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Eric and Raylene Cochrane, M.Div. students from New Mexico, were commissioned
as Navy Chaplain Candidates during chapel on November 1, by AG Chaplaincy Department
director, Chaplain Charles Marvin. They are the first married couple to be commissioned
as chaplains, either military or institutional, in the church’s history and are
only one of a very few number of Armed Forces chaplain couples in the nation.
The military requires that chaplain candidates receive denominational endorsement
and be enrolled as a full-time student in a Master of Divinity program at an accredited
seminary such as AGTS. Prior to being accessed to active duty, candidates must complete
the Master of Divinity degree, be ordained, and meet pastoral requirements set by
their endorsing agent. Upon fulfilling these requirements, the Cochranes may each
be ordered to any number of Navy, Marine or Coast Guard commands. Military regulations,
however, will not permit a married couple to serve under the same commanding officer.
During the same chapel service, Chaplain Marvin and Chaplain Worthley presented 23
Institutional/Occupational and Military chaplaincy students with $2000 scholarships,
awarded on a semester basis, from the AG Chaplaincy Department. Chaplaincy students
make up approximately ten percent of the resident student body at AGTS. One-hundred
and twelve AGTS graduates currently serve in chaplaincy ministries including military,
prison, hospital, rodeo, trucking, police, fire and rescue, etc.
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