Margaret G. Kibben

Chaplain (Rear Admiral (lower half)) Margaret Grun Kibben, USN, is a Presbyterian minister currently serving as both the 18th Chaplain of the United States Marine Corps (CHMC) and the Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy. She was sworn in as CHMC on July 9, 2010 as the first female to serve in either of her present dual roles.

The Chaplain of the United States Marine Corps is a position that has been filled by the officer serving as the Navy's Deputy Chief of Chaplains as a "dual hatted" billet since 2000. Prior to that policy, a senior Navy chaplain holding the rank of Navy Captain served as CHMC.

Education
A native of Warrington, Pennsylvania, Rear Admiral Kibben entered active duty in the U.S. Navy in 1986 following studies for a bachelor’s degree from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. She received both her Masters of Divinity and her Doctor of Ministry degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey. She holds a Masters degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Kibben was a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace.

Military career
Kibben’s Marine Corps assignments have included Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, where she served with Headquarters and Service Battalion, Security Battalion, the Brig, Marine Corps Air Facility and the president’s Helicopter Squadron, HMX-1. She also served with the Marines of Second Force Service Support Group Camp Lejeune, N.C., making deployments to both Turkey and Norway. Later she was assigned to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico as the doctrine writer for Religious Ministry.

Kibben’s Navy assignments include the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland as the first female chaplain. She was the Navy Chaplain Corps historian at the Chaplain Resource Board and the command chaplain, USS San Diego (AFS-6), in Norfolk, Virginia. As U.S. 3rd Fleet chaplain, Kibben was responsible for the training and certification of all carrier strike group and expeditionary strike group religious ministry teams. She completed a deployment as the command chaplain, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan as an individual augmentee.

Most recently, Kibben was detailed to the Office of the Chief of Navy Chaplains, first serving as the director for Force Structure and Community Management and subsequently as the executive assistant to the chief of Navy Chaplains.

Role and responsibilities
According to Secretary of the Navy Instruction 1730.7D, the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy advises the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard "on all matters pertaining to religion within the Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard" – but the Deputy Chief of Chaplains serves as Chaplain of the Marine Corps, "advising the CMC on religious ministry matters in reference to support, personnel, plans, programs, policies, and facilities within the USMC." Additionally, as the Navy's Deputy Chief of Chaplains, Kibben is "Deputy Director of Religious Ministries," serving as the "principal assistant to the Chief of Chaplains."

Awards and decorations
Kibben's personal awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, and the Navy Commendation Medal with three gold stars.