Albania looks to EUCOM for chaplaincy advice

U.S. Air Force Chaplain (Col.) Brian Van Sickle with Albanian Lt. Col. Dritan Demiraj, Special Forces Battalion Commander.

I spent the week of June 7-11 in Tirana, Albania, hosted by the US Defense Attaché and Office of Defense Cooperation. They invited me to help assess the need for the Albanians to establish a military chaplaincy as they anticipate the possibility of casualties from their combat mission in Afghanistan. Currently, their law prohibits religious expression in the military even though its permitted by law in the civilian population since 1991.

I met with their senior military/civilian Ministry of Defense leadership and each of the leaders of civilian faith groups (Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant) to explain the role chaplains play within the military besides doing services. After fourteen meetings it was clear they are very eager to establish chaplaincies but realize their constitutional law must be changed to allow it.

The deputy Chief of Defense was quite emphatic about inviting me back for a session with key decision makers in Parliament, Ministry of Defense and civilian religious leaders. Key to the discussion was the fact that of the 28 NATO members, 26 have chaplaincies but Albania and Bulgaria do not. Since Albania's acceptance into NATO in April 2009, they are very eager to become as much like their partners as they can be...this is just another element.

Most encouraging however, was the one-on-one conversations with the leadership about their personal faith and their hunger for God. They bemoan the fact that Albania is the only country in history that officially declared themselves an Atheist Nation while communist.

The history of religious persecution and the current legal restrictions on freedom of religion in the military was all new information to me and was critical for me to know as I explained the foundations and structures of other international chaplaincies.

The visit far exceeded my expectations and I look forward to seeing how the Albanian military deals with this pressing and important issue.

Chaplain (Col.) Brian R. Van Sickle
Command Chaplain, EUCOM