Chaplain staff providing services at any location

By Jason Heavner, 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs / Published December 22, 2016

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Staff Sgt. Grace Hoyt, left, and Staff Sgt. Yeritza Lomick, both from the 341st Missile Wing Chapel, adorn the altar of the chapel with holiday decorations at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. Dec. 20, 2016. Hoyt and Lomick are chaplain assistants whose main focus is to provide spiritual care and guidance for all Malmstrom Airmen so they can affectively carry out mission objectives.

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Staff Sgt. Yeritza Lomick, center right, 341st Missile Wing Chapel, speaks to Airmen of 341st Maintenance Group at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., Dec. 20. Lomick is a chaplain assistant whose main focus is to provide spiritual care and guidance for all Malmstrom Airmen so they can affectively carry out mission objectives.

MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- When Airmen attached to Malmstrom look for spiritual guidance or any form of counseling they can always visit the base chapel. However, with mission priorities and operational tempo schedules, getting to the chapel might be a task within itself.

“In the past, it was always a struggle to reach out to every Airman here on base since most of them go to the (missile) field,” said Staff Sgt. Grace Hoyt, 341st Missile Wing Chapel.

Recently, the chaplains and their assistants, which are called religious support teams, began riding out with the personnel to the facilities in the missile field. RSTs consist of one chaplain and one assistant. The approach alleviates any intimidation factor of an Airman speaking to an officer they hardly know without prior interaction about personal issues. Hoyt agrees that the approach is a practical way to get an instant connection with the Airmen in her assigned units and it gets the personnel to become more transparent.

“Most of the facilities they have to get to take two to three hours to get there, so we ride with them and use that time to get to know them better,” said Hoyt. “Plus, the age difference is not that much between myself and them so that it’s an advantage for me because they can open up to me and not be as intimidated. It’s also an advantage for them since they’re aware that they have someone to go to if they have issues that need resolving.”

Hoyt stresses that during her visits there are no underlying religious agendas during her impromptu sessions with the personnel she’s assigned to.

“When I visit the Airmen, whether it’s here on base or out in the field, I don’t function under any religious capacity,” said Hoyt. “I’m only here to support the Airmen and to support the objectives of my chaplain regardless of whatever their denomination is.”

Staff Sgt. Yeritza Lomick, 341st MW Chapel, agrees the approach of RSTs going out in the field also makes the job rewarding.

“When I get that Airman that comes to me after a rough patch to say ‘thank you for helping me out’ that tells me I’ve done my job,” said Lomick.

Lomick agrees that even though being a part of an RST does have its advantages, it does come with its share of challenges.

“Every once and awhile, I’ll get that Airman that sees me because they were told to and they still won’t open up,” said Lomick. “It can get a bit frustrating because I want to help them but if they’re not doing their part I just have to maintain patience and follow up with them and hope they’ll come around.”

The Malmstrom Chaplain Corps is available to help with issues Airmen might have. For more information on which unit chaplain assistant is assigned to, call 731-3721.

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