BIOGRAPHY
U.S. Army Chaplain

CH (MAJ-R) Van Alstyne was born 29 September 1946 in
Catskill, N.Y. For the first five years of life, he was raised as an orphan by the Sisters of the Good Shepard in Albany New York. He remained in foster care in various homes until he was placed on a farm in Elizaville/Livingston, NY. He graduated in 1965 from Pine Plains Central High School at Pine Plains, New York.

Soon after his graduation, he was drafted into the Unite States Army. His first duty station was at Vint Hill Farm Station, Warrington, VA and later in the Army Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md. where he served as an Enlisted Aide De Camp for Brigadier General William H. Price Jr. In 1972, Chaplain Van Alstyne received an honorable discharge.

From 1968 to 1972 he attended American University, Washington, D.C. and graduated with a double major in Sociology and Philosophy. Chaplain Van Alstyne soon thereafter entered Religious Life with the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Washington Theological Union and went on to earn a Master of Social Work degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His professional pastoral training included supervised ministry at the Joseph P. Kennedy Institute, Washington, D.C. for the mentally challenged. He was subsequently awarded a summer scholarship for graduate study through Cardinal Stritch College in special education at Saint Coletta’s School in Jefferson, Wisconsin. This experience provided him with the skill to establish a Special Education Program in Sacramental Catechesis for the mentally challenged at Saint Bernadette Parish in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

In May of 1979, Chaplain Van Alstyne was ordained to the Diaconate, and for two years he served as Vocation Director for his Religious Order. Upon Ordination to the Priesthood in 1981, Chaplain Van Alstyne was assigned as associate pastor of Saint Jude’s Church in Rockville, Maryland. In May of 1984 he was assigned to the Marian Provincial Headquarters as the Director of the Marian Helpers Center, a spiritual publication Center promoting Marian Devotion and spreading the Message of Divine Mercy.

As a Marian priest, attempting to live out more radically his vocation, he followed the various paths that opened before him. Chaplain Van Alstyne has always felt that his main role should be that of a peacemaker. “This is the primary expression of my ministry as a priest”, he explains, “to be an instrument of reconciliation and healing for God’s people, affirming their human dignity, and helping them to realize their full potential as God’s children.” The seed of this vision was planted in Chaplain Van Alstyne’s heart during his enlisted years in the 1960’s while the Vietnam War was raging. He was inspired by the leadership and principled values of the General Officer Corps as he served as a General Price’s Aid De-Camp. He told himself: “Someday I will become an Army Chaplain.”

That dream was finally realized when his Provincial Superior endorsed him to serve his Country again. After a 27-year break in service, Chaplain Van Alstyne came back to active duty in August 1998 as a Catholic Chaplain.

Chaplain (MAJ)Van Alstyne’s military education included the Chaplains Officer Basic Candidate Course, the Career Course at Fort Jackson, S.C. and the Command and General Staff College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

His first duty assignment was to the 725th Main Support Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In January 2000, he was deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina for Operation Joint Forge (OJF) to help minister to soldiers involved in Peace Keeping Operations in the heavily disputed territories of the Balkans. Upon returning back to Schofield, Barracks he was assigned to the 65th Engineer Battalion (L). In January 2001 Chaplain Van Alstyne was assigned to the 44th Engineer Battalion (H) in South Korea near the DMZ. A year later Chaplain Van Alstyne was reassigned for a second year in Korea with the 122nd Signal Battalion at Camp Red Cloud Headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Division. Over the course of his career Chaplain Van Alstyne served in the infantry with the 110th Military Intelligence Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. During this tour of duty, he deployed to Kandahar Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Soon thereafter, in 2005, he was assigned as the Catholic pastor in Mannheim, Germany. In 2007 Chaplain Van Alstyne continued to serve as pastor for the Catholic Military Community, FT Bliss, El Paso Texas. He steadily moved in successive assignments, in substantially challenging positions of responsibility, in the Infantry as the Brigade Chaplain for the Third Brigade, First Armored Division. He deployed with them once again to Afghanistan, ministering to soldiers in forward operating bases in both Wardak and Logar Provinces.

Chaplain Van Alstyne’s storied career culminated with his assignment as the Catholic Military Community Pastor at Joint Base Ft. Eustis, VA, January 2013-September 2015.

Chaplain Van Alstyne’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star (1 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), the Army Commendation Medal (3 OLC), the Army Achievement Medal (1 OLC), the Combat Action Badge, Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Army Service Medal. The Chief of the Army Transportation awarded Chaplain Van Alstyne The Ancient Order of Saint Christopher Medal, the highest award the Transportation Corps can award to any member of the Regiment.

After Chaplain Van Alstyne’s retirement from the United States Army, he became the full time Catholic Chaplain for the VA Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently Father Van is providing pastoral ministry at Holy Rosary Parish and serving the needs of Veterans at the Wilmington Veterans Administration Hospital.