Finding Faith: Worshipping on an air force base, role of military chaplains, and how faith helps families cope

Chapel where service men and women on Mountain Home Air Force Base meet for worship services with their families. Listen to the podcast in the video player above or download it below. | Courtesy photo

This is the third in a series of podcasts about faith in eastern Idaho. Over the last six months, we’ve attended many different church services and spoken with members of different faiths to understand who they are and what they believe. Each episode in the six-part series will focus on a specific denomination and explore the history, culture and beliefs of the religion.

Mountain Home Air Force Base 53 miles south of Boise is home to 4,500 active-duty airmen, along with 6,000 family members, 7,000 retirees and 650 civilian employees.

Each of the men and women in uniform come from various religious backgrounds, but most are Catholic or Protestant Christians.

Chapel services are held on the base every Sunday. About 100 people, on average, attend every week.

“There are some people who come in dress slacks and button-up shirts. Some people come in jeans and a T-shirt. Some women wear dresses and some women wear jeans,” Nina Augustine, a non-denominational Christian on base tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Military chaplains provide spiritual guidance for airmen and their families and help accommodate the spiritual needs of those they serve.

Whether it’s long deployments, combat, or losing a comrade in battle, the lifestyle of active-duty airmen is full of challenges without the additional pressures of raising a family and practicing a faith. But the ability have a place of worship on the base is what allows many of them to get through difficult times and continue serving our country.

Welcome to Finding Faith, a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho.

This week, we’re doing something just a little bit different. Rather than focusing on a specific religion, we’re visiting the western part of the state to explore what it’s like to practice a faith on an air force base. We also learn the role military chaplains play in the lives of airmen, and how faith helps in coping with the pressures of military life.