CDR Jason Weatherwax, CHC, USN
US Naval Academy Deputy Command Chaplain
Chaplain Jason "Jay" D. Weatherwax
Jay Weatherwax is a native of Fort Ann, NY. He enlisted in the United States Navy in July 1994 as a Hospital Corpsman and remained on active duty until 2004 when he pursued graduate education and commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy Reserve Chaplain Candidate Program.
He was commissioned as an active duty chaplain in 2008 and upon completion of the Chaplain Corps Basic Course he reported to 2D Marine Logistics Group, Camp Lejeune, NC. He was assigned to the 8th Engineer Support Battalion and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM from April to November 2009. He was then assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 26, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and deployed to the 6th and 5th Fleet areas of operation participating in Operation ODYSSEY DAWN. He reported on board USS SAN ANTONIO (LPD 17) as the Command Chaplain in June of 2011 and served for two years, during which he supported INSURV, Baltimore War of 1812, Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts and a deployment with the KEARSARGE Amphibious Readiness Group. His shore tour was as the Chaplain Candidate Program Manager, Navy Recruiting Command from June 2013 to July 2016. In 2015 he was selected for Advanced Education and at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ. Chaplain Weatherwax’s most recent tour was as the Command Chaplain for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Okinawa, Japan from July 2017 to July 2020, during which time he completed 5 INDO-PACOM deployments serving as a crisis response force responding to humanitarian assistance missions and major theatre exercises.
Chaplain Weatherwax earned a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry from Nazarene Bible College. He has three Master’s degrees: Master of Divinity with a Certificate in Chaplaincy from Nazarene Theological Seminary (2007), Master of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary (2017), and a Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies from U.S. Naval War College (2020). He completed Joint Professional Military Education I from the College of Distant Learning, Naval War College (2013) and has 1 unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (2007).
Chaplain Weatherwax is married with three children, an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and served in various assignments from 1999-2008. He is a Fleet Marine Force Qualified Officer and his awards include Navy Commendation Medal (3 Gold Stars), Navy Achievement Medal (4 Gold stars) and various unit and service awards.
