Chaplain (Capt.) Tony Wilkins has been named “Chaplain of the Year” by the Salvation Army and the American Correctional Association.
Wilkins accepted the honor at a conference Aug. 3.
Wilkins is currently serving as deputy director of pastoral care at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. Wilkins joined the military in 2005 after serving as a hospital chaplain.
Wilkins said the USDB runs 47 different religious programs every week. The prison population has 36 different faith groups and is supported by 222 volunteers.
“It’s really an opportunity to see how God works transformationally in people’s lives,” Wilkins said. “We’ve got close to 400 folks here that have made the worst decisions that anyone could in their lives, and to see how spirituality impacts them for good and changes their view of the world.”
As USDB chaplain, he not only serves the inmates, but 1,200 Soldiers serving within the Army Corrections Brigade. Wilkins said he’s there for Soldiers who are confronted with the challenges of being corrections officers.
“Soldiers that have to look into the worst that society has to offer, in some ways, on a daily basis, horrific crimes and the people that committed them,” Wilkins said. “How do they process that? I enjoy being able to help them process what they see on a daily basis.”
Ernest Jones, divisional correctional services director for the Salvation Army in the Kansas and Western Missouri division, nominated Wilkins for the award.
“He has dedicated himself in such a way that I believe it’s noteworthy and honorable,” Jones said.
He said that not only has Wilkins dedicated his life to military service, but also to military men incarcerated at the USDB.
“Of course, we understand that population consists of men in the armed forces who were caught up in some bad decisions,” Jones said. “(Wilkins) still had a big heart to be able to serve those men as well. I think that’s a tremendous amount of grace and forgiveness.”
Jones, who also delivers religious services to the incarcerated throughout the area, said the dynamic of being able to provide those services and balance them with safety is a difficult one. The job of a chaplain is to find an avenue in which to provide the prisoner with some type of restitution and a chance at restoring one’s life.
“Because a lot of people are hurt when a person is incarcerated,” Jones said. “Those men who have children and wives, there is some catastrophic damage done emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. Those are a lot of areas that become really damaged in a person that’s incarcerated.”
