On Feb. 19, 2021, Philip Willis Jr., who serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserves, was promoted to colonel, the highest field-grade officer rank.

Willis pastors the Lake Region churches of Maywood and Robbins in the Chicagoland area and serves as the command chaplain of the Military Intelligence Readiness Command (MIRC) at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. He is responsible for coordinating religious support for 8,000 soldiers. He also provides mentorship and guidance to over 28 chaplains, seven brigade unit ministry teams, 18 battalion unit ministry teams, and 15 chaplain candidates across 15 states, Europe, and Africa.

There are relatively few Adventists in these senior-level positions and Willis, a two-time Iraq War veteran and Bronze Star recipient, says this opens doors for ministry in a more significant way. 

In addition to the fact that there are few Adventist colonels, the promotion is meaningful for another reason. In his 25 years in military career in the Michigan Army National Guard, Active-Duty Army and US Army Reserves, Willis notes that he has seen only two other African American Army colonel chaplains.

“This promotion means a lot to me,” says Willis. “It means that the Bible is right, and that God answers prayers; that my parents’ morning and evening worship, discipline, and dedication to God paid off, and that the mentors I had in my life made a difference.”

Willis received a Bachelor of Theology degree from Oakwood University (Alabama) in 1993, a Master of Divinity in 1996, and a Master of Social Work from Andrews University (Michigan) in 2014. In 2017, he graduated with a doctoral degree in family ministry from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. Over the years, his story chronicling his tours of duty and time on Chicago’s South Side have been published in the “Lake Union Herald.” An outgrowth of those articles was a well-received memoir published in 2013, “Bullet Proof: How to Arm Yourself for the Fight of Your Life.”

https://www.lakeunionherald.org/archive/articles/iraq-war-veteran-and-pastor-promoted-to-colonel