Capt. W. Kyle Fauntleroy assumed leadership of the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center from Army Col. David Smartt during a passing of the stole ceremony. The AFCC provides technical leadership for military chaplain training. Fauntleroy emphasized the opportunity for chaplains from different branches to unite their experiences. Smartt spoke of the collaboration between the Army, Navy, and Air Force chaplaincy schools which are collocated at Ft. Jackson and form the AFCC.

1. Naval Education and Training Command
NETC News Public Affairs Office (Code N00P)
250 Dallas Street
Pensacola, FL 32508-5220
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 850.452.4858
News Release #91-11 (DSN) 922.4858
Aug 4, 2011 (FAX) 850.452.4900
Contact: Steve Vanderwerff
Navy Assumes Leadership of Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center
FT. JACKSON, S.C. -- Army chaplain Col. David Smartt, commandant, United
States Army Chaplain Center and School handed over being Director of the Armed
Forces Chaplaincy Center (AFCC) to Navy chaplain Capt. W. Kyle Fauntleroy,
commanding officer, Naval Chaplaincy School and Center during a passing of the
stole ceremony Aug 2.
The passing of the stole isn’t a change of command ceremony. It’s a tangible
representation that the responsibility of the director has passed from one chaplain
to another.
As the fourth director of the AFCC since it was established in 2009, Fauntleroy
assumes the management and responsibility of providing technical leadership for
the center.
“The Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center is, quite simply, an opportunity to join the
gifts and graces of pastoral care professionals, to unite our experiences and
lessons learned, and join our voices to the whispers and psalms of divine concern
for those serving just and humane causes in the most lethal environments in
creation,” Fauntleroy said. “Together, we attend to the voices, whispers and cries
of those who sacrifice their lives and livelihood for others, and we validate their
stories, we institutionalize their experiences, we honor their service, so that those

2. who follow may remember, and learn, and hold life sacred across the face of
creation from generation to generation.”
In his comments during the ceremony, outgoing director Smartt spoke about the
collaborative nature of the center.
“It has been my singular honor to have served as Director of the Armed Forces
Chaplaincy Center. We feel particularly blessed to have the Navy Chaplain School
and Center, the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, and the Army Chaplain Center
and School on this campus,” Smartt said. “The collaboration and cooperation
continues to enrich the learning environment by helping us better understand the
uniqueness of our services as we work together to ensure military service
members and families have the best in religious support.”
The AFCC is the center for training of United States military chaplains. It was
established as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment Commission mandate for the
Navy Chaplain School in Newport, R.I., the Religious Program Specialist “A” School
in Meridian, Miss., and the Air Force Chaplain Service Institute in Montgomery,
Ala., to collocate to the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School in Ft. Jackson,
S.C. The Army, Navy and Air Force chaplaincy schools remain independent, but
together they form the AFCC. Each of the school’s commandant or commanding
officer has the opportunity to serve as Director of the AFCC for one year.
For more information about the Naval Chaplaincy School and Center click on the
link https://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/chaplain/
-USN-
Story by Cmdr. Yolanda Gillen, Naval Chapaincy School and Center Public Affairs