Empowering Trauma Recovery Through Caring Insights

Dr. Steve West is a highly respected leader in chaplaincy and trauma care, with over 40 years of distinguished military and pastoral service. His career began in 1974 when he enlisted in the United States Air Force as a Fuels Specialist, serving at Nellis AFB and Eglin AFB. After being honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant in 1980, he continued his service in the Army and Air National Guard as a Chaplain Candidate and as a pastor in churches across Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

In 1993, Dr. West returned to active duty as a United States Air Force Chaplain, where he served in key leadership roles including Senior Joint Base Chaplain at Langley/Eustis, Wing Chaplain at Whiteman AFB, Senior Protestant Chaplain at Kadena AB in Okinawa, and Chaplain to The Joint Staff, where he served as chaplain to two Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as Chaplain to the White House Communications Agency (WHCA). His deployments included service in Norway, Korea, Haiti, Balad, Iraq, where he was Wing Chaplain at Balad Air Base during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Afghanistan.

Dr. West holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mobile College, a Master of Divinity in Psychology and Counseling from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Alabama Theological Seminary. He completed a Clinical Pastoral Education residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and was selected by the Air Force for advanced studies in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His military education includes the Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, and the Joint and Combined Warfighting School.

Throughout his career, he received numerous honors, including the Joint meritorious service metal, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation and Achievement Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal with star, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and was selected as the 2008 Air Force Association Chaplain Corps Award for the best chaplain ministry in the United States Air Force.

In 2015, he retired as the final active-duty Air Force member who had originally enlisted during the Vietnam Era. Today, he serves as Director of Chaplaincy for the National Association of Evangelicals and is endorsed by the Southern Baptist Convention.

Dr. West is the author of The Bronze Scar: Understanding How PTSD Feels to Help Victims and Those Who Support Them, a powerful resource drawing from his deep experience in trauma ministry. He and his wife, Cherri, have been married for 48 years and they have two children, Adam and Jennifer.