Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Friday a new program for active-duty service members who want to become military chaplains, allowing eligible personnel to pursue graduate theological education without having to leave the service first.
The Chaplain In-Service Procurement Program is designed to develop chaplains from within the ranks, with Hegseth encouraging service members who feel called to ministry to consider the opportunity.
The program was authorized under Section 504 of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which added 10 U.S.C. § 2004c and established the statutory framework for the program.
Officers must have between two and eight years of active-duty service and hold the rank of O-3 or below when training begins. Enlisted applicants must have between four and 10 years of active-duty service, hold at least the rank of E-5 and meet all requirements for acceptance of a commission as a military officer.
Selection is competitive and based on the needs of the military department. The law requires selections to be made without regard to the length of ordination or seminary requirements associated with the applicant’s chosen chaplaincy training.
Military departments may fund participants’ educational expenses, although no more than 25 officers and enlisted personnel from each military department may begin government-funded training in a fiscal year. For Navy and Marine Corps applicants, that limit applies collectively to the Department of the Navy, not separately to each service. Additional service members may be selected without government funding, and those participants do not count toward the 25-person cap.
Participants must agree to serve two years on active duty for each year or part of a year of chaplaincy training, up to a maximum of six years. Agreements may allow participants to complete a portion of that obligation in the Selected Reserve, at a rate of three years for each year or part of a year of training for any obligation not completed before leaving active duty.
Service members dropped from the program for academic deficiencies, conduct or other reasons may be required to perform additional active-duty service or repay expenses incurred through the program. The additional active-duty requirement cannot exceed one year for each year or part of a year the member participated in the program.
The Navy announced its implementation of the program in an Oct. 30 administrative message released by Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao.
The Navy’s Chaplain Corps In-Service Procurement Program is open to qualified active-duty Navy and Marine Corps officers and enlisted personnel, including Navy Training and Administration of the Reserve personnel and Marine Corps Active Reserve members. Applicants may come from any faith tradition endorsed to provide chaplain ministry in the Armed Forces.
After completing their graduate education, selectees may use the Career Intermission Program to transition temporarily to inactive status and obtain the religious ministry experience required for commissioning as active-duty Navy chaplains.
The Navy has not yet announced application dates or selection board schedules. Cao said forthcoming Navy and Marine Corps administrative messages will provide application requirements, selection board schedules and administrative timelines. Interested service members can review program documentation through the Navy Chaplain Corps portal.
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