RICHMOND, Virginia –
Three Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Fort Barfoot-based 134th Chaplain Detachment traveled to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, Jan. 17- 31, 2025, where they provided chaplain support to the Fort Riley- based 1st Infantry Division during its NTC training rotation.
Maj. Will Cochrane and Sgt. 1st Class Christina McDermott, who are organic to the 134th, were augmented by Capt. David Porter, the 116th Brigade Combat Team chaplain.
While there, they embedded with the 1ID chaplain section, where they focused on information flow with other unit ministry teams on the battlefield and ensuring systems and processes were followed.
"This was definitely a learning experience for myself,” McDermott said. “There are some tools and warfighter products that we’ve maintained and want to take back with us. It’s very similar to how the 29th Infantry Division prepped for a deployment a few years ago. But our chaplain section wasn’t as involved as here with 1st ID so I’m looking to take that back to Virginia.”
“There is not a lot of difference between how active duty and Army National Guard prepare for deployment,” Porter said. “Active-duty tempo will be a lot more active but in terms of a pre-deployment cycle, this is very similar to what a lead up to a deployment looks and feels like.”
The 134th Soldiers were originally staged at Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow - Yermo Annex, where they integrated into the division chaplain section at the rear command post. Eventually the command post moved to NTC as part of the exercise and the chaplain section continued coordinating religious support activities and movements for unit ministry teams below them, at the brigade level, while moving and setting up at a new location.
“We really learned how a division chaplain section operates,” Cochrane said. “We had several brigades below us and III Corps above us.”
Cochrane explained that anytime an active-duty division deploys, they bring in a chaplain detachment to support their division. Those detachments help fill the gaps that exist through teamwork, collaboration and building relationships.
“We’re talking multiple units, multiple movements and multiple phases of operations,” Porter said. “I have not had that level of exposure so it has been extremely valuable.”
The desolate terrain and cold nights made the training even more realistic, and the entire mission proved valuable.
“I’ve deployed twice as a chaplain and it felt like a real deployment,” Cochrane said. “Being in that environment is much different than home station.”