Housing

After seeing the apartment where they wanted to put me and feeling so down and wanting even more to go home, I got to thinking about other possibilities and looked up AR 210-50, “Housing Management” where at 3-6, n. it states, “Unmarried chaplains and unaccompanied married chaplains will compete equally for AFH [Accompanied Family Housing] with sponsors within the appropriate grade category.” Could it be? Dare I hope?

This provision has been used primarily for Roman Catholic chaplains who seldom have family and shouldn’t be stuck in single-Soldier housing just because their faith demands they remain single, but the provision “unaccompanied married chaplains” opens it up to any chaplain, regardless of marital or religious status, to be eligible for family housing. There is a variety of reasons for this, to include the need for study space away from the commotion of the office, accommodations to meet with Soldiers when they can’t meet at the chaplain’s office, Bible Studies or “presence” social gatherings. Essentially, often the chaplain needs additional space for the performance of his duties much like a commander does, so this provision in Army regulations allows for it.

I went in to talk to the housing office about it and referenced the regulation but the representative I met with didn’t know anything about it so referred me to her supervisor. When I sat down with the supervisor, she looked at my cross (I was in uniform) and said, “Oh, you’re a chaplain! Let’s see what we can do.” She then gave me two duplexes to look at and told me to let her know if either would be acceptable. I looked at the first and it was in a great location with an abundance of trees and seclusion. It seemed to also be a two-bedroom, with the 2nd bedroom used as an office. But it was older and worse for the wear but the size and location made it leaps and bounds better than the 1st apartment they showed me.

The 2nd duplex looked newly remodeled from the outside. When I got inside it looked as though nobody had stayed in it since it had been remodeled. It had all new appliances, cabinets, shelving and bathroom fixtures. I couldn’t believe it! It didn’t take me long to decide on this one. I rushed back to housing, afraid she would give it to someone else before I confirmed that I wanted it. We set an appointment for Monday for the inspection and to sign for it.