Religious Accommodation: Manage religious programs. Religious Affairs partner with chaplains to develop, manage, control, and evaluate religious programs to ensure effectiveness. This capability is critical to Airmen, Guardians, and their dependents in contingency and steady state environments.

Resource and manage support of religious observances to include worship, liturgies, rites, and other religious requirements for all faith groups.

Manage, in conjunction with Chaplain Corps personnel (e.g., Chaplains, GS [General Service] employees) manage manpower positions, personnel, volunteers, appropriated funds, Chapel Tithes and Offerings Funds (CTOF), non-appropriated and MWR funds, religious facilities, supplies and equipment.

Manage chapel administration to include records management, forms, publications, publicity, professional correspondence, background checks, operating instructions, suspense actions and other administrative needs of the Chaplain Corps mission.

Spiritual Fitness:
Conduct crisis intervention counseling. The Chaplain Corps is the only function with 100% privileged communication (see 10 U.S.C. Chapter 47A, Military Rules of Evidence, Rule 503) and Religious Affairs are commonly the first line of care for Airmen in need. Facilitating care for Airmen early in a crisis enhances resiliency, mission readiness and capability.

Crisis intervention counseling is an immediate, interventional approach to providing mental and moral support with the aim of restoring the person to the level of functioning prior to the crisis. This capability includes counseling in moments of crisis, response to crises and suicide prevention and intervention.

While every NCO performs counseling (see AFPAM 36-2241, Professional Development Guide, and Section 10E), Religious Affairs possess the core capability to care for Airmen and Guardians at the point of crisis. They are specially trained to identify potential problems and assist individuals get the professional help they need. Through crisis intervention counseling, Religious Affairs mitigate crises such as suicide, grief, traumatic stress, or other forms of crisis.

Religious Affairs will not, at any time, conduct spiritual counseling and will immediately refer people in need of spiritual counseling to a Chaplain. Religious Affairs may make referrals to other agencies for issues not of a spiritual nature as appropriate.

Conducts Unit Engagement. Intentionally integrate, as part of the RST, into unit ministry and engagement plans as a resource for meeting the spiritual needs of Airmen, Guardians, and their families.

Unit Engagement is best defined when unit members embrace Religious Affairs Airmen as “one of them” through participation in unit meetings, commander calls and other unit activities. Religious Affairs conduct unit engagement jointly with their RST partner(s) or independently.

Manage RST functions, personnel readiness, and deployment taskings. Develops, coordinates and reviews operation plans and annexes. Coordinates religious and pastoral support requirements with base supporting agencies.

Manages religious support during contingencies for combat or humanitarian relief operations. Coordinates religious and pastoral support requirements with base agencies.

Prepares and presents religious customs and culture briefings. Responds to aircraft crash and mass casualty sites, hostage situations, casualty collection points, evacuation and deployment processing points and work centers. Conducts spiritual triage by applying listening, observation, and interviewing skills.

Protects privileged communication obtained through chaplain pastoral counseling and intervention counseling. Coordinates and facilitates force protection and security measures for the RST.

Advising Leaders:
Advise leadership at all levels on religious accommodation, ethical, moral, morale issues and needs, primarily for, and regarding, the enlisted force. Commanders, Command Chiefs, group superintendents, first sergeants and supervisors at all levels, should know the issues affecting their Airmen and Guardians and how to best address them. Religious Affairs are a trusted source for valid, real-time information.

As the faces and voices of our enlisted Airmen and Guardians, Religious Affairs Airmen integrate into units and appropriately advise leaders on the issues and challenges Airmen and Guardians face.