Military chaplain doesn't limit his mission to church

First published in print: Saturday, May 1, 2010

Maj. Jake Marvel: Chaplain of the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing.

As the highest ranking chaplain at Stratton Air Force Base in Glenville, Marvel conducts spiritual programs for airmen. He has deployed in support of military missions. He has prayed and counseled Army National Guardsmen after Hurricane Katrina and military personnel injured in the war in Iraq at a U.S. base in Germany. He has also accompanied the 109th Airlift Wing on trips to Antarctica and Greenland.

How do you serve military members with different religious backgrounds?

"I find beauty in the different faiths. It's not my job to convert folks to my faith. My job is to let people experience the depths of their own faiths and become aware of that in their lives. I work to enable them to have the courage to become the people God has created them to be."

-- Dennis Yusko

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