A member of the stake presidency is responsible for military relations within the stake and has the following duties:

Oversees Pre-Military Service Church Orientation in the stake.

• Offers the Church orientation course—before basic training—to all members who are entering military service.
• Orders available resource materials (such as Serving Your Country video, Serving your Country brochure, Military Scripture Set, and LDS identification tag) from the distribution center and makes them available to orientation instructors (see Guidelines for Pre-Military Service Church Orientation).
• Calls a person with recent military experience to conduct the orientation. Each ward could have orientation instructors if the situation warrants it.

Calls a military relations committee chairman and others as needed.

• If there is a military installation within the stake boundaries, calls a military relations committee chairman and others as needed to serve as advisers on military matters.
• Where possible, calls a senior officer or Latter-day Saint chaplain to serve as the chairman.
• A military member serving on the stake high council could also serve as the chairman.

Together with the military relations committee chairman, develops a working relationship with the senior chaplain at each military installation in the stake.

• Gives the chaplain the names and telephone numbers of stake and ward leaders so he can provide this information to newly arriving Church members and use it if there is an emergency, such as illness or death of a member at the installation.

Organizes and oversees service member groups for Church members restricted to base.

• If military members are restricted to the base because of training requirements and cannot attend the local ward, the stake presidency should organize and oversee service member groups at the military installations in the stake (see Guidelines for Calling Service Member Group Leaders). In organizing and overseeing such groups, the stake presidency should:
  • Call, set apart, and instruct group leaders and their assistants (see Service Member Group Leader Responsibilities).
  • Give each group leader a certificate of appointment and a letter that outlines his responsibilities and authorizes him to preside over the group and conduct meetings.

Note: The stake president may align the service member group under the ward that has responsibility for the members of the Church living on the military installation.

Establishes branches as needed.

• If there will be a long-term requirement to hold Church services on base for members who are restricted to base, such as new recruits attending basic or advanced training, then stake presidencies should consider forming a branch.

Establishes a Church orientation program for members attending basic training.

• If basic training is conducted at a military installation, the stake presidency will establish a Church orientation program for new trainees. This is especially important for those who did not receive the Pre-Military Service Church Orientation in their home stake.
• The orientation instructor can use the same resource materials (i.e., Serving Your Country video, Serving your Country brochure, Military Scripture Set, and LDS identification tag) that are available for the Pre-Military Service Church Orientation.
• The instructor should have recent military experience and be familiar with the current military training environment, and the orientation class can be held in conjunction with the Sunday Church services for the trainees.

Calls service member group leaders for deploying military members.

• If members are likely to deploy to war zones or areas where the Church is not established, service member group leaders should also be called from among worthy priesthood holders (see Guidelines for Calling Service Member Group Leaders).

Interviews Latter-day Saint chaplains annually.

• A member of the stake presidency conducts an annual interview with Latter-day Saint chaplains and spouses who reside in their stake, even if the military installation where the chaplain is assigned is in another stake.