Carver officially promoted to Army chief of chaplains

FORT MYER, Va. (BP)--Doug Carver remembers the day he held a pair of bloody dog tags in his hand. That same hand recently rested on the Bible his wife Sunny gave him for college graduation as he was sworn in as the 23rd U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains.

Carver was promoted to major general during ceremonies at Fort Myer, Va., on July 12. He is the first Southern Baptist to hold the position of chief of chaplains since Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Ivan L. Bennett held the post in 1954.

"The selection of Maj. Gen. Carver to be the chief of chaplains for the U.S. Army is an historic event for Southern Baptists," said Geoff Hammond, president of the North American Mission Board, which endorses Southern Baptist chaplains. "We are grateful to the Lord that the Army has recognized his outstanding qualities as a leader and the spiritual support that he has provided to our troops and their families.

Carver said God has called him to serve the needs of soldiers and their families.

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