Chaplains' Team wins AFRC award

  • Published
  • By SSgt. Scott Pauley
  • 459th Air Refueling Wing

The 459th Air Refueling Wing’s chaplain team recently won the 2015 Air Force Reserve Command Outstanding Chaplain Corps Program Team Award for its efforts throughout the year.

Major Joshua Kim, the lead chaplain for the 459th, expressed joy in his team’s accomplishments.

“What brings me pride is knowing that we have high expectations, and we’ve achieved those,” he said. “This award is a reflection of the way we have served with excellence, been a service to others, and displayed our integrity while we have served our Airmen. I think we really do embody the core values of the Air Force, and we do purposely think through those processes as we complete our mission.”

The award judges units on their accomplishments in the categories of warrior care, advisement to leadership, community involvement, care for care givers and best practices.

The 459th chaplain team excelled in all areas, including its accomplishment of leading the first-ever wing prayer breakfast, which featured an NFL player as the guest of honor. They also completed more than 420 hours of warrior care, performed 52 invocations and were able to reach more than 6,000 Airmen and their dependents throughout the year.

“It’s an honor for us to be recognized for our efforts to provide spiritual care to the unit,” said Senior Airman Jenny Shazier, chaplains’ assistant for the 459th. “Taking care of Airmen and being able to support and provide help in a time of need is my favorite part of this job. Being able to host the prayer breakfast and give something that the Airmen wanted was incredible.”

The award is the highest honor a reserve chaplain team can earn in AFRC.

“Every traditional reserve wing is eligible to submit for this award. So it’s a pretty big deal, especially if you consider how small of a unit we really are,” Kim said. “To be able to win this award at a smaller base is pretty remarkable I think.”

Kim said the team couldn’t have earned the award without the support of the wing’s leaders.

“The support from the commander has been pivotal to our success, and it means a lot to the chaplain team,” he said. “In order to pull off the robust programs we run here, it takes a constant presence in the office and someone capable of running our programs throughout the month. Thanks to the wing leadership, we have that presence here.”