Leggett ’93 Leads Important Mission to Help Vets by George Abry, Contributing Writer
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ev. Charles A. Leggett ’93 was a minister at Westhaven Baptist Church in Portsmouth when he heard that a good friend, Lt. Cmdr. David L. Williams ’91, USN, had died during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. “When that happened, I felt a strong pull back to the military to serve as a chaplain,” said Leggett, an Army Reserve chaplain who serves as the group chaplain for the 2nd U.S. Army Reserve Mobilization Support Group, headquartered at Fort Still, Oklahoma. The group is responsible for 20 mobilization support battalions in seven states. “Initially, I pursued the Air Force, but thanks to a very persuasive Army chaplain from the 1st Cavalry Division, I accepted a commission from the Army instead.” Leggett grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from Manchester High School, where he learned about VMI through an alumnus who had been invited to speak to his government class. The speaker was Wyatt Durrette Jr. ’61, who impressed Leggett. “After hearing [Durrette] speak and talking with him, I decided that I wanted to attend VMI.” At VMI, Leggett majored in history with minors in English and Spanish. He was a corporal and sergeant in Charlie Company, an officer of the VMI Glee Club, a member of the VMI Civil War Round Table and cadet-in-charge of cadet assistants at the VMI Museum. Despite his packed schedule, Leggett never lost sight of his spiritual responsibilities. He was actively involved with the Religious Activities Committee, twice serving as a project officer for the Religious Emphasis Weekend. He also worked with the Officer’s Christian Fellowship and the VMI Spirit Squad, and he wrote articles for the VMI Bomb. Leggett initially pursued a commission as a pilot but was cut from the program 2013-Issue 3
during his Rat year because of his eyesight. During the second semester of his first class year, he felt that he had been called to the ministry instead of the armed services. After graduation, he accepted an interim youth minister position at his hometown church, Bon Air Baptist, in Richmond, while attending the Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned his master of divinity degree in May 1997. Before entering the Army, he had served at four churches. In January 2003, Leggett reported to the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where he completed the Chaplain Basic Officer’s Course and then went di-
rectly to his first duty station at Fort Hood, Texas. His first unit was the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. “By the time I marked my first anniversary as an Army chaplain, I was in Kuwait, preparing to move north into Baghdad,” Leggett said. He served on active duty as an Army chaplain from 2003-11, deploying to Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division from January 2004 through February 2005 and with the 214th Fires Brigade from July 2007 through October 2008. According to Leggett, clerical ministry is one of three occupations with the highest suicide rates. “Helping others cope with and overcome their own emotional baggage through counseling involves a certain degree of emotional transference to the counselor,” Leggett said. When you take that emotional transference and place it in the middle Leggett, an Army Reserve chaplain, serves as the group chaplain of a combat zone, the outcome for the 2nd U.S. Army Reserve can be negative. Mobilization Support Group, headEven though chaplains are quartered at Fort Still, Oklahoma. known to be non-combatants
A concert titled “Vets Rock n’ Relief” was held in Los Angeles, California, on April 21, 2013, to benefit The Silent War Foundation. Pictured above were, second from right, Rev. Charles Leggett ’93, with his wife, Mandy, far right, and other members of the foundation board. The Elton John look-alike is the band leader for the group “Elton-The Early Years,” Kenny Metcalf.
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