Chaplain (BG) Tom Behling retired after over 38 years of Active, Reserve and National Guard service. After graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate from ROTC, he entered active duty as an armor cavalry officer serving at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Fulda, Germany. Following the end of Operation Desert Shield/Storm, he left active duty to attend seminary and joined the National Guard in Minnesota. He has deployed several times, including to Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as tours to Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
His final assignment was serving as the Director of the Joint Chaplain Office at National Guard Bureau as well as the Deputy Chief of Chaplains, Army National Guard. Additionally, he had the privilege of serving as the command chaplain for Forces Command (FORSCOM).
Chaplain Behling also retired as a board-certified chaplain with the National Association of VA Chaplains (NAVAC). His final position was serving as the Chaplaincy Program Manager at the Coatesville VA Medical Center in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
Chaplain Behling holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater with a major in finance. He also has received Master degrees in Public Administration from Western Kentucky University, Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College; and a Master of Divinity degree from Bethel Theological Seminary.
Chaplain Behling is ordained and endorsed by the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). He is married to the former Cynthia (Cindy) Kay Gillmore and they currently reside in East Bethel, Minnesota. They have one daughter, Beth.
