Image by military.com

Capt. Sarah Schechter, the Jewish chaplain of the 11th Wing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, is the first ever female U.S. Air Force rabbi in 40 years of women serving as military chaplains, according to a recent feature on U.S. military website, military.com.

Image by military.com

A native of New York’s Greenwich Village, Schechter, whose father was a rabbi, told military.com that she decided to enlist because of September 11, when she was in her fourth year of rabbinical school.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Schechter’s father was an Air Force chaplain in 1960, something that also influenced her decision to join up, according to military.com

As a chaplain, the rabbi’s mission includes representing Judaism and serving as a link between other faiths. Despite being the first and only female rabbi to undertake the task in the Air Force, Schechter wouldn’t necessarily call herself a “trailblazer.”

“I’m an officer, I’m a rabbi, and I want to do my best to represent the military and Judaism in the best light possible. I’m grateful to the women in the chaplaincy who preceded me because I truly stand on the shoulder of giants,” she said.

For more, go to Haaretz

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount