The Father Mulcahy Model: American Chaplains' Interactions with Foreign Civilian Populations in the Twentieth Century

Historically, American military chaplains have been primary points of contact between the American military and non-US local civilian populations. Particularly in overseas military engagements, chaplain interaction with local civilian clergy and religious communities and with relief organizations formed critical components of this relationship. In popular-culture representations, such as Fr. Francis Mulcahy of M*A*S*H, this role is, in fact, a principally important one. Historically, this role has been significant as well. When chaplains accompanied US troops in the Spanish-American war, a chaplain met with the archbishop of Manila to try and negotiate a peace settlement. Chaplains, often with the support of commanders, became critical links connecting military and civilian populations. In Korea and Vietnam, chaplains raised money and supported orphanages and helped build civilian chapels. More recently, in Iraq, chaplains have helped negotiate with religious and community leaders about an appropriate and secure burial site for civilian dead. By virtue of their religious authority and cultural knowledge, chaplains may have been uniquely positioned to bridge cultural divides. Chaplain interactions with civilians in both official and unofficial capacities offer specific sites of cultural interaction that reveal the military’s vision of its own mission and the place of chaplains within that mission.
            Discussion of chaplains’ roles as cultural mediators or intermediaries between civilian and military populations continue to frame discussions about US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, where multicultural interactions, and particularly those related to religion, are critical to the US military mission. Recent studies on the chaplaincy have suggested that chaplains are uniquely situated to mediate cultural and religious conflicts and that they are critical to military strategic and operational effectiveness. This paper historicizes chaplains’ roles in interacting with foreign civilian communities in order to more carefully examine assumptions and expectations about the chaplains’ proper role in the military.