Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army

Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
Seal of the United States Army Chaplain Corps
Flag of the Chief of Chaplains
Incumbent CH (MG) Thomas L. Solhjem since May 31, 2019
U.S. Army Chaplain Corps Army Staff[1]
Abbreviation	CCHS
Reports to	Chief of Staff of the Army
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Constituting instrument	National Defense Act of 1920 10 U.S.C. § 7073
Formation	June 4, 1920
First holder	CH (COL) John T. Axton
Deputy	Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
Website	Official Website

The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army (CCH) is the chief supervising officer of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. (Chaplains do not hold commanding authority).^[2] From 1775 to 1920, chaplains were attached to separate units. The Office of the Chief of Chaplains was created by the National Defense Act of 1920 in order to better organize the Chaplaincy.^[3] The current CCH is Chaplain (Major General) Thomas L. Solhjem.

U.S. Army Chiefs of Chaplains[]

No.	Name	Photo	Denomination	Term began	Term ended
1	CH (COL) John T. Axton		Congregational	July 15, 1920	April 6, 1928
2	CH (COL) Edmund P. Easterbrook		Methodist	April 7, 1928	December 22, 1929
3	CH (COL) Julian E. Yates		Northern Baptist	December 23, 1929	December 22, 1933
4	CH (COL) Alva J. Brasted		Baptist	December 23, 1933	December 22, 1937
5	CH (MG) William R. Arnold		Roman Catholic	December 23, 1937	February 14, 1945
6	CH (MG) Luther D. Miller		Episcopalian	April 12, 1945	August 1, 1949
7	CH (MG) Roy H. Parker		Southern Baptist	August 2, 1949	May 27, 1952
8	CH (MG)		Southern Baptist	May 28, 1952	April 30, 1954
9	CH (MG) Patrick J. Ryan		Roman Catholic	May 1, 1954	October 30, 1958
10	CH (MG) Frank A. Tobey		American Baptist	November 1, 1958	October 31, 1962
11	CH (MG) Charles E. Brown, Jr.		United Methodist	November 1, 1962	July 31, 1967
12	CH (MG) Francis L. Sampson		Roman Catholic	August 1, 1967	July 31, 1971
13	CH (MG) Gerhardt W. Hyatt		Lutheran	August 3, 1971	July 29, 1975
14	CH (MG) Orris E. Kelly		Methodist	August 1, 1975	July 1, 1979
15	CH (MG) Kermit D. Johnson		United Presbyterian	July 2, 1979	June 30, 1982
16	CH (MG) Patrick J. Hessian		Roman Catholic	July 1, 1982	June 30, 1986
17	CH (MG) Norris L. Einertson		Lutheran	July 1, 1986	August 26, 1990
18	CH (MG) Matthew A. Zimmerman, Jr.		National Baptist Convention	August 27, 1990	August 6, 1994
19	CH (MG) Donald W. Shea		Roman Catholic	August 7, 1994	May 31, 1999
20	CH (MG) Gaylord T. Gunhus		Lutheran Brethren	July 1, 1999	July 28, 2003
21	CH (MG) David H. Hicks		Presbyterian	August 16, 2003	July 11, 2007
22	CH (MG) Douglas L. Carver		Southern Baptist	July 12, 2007	July 21, 2011
23	CH (MG) Donald L. Rutherford		Roman Catholic	July 22, 2011	May 21, 2015
24	CH (MG) Paul K. Hurley		Roman Catholic	May 22, 2015	May 30, 2019
25	CH (MG) Thomas L. Solhjem		Assemblies of God	May 31, 2019	Incumbent

2008 meeting of current and former Army Chiefs of Chaplains, Arlington, VA

See also[]

• Armed Forces Chaplains Board
• Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
• Chiefs of Chaplains of the United States
• International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference

References[]