Gregory N. Todd

Chaplain (Rear Admiral) Gregory N. Todd is a United States Navy Chaplain Corps officer serving as the 20th Chaplain of the Marine Corps.[1] He previously served for four years as the tenth Chaplain of the Coast Guard. Over a thirty-two year career, he has served in a variety of Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard assignments, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and chaplaincy work at Ground Zero in the wake of the September 11 attacks. He is a Lutheran.

Gregory Todd
RDML Gregory N. Todd, CHC, USN
(in Navy service dress blues)
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1986–present
Rank Rear Admiral (lower half)
AwardsLegion of Merit (3)

Education

A Seattle, Washington native, Todd earned a bachelor of arts degree in theology and education from Concordia College in Portland, Oregon in 1984. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri and was ordained as a minister in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod in 1988. Chaplain Todd later earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in Christian Leadership from the Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2009.[2]

Career
Rear Admiral Gregory N. Todd as 20th Chaplain of the United States Marine Corps.

Todd was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy Reserve in 1986, providing ministry to Marine Corps Reserve units while concurrently serving as pastor for civilian churches in Illinois. He transferred to active duty in 1994 and served as Protestant chaplain at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California. From 1996 to 1998, Todd was chaplain aboard the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville.

Todd served his first tour with the Coast Guard from 1998 to 2002, serving as chaplain at Coast Guard Activities New York. While there, he was the first Navy chaplain to arrive at the World Trade Center site after the September 11 attacks, and hosted a Coast Guard Chaplain Emergency Response Team[3] of thirty Navy chaplains working with the Coast Guard, that ministered to civilians and emergency crews at various locations, including Ground Zero, the family center, and One Police Plaza.[4] He was also part of response teams that responded after the crashes of EgyptAir Flight 990 and American Airlines Flight 587.

Todd returned to ministry within the Marine Corps in 2002, reporting to the Second Force Service Support Group based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He deployed to Kuwait with the group's Forward Battalion at a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004, he deployed to Afghanistan with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. setting up the ministry at Forward Operating Base Ripley in Afghanistan's Oruzgan Province. In May 2005, he assumed the duties as officer in charge of Marine Corps Chaplain and RP Expeditionary Skills Training (CREST) at Camp Johnson, a post he held until October 2008.[5] He then attended the Senior Supervisory Chaplain Course, after which he reported aboard USS Kearsarge as command chaplain.

Todd returned to the Marine Corps again in July 2010, as chaplain for the 2nd Marine Logistics Group; in this capacity, he led transition and support ministries for Sailors and Marines deploying or redeploying from Afghanistan, and led a chaplain team in Ramstein, Germany supporting Third Location Decompression programs for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Marines, helping to facilitate their transition after a deployment described as "kinetic". In February 2013, he departed 2nd MLG and reported aboard as force chaplain for II Marine Expeditionary Force, leading II MEF's religious program for 50,000-plus Marines, Sailors, and family members.

Todd returned for his second tour with the Coast Guard in June 2014, relieving Captain Gary Weeden as Chaplain of the Coast Guard. He was relieved by Captain Thomas Walcott in April 2018.[6]

Awards and Qualifications

Todd's awards include:
Badge
Fleet Marine Force Insignia (Chaplain)
1st row
Legion of Merit with two gold award stars
Meritorious Service Medal with Operational Distinguishing Device and three gold award stars
2nd row
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two award stars
Coast Guard Commendation Medal
Transportation 9-11 Medal
3rd row
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two award stars
Navy Combat Action Ribbon
Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award with "O" device
4th row
Navy Unit Commendation
Coast Guard Unit Commendation with "O" device and award star
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon
5th row
Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation
Navy "E" Ribbon w/ one Battle E device
Fleet Marine Force Ribbon
6th row
National Defense Service Medal with service star
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with FMF and one bronze campaign star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
7th row
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with service star
Special Operations Service Ribbon
  • He is also qualified as a Master Training Specialist.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document: "".

  1. "Chaplain Todd's Promotion Ceremony". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. June 21, 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  2. "RDML Gregory N. Todd, CHC, USN". U.S. Marine Corps. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  3. Todd, Gregory. "Our Chaplain Remembers 9/11". Coast Guard All Hands. U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  4. Mueller, Robin (April 2002). "Bearing The 'Shield of Faith'" (PDF). The Lutheran Witness. 121 (4): 4. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  5. Marie, Michael (March 8, 2007). "Religious program chaplains, sailors get a taste of expeditionary skills training". Quantico Sentry. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  6. "Chaplain of the Coast Guard Conducts Change of Watch Ceremony". U.S. Navy. April 19, 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.

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