Lessons Learned

Acadia community offered well-rounded experience that now governs military’s Director of Chaplain Services

By Jim Prime (’69)

Barbara Putnam (95') graduated from Acadia Divinity College (ADC) and Acadia University in 1995 with a Master of Divinity, having previously obtained a BSc in data analysis from UNB. She returned to the Wolfville campus in 2018 to receive the ADC Distinguished Alumni Award. The story of what happened in between, and how she came to be named one of Esprit de Corp magazine’s Top 20 Women in Defense in 2019, is interesting.

After graduation from Acadia, the Saint John, NB native became an ordained minister in 1996 and pastored churches in her home province and Nova Scotia. In 2000, her career path took a turn as she left civilian life and enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a captain. “I entered the military just after the 1998 Swissair disaster and just prior to 9/11,” she says. “There were few Baptists in the Chaplain Service then and even fewer women. The early years of my career were spent in army field units, on mission in Afghanistan, and second language training.”

She was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2003 with a National Command Element, Brigade Headquarters staff and soldiers from the 3 RCR Battalion Group to form rotation zero of Operation ATHENA, Canada’s first contribution to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Col. (Rev . ) Putnam then moved quickly through the ranks, graduating from the Canadian Forces College Joint Command and Staff Programme in 2011, being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2012 and full Colonel in 2016.

Col. Putnam and her husband Bradford Putnam (’95) live in Ottawa, where she currently serves as Director of Chaplain Services in the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service, and as the Strategic Spiritual Advisor to Operation HONOUR, the CAF‘s mission to eliminate harmful and inappropriate sexual behaviour in the Canadian military.

The academic foundation that I received while an Acadia student prepared me extremely well for becoming a military chaplain...

Acadia an excellent precursor

Although she didn’t know during her time at Acadia that her ministry would one day centre on the military, Col. Putnam believes that the Valley school prepared her fully for the daunting challenges ahead, including the deployment to Kabul.

“The academic foundation that I received while an Acadia student prepared me extremely well for becoming a military chaplain,” she says. “The professors all had ministry experience and shared best practices with the students, which enriched and broadened the classroom experience.” Col. Putnam says that the closeknit atmosphere of the campus and town added an important dimension to her time there. “The entire Acadia community contributed to a well-rounded academic and social experience. It was an excellent precursor to becoming a member of the military family – and it was also the place where I met my spouse of nearly 25 years. “Acadia prepared me for one of the most rewarding aspects of my career so far – developing and updating training programs for chaplains, preparing them to work in a multi-faith environment, and giving them skills in counselling, ethics, resilience and leadership.

“As chaplains, we provide first-line support to our soldiers, sailors and aviators, helping them to access all the resources they need to have a long and meaningful career in their chosen field while staying spiritually fit and resilient. Regardless of where I am called to serve, my underlying focus will always be on equipping, training and educating chaplains, who in turn will offer their skills, leadership and advice throughout the spectrum of operations of the CAF . ”

Spiritual wellness

Col. Putnam was the first woman to reach the rank of colonel in the history of the Chaplaincy. She hopes to use her influence to keep that momentum going. “My desire is to ensure that the Chaplaincy is fully engaged in spiritual wellness and resilience activities with a healthy cadre of chaplains committed to diversity, inclusion and belonging,” she says.

“As a senior chaplain, my role has become increasingly strategic, yet my calling will always be the spiritual and religious support of our military members and their families whom we are called to serve.”

ADC President Rev . Dr . Harry Gardiner (’77) has known Col. Putnam and notes that “Barb is a highly organized leader who thinks strategically and is a very articulate communicator . As a woman of deep faith, she has served her country well in Canada and when deployed to Afghanistan and other places during uncertain and volatile conditions. She has ministered through listening and coming alongside her comrades as a Chaplain in everyday life and during deep losses. We were very pleased at Acadia Divinity College to award her with the Distinguished Alumni Service Award and I am very proud of her as a friend and colleague in ministry . It is no surprise that she has risen in rank as a Military Chaplain, a recognition and commendation of her service and person.”