In his own words ...
"I consider chaplain candidacy in the Navy to be a call within a call. Like all vocations, there was a struggle in discerning this particular path, but at every crossroads, a peace within my heart confirmed that I was doing the right thing. The Lord confirmed me in this peace from getting my bishop’s approval, going to the Archdiocese of Military Services for their endorsement and finally completing the lengthy process of applying to be a Naval Officer.
In our world that is only getting more complex to navigate, it is harder to think of a more complicated church-state relationship then being a military chaplain. There is a temptation to want to retreat into our safety zones of our comfortable parish and diocesan borders, but the reality is that challenges are only dealt with when they are dealt with head on. The reality is that there are many good-hearted Catholics under the care of Navy Chaplains who, because of a lack of priests, often go without the sacraments for great periods of time. It’s a sad reality that those who serve our country often have no one to serve them spiritually and feel the Church to be far away from them. I once heard that vocation is where the deepest desires of your heart meet the greatest needs of the world. For me, this means Navy Chaplaincy."
~ CCPO Michael Plona, USN