Chaplain support teams offer more than religious relief to Airmen, families Published June 2, 2015 By Senior Airman Amanda Morris 36th Wing Public Affairs ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- Working on the sweltering blacktop of a mid-summer flightline is stressful. On the island of Guam, where the mean annual temperature hovers around 81 degrees, this is a standard working condition and daily challenge for maintenance and security crews, working to support various aircraft on Andersen Air Force Base. When the heat rises and Airmen begin counting the minutes until their next break, Chaplain (Maj.) Dennis DeGuzman, the 36th Wing, often uses the opportunity to join the team with a cooler full of chilled water and frozen popsicles to relieve some of the heat stress. "I am assigned to the 36th Maintenance Group and the 36th Operations Group and the tenant units," DeGuzman said. "I take care of the flightline Airmen and it is rewarding seeing (the crews) smile after reaching out on a very hot day." Beside the genuine concern for Airmen's welfare, DeGuzman and his team at the Andersen AFB chapel corps have ulterior, yet equally caring motives, he said. Their efforts also serve to present a reachable presence and support to ever-busy Airmen. "I focus most on caring," DeGuzman said. "I became a priest because I wanted to offer my life to God in a humble way and I can do that by serving our Airmen and men and women in uniform." Along with providing the classic, chapel-based religious services, pastoral care is provided through religious support teams, consisting of a chaplain and chaplain assistants. RSTs are assigned to every unit, including tenant units stationed here, and focus on visiting the troops at their job site. During their unit visits, RSTs offer water, sports drinks and even popsicles to Airmen as a way to enable stress-free conversations. Chaplain assistants are a crucial part of the RSTs. These specially trained Airmen understand life outside of the chapel corps because they have served in another Air Force specialty before joining the chaplain corps. "I retrained to give warrior care," said Staff Sgt. Gilberto Montoya, the NCO in charge of chapel administration. "I remember being on my first deployment as a security forces member, being stuck at the gate shack one of the coolest things was seeing one of the chaplains drive by to ask about my life and my family. It made a big difference; I wanted to do the same for someone else." Like chaplains, all team members are required to provide services for members of any faith or denomination. Whether atheist, Wiccan, Buddhist or non-denominational -- all Airmen and family members are welcome, Montoya said. Members of any faith are encouraged to seeking available assistance with the team. However, chaplains and chaplain assistants are not restricted to service members. They also offer a listening ear to family members and civilians in the Department of Defense. Other services provided by the chaplain office include but are not limited to premarital and one-on-one counselling with 100 percent confidentiality, Bible studies, children's liturgy, marriage retreats, single Airmen's retreats and religious educational services. For more information on the chapel schedule or make an appointment to speak with a team member, call 366-6139.