Blog Post
NAVAC President’s Award
- By Sarah Judson
- •
- 17 May, 2018
After a lifetime of work with Veterans and worldwide missions, Chaplain Mills service is recognized with a prestigious award
Chaplain Thomas Mills has spent most of his life working with Veterans, and on April 25th, 2018, he was awarded The National Association of Veterans Affairs Chaplains (NAVAC) President’s award. NAVAC serves Chaplains in the Department of Veterans Affairs with a mission centered on providing the highest degree of excellence in Pastoral Care and Veteran Services. Through this association, Chaplains can pursue education, research, and professional development while building a network of collegial support.
Chaplain Mills became a member of NAVAC in 2006 and the Chairman of Certification in 2009. Without any files or information available for use, he constructed the membership and certification process from the ground up. He worked to improve coordination with the Association or Professional Chaplains, ensuring that Chaplain Associations maintain the same standards. He also laid the foundation to hold interviews via teleconferencing, facilitating communication between widespread VA boards and saving time and travel expense. While he served as Chairman of Certification, he administered 400 new applications and created a Code of Ethics and Conduct. NAVAC also became the first group to offer specialty certification in Mental Health and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. After stepping down in 2016 due to triple bypass heart surgery, he is serving on the Board of Directors once again.
After nearly 10 years as the Chief of Chaplains in the VA Illiana Health Care System, 21 years in the Air Force, and service in churches from Iceland to California, Chaplain Mills uses his experience to teach the National Chaplain Center and mentor Chief Chaplains throughout the VA. Amidst his time with NAVAC, he has contributed to articles, developed a tool kit used to approve Spiritual Assessment instruments throughout the VA Health Care System, and been a member of the Commission on Ministry in Specialized Settings. Currently, Chaplain Mills is working with the National Chaplain Center to increase visibility and awareness of VA Chaplains and their work.
Barbara Speyer, President of NAVAC, and Fr. Brandow, Chairman of the Board, commend Tom for years of tireless work and improvements to the organization on a national level.
Congratulations to Chaplain Mills on this award, it truly is a testament to his dedication to the Chaplains mission!
Recent Posts
The Chaplains Commission congratulates Chaplain (CPT) Gary D. Sands for being selected as the best Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) Chaplain for the third consecutive year (2020-2022). CH Sands was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his duty performance and leadership that inspired his unit to win the SRU of the Year award for the first time.
The competition is steep for such recognition by the Army Recovery Care Program Senior Leadership Summit at Fort Belvoir, VA. There are 15 Soldier Recovery Units in the Army nationwide and they’ve cared for 55,000 Soldiers since their activation in 2007.
A native of Texas and a fourth generation Church of God member, Chaplain Sands has been married to Ginger Locklear Sands for more than 30 years. Both are graduates of Lee University and the proud parents of two adult children. Mrs. Sands is a career school teacher. In 1999, they established the Mount Olive Ministry Center in Arlington, TX, where they pastored for 16 years until Gary entered active duty on 21 September 2015.
Chaplain Sands is a 1996 graduate (M.Div) of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Afterwards, he earned a Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (2004) and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary (2020). He is also a Clinical Pastoral Education graduate from Madigan Army Medical Center, WA (2019).
Following this assignment, Chaplain Sands hopes to be promoted to Major and stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. He wants to be assigned as an Airborne Brigade Chaplain, where he can mentor junior Chaplains in providing ministry to their respective battalions.
Thank you, Chaplain Sands, for making us all stand a little taller. Your faithful work and successful ministry at America’s largest military installation is sincerely appreciated.
Please send your notes of congratulations and encouragement to Chaplain and Mrs. Sands at his email address: garydonsands@gmail.com
--Charles Howell, Chaplain Colonel (USA retired), 23 FEB 2023
The competition is steep for such recognition by the Army Recovery Care Program Senior Leadership Summit at Fort Belvoir, VA. There are 15 Soldier Recovery Units in the Army nationwide and they’ve cared for 55,000 Soldiers since their activation in 2007.
A native of Texas and a fourth generation Church of God member, Chaplain Sands has been married to Ginger Locklear Sands for more than 30 years. Both are graduates of Lee University and the proud parents of two adult children. Mrs. Sands is a career school teacher. In 1999, they established the Mount Olive Ministry Center in Arlington, TX, where they pastored for 16 years until Gary entered active duty on 21 September 2015.
Chaplain Sands is a 1996 graduate (M.Div) of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Afterwards, he earned a Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (2004) and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary (2020). He is also a Clinical Pastoral Education graduate from Madigan Army Medical Center, WA (2019).
Following this assignment, Chaplain Sands hopes to be promoted to Major and stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. He wants to be assigned as an Airborne Brigade Chaplain, where he can mentor junior Chaplains in providing ministry to their respective battalions.
Thank you, Chaplain Sands, for making us all stand a little taller. Your faithful work and successful ministry at America’s largest military installation is sincerely appreciated.
Please send your notes of congratulations and encouragement to Chaplain and Mrs. Sands at his email address: garydonsands@gmail.com
--Charles Howell, Chaplain Colonel (USA retired), 23 FEB 2023
She and Kelly Artemis founded Milspo Gurus for this community, and engage in honest discussion through blogs, Q&A videos , and a personalized course. Their course was recently featured in military family focused Legacy Magazine , and both are published in other military resources, found on their site. Claire shares more about the creation of Milspo Gurus here:
