Douglas Carver (chaplain)
Encyclopedia
Chaplain Douglas Lanier Carver, USA
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 (born September 10, 1951) is a retired American Army officer who served as the 22nd Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army is the chief supervising officer of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. . From 1775 to 1920, chaplains were attached to separate units. The Office of the Chief of Chaplains was created by the National Defense Act of 1920 in order to better organize the...

. He was appointed to this assignment on July 12, 2007 and was the first Southern Baptist chaplain to be promoted to the position of Chief of Chaplains in more than 50 years.

Career

Carver holds theology degrees from the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

 and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...

.

He was originally commissioned in the field artillery and served with the 4th Infantry Division as a company grade officer in various artillery positions. He left active duty, but served with the Army Reserve for five additional years.

Upon returning to active duty in 1984, he attended the Chaplain Corps officer basic course and began his career in the chaplaincy. Before serving as Deputy Chief of Chaplains
Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
The Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army is the assistant and second in command of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps to the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army. The current DCCH is Brigadier General Charles R. Bailey.-U.S...

 in September 2005, he was director of training at the Chaplain Center and School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training , and is located in Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army General and 7th President of the United States.-Overview:Fort Jackson was created...

. He was also a senior chaplain for V Corps and Combined Joint Task Force 7 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 from 2002 through 2004. In his current position, he is responsible for overseeing 2,700 chaplains around the world.

Carver received criticism for using what some called "apocalyptic religious warfare rhetoric" during a speech on July 13, 2006 to a Southern Baptist church congregation in Alabama.

Among his awards and decorations are the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star, the Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and Ranger Tab.

Awards and decorations

Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (Army)
The Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Army that is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great...

Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

 (with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...

)
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (United States)
The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...

 (with four bronze oak leaf clusters)
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal (with one bronze oak leaf cluster)
Army Achievement Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
The Joint Meritorious Unit Award is a military award that was established on June 4, 1981 by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982...

Meritorious Unit Commendation
Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions....

Army Superior Unit Award
Superior Unit Award
The Superior Unit Award is a decoration of the United States Army which is awarded in peacetime to any unit of the Army which displays outstanding meritorious performance of a difficult and challenging mission carried out under extraordinary circumstances....

National Defense Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...

 (with two bronze service stars)
Iraq Campaign Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
The Iraq Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States armed forces which was created by Executive Order 13363 of President George W. Bush on November 29, 2004. The Iraq Campaign Medal was designed by the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry....

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal is a United States armed forces military award created by George W. Bush on March 12, 2003 by Executive Order 13289. It recognizes those military service members who have deployed overseas in direct service to the War on Terror from September 11,...

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal is a military award of the United States military which was created by Executive Order 13289 of President George W. Bush on March 12, 2003...

Army Service Ribbon
Army Service Ribbon
The Army Service Ribbon is a military decoration of the United States Army that was established by the Secretary of the Army on 10 April 1981 as announced in Department of the Army General Order 15, dated 10 October 1990....

Overseas Service Ribbon
Overseas Service Ribbon
An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours of duty outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the Overseas Service Ribbons for the U.S. Army,...

 (with award numeral 3)

Further reading

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