in 1980, and approved and implemented in 1981. There was a grace period through the beginning of 1983 to allow chaplains to buy new insignia and make the changes. I feel confident that if this new “unity and diversity” insignia approach is approved, and a new design in created, that the transition will go smoothly.
I have spoken with many leaders – in and out of the military – and there is surprisingly little controversy regarding this proposal, especially because it makes sense both from the practical perspective (the increasing number of new faith insignias) and the symbolic perspective (having a symbol that includes the idea of unity). The question of what the design should be is another matter. I like the Shepherd’s Crook because of its historic importance: the first insignia worn by U.S. military chaplains (1880-1888) and the fact that it is still part of the Army’s Chaplain Corps branch insignia. However, I trust the experts in design (such as the Army’s Institute of Heraldry) to come up with the right insignia. I am more concerned that we make the change from the present “diversity only” insignia to one that also symbolizes unity.
Best wishes to you and your readers for a good and sweet New Year.
Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff
There should also be the option not to have any particularist tradition’s symbology represented. Unitarian Universalist chaplains sometimes have a terrible conundrum, as they are required to wear Christian insignia. While many Unitarian Universalists come from Christian backgrounds, most would not describe themselves as Christians, nor do their beliefs fit into mainstream Christian thought. There are also UU clergy who come from Jewish backgrounds and view Judaism as a primary way of expressing theology, so forcing someone to wear Christian insignia is counter to the realities of modern religious practice and thought. A unified insignia would help accommodate those chaplains whose religious views don’t fit confined trajectories.