Mississippi National Guard Welcomes New State Chaplain.

Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles (center), the adjutant general of Mississippi, shows support for Chaplain (Col.) Cregg M. Puckett, incoming state chaplain for the Mississippi Army National Guard, during a changing of the stole ceremony at Joint Force Headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, March 5, 2023.

JACKSON, Miss.– Chaplain, (Col.) Terry Partin, outgoing Mississippi National Guard State Command

Chaplain passed on the responsibility to incoming Chaplain, (Col.) Cregg Puckett in a Changing of the Stole

ceremony at the Mississippi National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Jackson, Sunday, March 5, 2023.

The role of an Army Chaplain is to build and maintain spiritual readiness by investing in their people.

Chaplains are experienced religious leaders and spiritual caregivers, dedicated to military service members and the families that support them. Military Chaplains are non-combatant service members and they do not carry a weapon. They specialize in ministering to Soldiers while caring for their spiritual well-being.

Partin began his service as a religious leader in 1987, and in 2003 he felt called to join the Army

Chaplain Corps. Both Partin and Puckett have been deployed three times.

“These men are warriors and pastors,” said Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles, the adjutant general of

Mississippi, as he addressed an auditorium full of soldiers and family members gathered to witness the

transition of leadership.

Boyles spoke of the chaplains’ years of dedication and hard work that both men devoted to their careers

and the success of the Mississippi National Guard. Partin's parting words of wisdom entailed stories from

the Bible that required all levels of an organization and a team to work together to win. Partin reminded us

that “everyone must work as a team in order to win, we have to work together at every level to succeed.”

Puckett enlisted in the MSNG in 1987. He later commissioned as a Chaplain in 1998. As he accepted his new responsibility as the MSNG State Command Chaplain, he talked about a chaplain’s role in the military.

Chaplain Puckett believes that Chaplains are there to “nurture the living, care for the wounded, and honor

the dead.”

-Puckett looks forward to the opportunities his new position will bring and wants to seek ways to improve

the Chaplain Corps. His ultimate goal is to expand the number of serving chaplains within the Mississippi

National Guard.