PHOENIX – The 198th Regional Support Group now has a dedicated place for serenity and worship to strengthen soldiers' spiritual training.

The Scorpion Chapel at the Petty Crew Armory was built for the soldiers of the 198th RSG to support the importance of spiritual strength alongside mental and physical strength, said Col. Leslie Montgomery, commander of the 198th RSG. She said she could not be more pleased with the final results of the chapel.

“Wow! It turned out almost exactly as I had pictured it and still evokes the ‘wow’ reaction from most when they visit for the first time,” Montgomery said. “Even on my worst days, the chapel still has a quieting effect on my mood.”

Prior to the new chapel, services were conducted in informal prayer rooms the size of a small conference room. When the Petty Crew Armory was renovated, Montgomery insisted her old office and conference room to be redesigned to be the Scorpion Chapel; after the 198th RSG mascot and counsel service.

“It was important to create an official chapel for the soldiers of the 198th RSG,” said Montgomery. “It sends the wrong message when the chapel and chaplain are located in a closet.”

Most people assume the religious program in a brigade is a chaplain’s program; it’s actually the commander’s program, said Capt. Bradley Walgren, the 198th RSG chaplain. It’s also part of the goals of the Arizona Army National Guard because it affects soldier readiness.

“We have programs that address the physical and psychological needs of the soldiers and now, thanks to Montgomery, we are addressing the spiritual needs of soldiers better than ever before,” said Walgren.

Scorpion Chapel is open anytime so people can come in to pray and meditate. There is also a prayer box for soldiers to submit prayer requests.

“I am full-time so I go through it during the week and pray for what is on the soldiers' hearts and minds,” Walgren said.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the chapel is the wooden pews.

Montgomery says the pews were critical because they make the chapel a chapel, not an alternate conference room. Most people really don't identify pews with a conference room, dining facility, distance-learning lab or office - they associate them with a chapel.

“We could have fashioned a perfectly OK chapel with nice benches or chairs and hung a sign on the door, declaring it the RSG Chapel, but the pews protect the chapel's future by greatly reducing any temptation on the part of future tenants of this armory to remodel and repurpose the chapel into something else," Montgomery said.

Staff Sgt. Jeff Beach was able to get the pews donated by a local church. Inside the chapel the donated pews have been refurbished and the seat cushions sewn in Army combat uniform material by technicians from the Combine Support Maintenance Shop.

Staff Sgt. Beach, Warrant Officer Ray Baxter and Sgt. Justin Wattle refinished the pews, decorated them with the RSG coin, added hymnal holders and made the cushions all on their own personal time.

These three soldiers also created the dual-colored cross that hangs behind the pulpit. The cross can be removed so the chapel can be used for many different religions.

The chapel will help him with his chaplain mission to nurture the living, care for the dying and honor the dead, said Walgren.

“We are allowing soldiers to exercise the First Amendment and the freedom of religious expression,” Walgren said. “Chaplains are the hallmarks of this and we ensure soldiers can exercise this right as long as it doesn't interfere with the mission.”

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