You’re in the Army Now

Jewish recruits to the US military are often caught off guard if their sergeant has never met a Jew, halal meat is interchanged with kosher, and someone calls the bomb squad when he puts on tefillin. US Army Chaplain Dovid Egert is there to ease the path of Jewish soldiers, but not only – he’s there to provide for any soldier’s religious needs

Private Weiss was finishing his first day in basic training, and he was hungry. Heading into the commissary, he requested a kosher MRE — military parlance for “meal, ready to eat,” the shelf-stable packaged food served to troops in the field — only to be told that there were none. He was directed toward the nearest chaplain for assistance.

The chaplain — who wasn’t Jewish — asked him, “Did you request kosher MREs? Did you note that you’re Jewish on your registration paperwork?”

The private sheepishly responded that he hadn’t — he’d just assumed that it would be obvious from his name and yarmulke that he was Jewish, and everyone would understand that he needed religious accommodations. The chaplain helped him amend his paperwork and request kosher MREs, but it took about two weeks until they were delivered.

Military life can be tricky to navigate for the uninitiated, even more so for those, like observant Jews, who require extra accommodation. Mishpacha met with US Army Chaplain Dovid Egert, a frum captain and rabbi currently based in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for a personal guide to the Jewish experience in the military.