New Command Chaplain Joins NAS Whiting Field

NAS Whiting Field has a new command chaplain ready to serve military members and their families.

Santa Rosa County, FL (Newsradio 92.3) -- Chaplain James Ferguson, known as "Chaps," recently took over as command chaplain at the Milton installation. He also serves Training Air Wing 5, the largest training air wing in the Navy.

Ferguson's path to the chaplaincy was unconventional. He spent eight years in the Army, including five and a half years as an enlisted soldier with two combat deployments out of Fort Hood. He said he initially resisted the calling to become a chaplain.

"My chaplain actually took me in his office on deployment — or into the tent, better yet — and had me sit with him. And he started filling out an application for me to be a chaplain," Ferguson said. "And I told him, no sir. And he submitted that to the chaplain recruiter."

Ferguson eventually accepted the path, earned his Master of Divinity from Liberty University, and became an Army chaplain before transferring to the Navy.

He said his prior enlisted experience helps him connect with service members.

Ferguson emphasizes that chaplains offer something unique: complete confidentiality.

"Everything they talk to us about one-on-one is 100% confidential, no matter what they tell us," he said.

The chaplain's office provides counseling and religious support for active duty members, their families, and civilian employees at the installation.

Ferguson is originally from Huntington, West Virginia. He and his wife Kayla have a three-year-old son, Josiah.

The NAS Whiting Field chaplain's office can be reached at 850-665-6110.