Chaplains from across the United States have been making their way through 60 hours of training in five days this week as part of the first class of students in the National Police and Fire Chaplain Academy in Spokane.
The 32 chaplains from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, California, Texas and Tennessee gathered Thursday night at the Valley Bible Church for a graduation ceremony.
The academy in Spokane is unique because it trains both fire and police chaplains in the same session, said executive director Chaplain Stuart Vogelman. “We offer a whole series of classes as part of our curriculum that no one else does,” he said.