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Air Force brings 17 Catholic priests into the fold in fiscal 07

  • Published
  • By Megan Orton
  • Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Air Force chaplain recruiters accessed a record-breaking 11 active-duty and six Reserve Catholic priests in fiscal 2007.

"This is an exciting achievement for chaplain recruiting because we have been working to address this Air Force need for a couple of years, and now we are really seeing results," said retired Chaplain (Col.) John Kurzak, Air Force Recruiting Service director of chaplain accessions.

Catholic chaplains were identified as an Air Force critical denominational need in 2005, and a "One Force Recruiting Model" was developed to more actively recruit both active-duty and reserve Catholic priests.

The Air Force stepped up to the plate when the Air Force Chief of Chaplains authorized the strategic plan and provided appropriate personnel for the task, Chaplain Kurzak said. Then AFRS provided the necessary logistical and financial resources.

The recruiting team responsible for carrying out the mission is led by Father Kurzak and includes two additional Catholic chaplains, Chaplain (Capt.) Zenon Bochnak and Chaplain (Capt.) Chad Zielinski, and one Protestant chaplain, Chaplain (Capt.) Lance Giannone.

The "One Force Recruiting Model" is three-fold. It includes pre-seminary retreats for Catholics already in the Air Force who are discerning a possible call to the priesthood; ministry familiarization tours, called "Come Be With Us," for civilian priests interested in serving as military chaplains; and the chaplain candidate program for seminarians--individuals working to complete seminary education who may one day decide to become Air Force chaplains.

"With the aggressive recruiting requirements and persistent follow-ups with individuals who attend our events, this model has really shown results," Chaplain Zielinski explained. "Recruiting 17 priests in one fiscal year is far above and beyond the numbers we've had in the past, and the results can be directly traced back to our One Force model."