This book addresses the question of how a disparate group of small Christian denominations came to be the largest provider of chaplains for the Australian Defence Force, despite initial opposition from the major churches. It traces the group's fi ght for acceptance in the early days of Australian military chaplaincy, and its developing importance through seven major eras of Australian military history. It also reveals the increasingly signifi cant role the group played in the gradual evolution of Australian armed-services chaplaincy from the denominationally based structure originally demanded by the major churches to the more generic, multi-faith form of chaplaincy that characterises it today.