Bethel University Chaplain Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in the Navy

McKENZIE (August 27) — The Vera Low Center at Bethel University served as the backdrop for a significant milestone on August 27, 2026, as Chaplain Garrett Allen Burns was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Reserve. 

The ceremony, which drew family members, university colleagues, and community supporters, was presided over by Captain Tim Foster, Chaplain of the Fourth Marine Logistics Group. Both officers stood in crisp white uniforms as they honored a career defined by service to both the military, God, and the local community. 

The promotion marks a major step in a journey that began for Burns long before his time at Bethel. During the ceremony, Burns reflected on his calling, which he traced back to his eighth-grade year in 2001. Inspired by the events of September 11, he later became the first chaplain for the Navy Junior ROTC unit at Camden Fairview High School in 2002. After years of discernment, ministry scholarship at Bethel, and service in the chaplain candidate program, Burns officially commissioned as a Navy chaplain in 2019. 

Captain Foster, who first met Burns during a rigorous 2022 training exercise in the desert of Twentynine Palms, California, praised the newly promoted officer as a "hard charger" who approaches every task with dedication. The two discovered a providential connection during that training: both were Presbyterians with roots in West Tennessee. 

"Do everything you do with all your heart, all of it as if you are doing it for the Lord," Foster said, quoting Colossians as he commended Burns’s character and reputation. 

The ceremony included the traditional administration of the oath of office, with veterans and active-duty personnel in attendance standing in solidarity. A poignant moment followed as Jessica Burns, the chaplain’s wife, stepped forward to pin the new rank insignia onto her husband’s uniform. 

The event was framed by the spiritual leadership of Reverend Anne Hames, Dean of the Chapel at Bethel University, who provided both the opening invocation and the closing prayer. Burns expressed deep gratitude for Hames’s mentorship, noting that her guidance had been instrumental in shaping his development as a counselor, preacher, and advocate. 

As he assumes the rank of Lieutenant Commander, Burns continues to balance his dual roles, serving both the sailors and Marines of the Navy Reserve and the students and staff at Bethel University.