The Birth of a New Idea
Speaker: Chaplin (Colonel) Janet Y. Horton, U.S. Army (Ret)
Christian Science Military Chaplain Trainer and Endorser to the Department of Defense
Janet Horton is a native of Crystal, Michigan and grew up in Iowa. She is married to Jeffrey Harvey of Swanton, VT. She
entered the U. S. Army in June 1976 served for 28 years as a Christian Science Chaplain. She was the first woman in the
Army Chaplain Corps to be assigned as a Division or Corps level Supervisory Chaplain and the first woman to attain the
grade of Colonel in the Army Chaplain Corps.
She had two tours in the Pentagon and prayed with casualties in the Pentagon Courtyard on 9-11. She supervised the
religious support for Task Forces in Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo. She was the Chief of Leadership Training in the Combined Arms Department at the Soldier Support Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. She taught leadership courses at all
levels of the military to include the NATO Chaplains Conference for the U.S. Air Force Chief of Chaplains. After training at the New Jersey State Police Academy her lesson plans on Personal Safety and Rape Prevention were adopted by the Armed Forces Training Board.
Her education includes a Master’s of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology in Theology and a Master’s of Arts Degree in Religious Studies from Stanford University in Religious Studies. She was selected as a Distinguished Alumni of Boston University School of Theology in September of 2011. She was the first woman Chaplain to attend the Army War College. From her studies of Divine Command Morality and the Abraham Tradition she has briefed on the Extremist
mindset in the Military Intelligence community, the Inter Agencies such as Homeland Defense, the US Marshall’s Office and the Defense Intelligence Agency and at Pace University in New York City. She teaches leadership at Principia College.
While serving at the Department of Defense Level she advised the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on Muslim issues following the 9-11 attack on the Pentagon. She advised Army Operations Group and the Air Force Operations Group on the terrorist mindset.
She currently trains Seminarians preparing for the Military Chaplaincy for The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston,
MA. She provides inspirational talks for Christian Science Nursing Facilities, Youth Summits and Student Association
Meetings. Her unique approach is seen in her title of a new class she designed on Healing Sexual Harassment.
