The Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre (AFCC) recently welcomed the United States Air Force (USAF) Chief of Chaplains, Major General Trent C. Davis to Beckett House.
L-R - Revd Alastair Blaine, Maj Gen Trent C Davis, Lt Col Lucas Dalgleish, Revd Mark Davidson and Revd Mark Grant-Jones
The visit was part of a wider programme of relationship building between AFCC and international counterparts which began in May 2024. As the only UK institute dedicated to the study of how religion and faith interacts with contemporary conflicts and international relations, the visit was an opportunity to showcase this work. The day’s programme focussed on:
- current AFCC training and education
- specialist phase 2 and phase 3 Ukrainian (UKR) chaplaincy training
- spiritual resilience initiatives
Maj Gen Davis is the 21st Chief of Chaplains and serves as the third Chief of Chaplains for the United States Space Force. He establishes guidance and provides advice on all matters pertaining to the religious and moral welfare of US Air Force and Space Force personnel.
Maj Gen Davis was accompanied by Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Dalgleish.
AFCC Principal The Reverend Dr Mark Davidson and Reverend Mark Grant-Jones opened discussions on how AFCC have been training UKR chaplains as a part of Operation Orbital since 2023, and how this developed into a Chaplaincy Leadership Programme in 2024.
L-R - Revd Alastair Blaine, Maj Gen Trent C Davis, Lt Col Lucas Dalgleish and Revd Mark Davidson
Discussion moved onto spiritual resilience initiatives
- a recent Sikh spiritual resilience seminar which explored ways to deal with conflicts of faith while on operations
- a book in development, known academically as a ‘reader’, comprised of twenty-five essays and articles from eight different nations. The reader will represent six faith and belief perspectives. It is intended to become a NATO resource and will be delivered to all 26 NATO countries that currently have military chaplaincies
Revd Mark Davidson said:
AFCC is part of the Defence Leadership and Business Group and is the MOD’s principal spiritual and ethical training provider. It is recognised as a centre of excellence for the resourcing of defence chaplaincies and world faith engagement.