February 26, 2025 (CAMP RIPLEY, Minn.) – The role of an Army Chaplain in today’s military is vital to sustaining Soldiers’ morale and religious practice, and it has been for the past 250 years. Living up to the motto, “Pro Deo et Patria, For God and Country,” the Chaplain Corps continues to support Soldiers in the Minnesota National Guard and their allies in every significant military event, training, and conflict.

The longest-lasting State Partnership in the United States Department of Defense, which has been ongoing for the past 52 years, is the Norwegian Reciprocal Troop Exchange (NOREX) between the Minnesota National Guard and the Norwegian Home Guard. NOREX is an annual training event where Soldiers and Airmen from both forces fly overseas to their allied country and conduct winter survival and cold-weather operation training. Although American chaplains aren’t trained as combat soldiers, chaplains from the Minnesota National Guard and Norway have supported the training exercise each year, supporting American and Norwegian troops and leaders in maintaining their religious practice and morale.

“The primary role of Chaplains during NOREX is the same as our role anytime we are involved in a training exercise,” said Minnesota National Guard Army Major Stephanie Christoffels, the NOREX 2025 American Chaplain at Camp Ripley, which is the Minnesota National Guard training installation that hosts the exchange every year. “We advise the Commander on morals, morale, and the impact of religion on the mission, and we provide for the free exercise of religion for all service members in our area of operations.”

“For NOREX specifically, our job is to host the Norwegian chaplain and provide an optional joint worship service for all of the participants, offer the invocation and benediction for the high-profile meals, be available if there is a service member in crisis, circulate to the different training events, and participate in staff activities,” said Christoffels.

Many of the American Chaplain Corps’ functions work the same as those of the Norwegian Chaplain Corps, and each team made time during NOREX to learn about their counterpart’s culture, practices, and operating procedures.

“It was an honor to be a part of NOREX 2025, and it has been wonderful to get to meet the Americans, who warmly welcomed us, and throughout the exercise, there have been many conversations, often informal, regardless of faith or beliefs,” said Chaplain Major Arnstein Hardang, the Chaplain of the NOREX 2025 Norwegian Contingent. “The Chaplain’s role is to provide soldiers pastoral care, ethical guidance, and religious support. The Chaplain serves as a support function for the commander and the unit. It is important to see the whole Soldier and support them.”

“We were blessed with Chaplain Hardang and he wanted to learn from us as much as we wanted to learn from him,” said Christoffels. “His church tradition is the Church of Norway, which is very similar to my tradition (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), so he and I were able to compare and contrast our services and civilian lives quite a bit. It was fascinating to learn more about how chaplaincy works in the Norwegian Home Guard compared to how it works in the Army National Guard.”

One slight difference the American Chaplains had compared to the Norwegian Contingent was operating with a Religious Affairs Noncommissioned Officer, who typically supports Chaplains with training, religious support, administrative data, and more.

“This exercise differs from other annual trainings that I have been a part of. It was much less crisis reaction and intervention and more teaching, learning, observing, and participating in some social events the Army hosts. Staff Sgt. Logan Woods, our religious affairs NCO, was invaluable in his efforts this annual training,” said Christoffels. “He was right there with us at all of the training exercises, talking with troops who don’t always feel comfortable talking with officers and stepping up to help whenever help was needed, especially when safely transporting the Chaplains in the freezing snow storms this winter.”

Christoffels and Hardang agreed that a highlight of the 2025 exchange was the joint worship service that combined traditional service elements from both countries. It included bilingual scriptures, prayers, blessings, songs, and a Norwegian “lighting of the candle for the fallen and the King’s Wish,” specific to Norwegian military worship services. “It was a great opportunity to really speak with our Soldiers and the Norwegian Contingent more and learn more about their lives here and in Norway,” said Christoffels. “Watching their winter training allowed us to continue interacting with them and their leadership to get to know all of them better.”

Overall, the Chaplain’s support during the exchange and in any military operation is invaluable in keeping the troop’s morale high, including religious practices, and morally supporting the command team in its decision-making. “It has been a great experience, and it has been wonderful to get to know the Americans,” said Hardang. “It was especially valuable to see how the Minnesota National Guard chaplaincy operates and having the opportunity to swap lessons and stories between us that we can all use going forward.”