D. Keith Shurtleff, 33, of Salt Lake City has been named a chaplain in the U.S. Army. He will begin serving at Fort Sill, Okla., in April after training at Fort Monmouth, N.J.
It is the first time since 1986 that a member of the Church has been accepted by the U.S. Army as an active-duty chaplain. His selection follows by a few months the selection of Navy chaplain Ronald Ross Ringo, the first Church member to become an active-duty chaplain in any branch of the service since 1989."This will be an opportunity to do Christlike service for others," said Brother Shurtleff. "It is a great blessing, a long-awaited blessing and came after much prayer and fasting."
Brother Shurtleff earned a bachelor's degree in political science from BYU in 1982. After graduating from the BYU law school in 1986, he received a direct commission into the Navy where he served in the Judge Advocate General Corps until his release from active duty in 1991. While in the Navy, he was called as bishop of the Virginia Beach 2nd Ward and also was a counselor in two bishoprics.
An article in the Church News about the need for LDS chaplains sparked his interest in pursuing the chaplaincy.
Brother Shurtleff and his wife, Nina, are parents of five children. He served in the Venezuela Maracaibo Mission from 1979-81.