RDML Margaret Grun Kibben

Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben, CHC, USN, is the 18th Chaplain of the United States Marine Corps and is the Deputy Chief of Navy Chaplains.

A native of Warrington, PA, Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben graduated from Goucher College, Towson, MD in 1982. In 1986 she received her Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ and entered active duty. From 1986-1989 she served with Headquarters and Service Battalion, Security Battalion, the Brig, the Marine Corps Air Facility and the President’s Helicopter Squadron, HMX-1 in Quantico, VA. Her next assignment was the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, from 1989-1991. Following the academy, she reported to USS SAN DIEGO (AFS-6) in Norfolk, VA where she was the Command Chaplain from 1991-1993. Chaplain Kibben served as the Chaplain Corps Historian at the Chaplain Resource Board between 1993-1995, before being sent for a year of study at the Naval War College, Newport, RI and the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA. In 1996, after receiving her Masters Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, she began her four-year assignment with Second Force Service Support Group, Camp Lejeune, NC and made deployments to Turkey and Norway. From 2000-2002, she was the Doctrine Writer for Religious Ministry at the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, VA.

RDML Kibben spent the next year at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) as a Senior Fellow, and in 2002 she received her Doctorate of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ. From 2003-2006, she was assigned to U.S. Third Fleet serving as the Fleet Chaplain responsible for the training and certification of all Carrier Strike Group and Expeditionary Strike Group Religious Ministry Teams. In 2006, she deployed as an individual augmentee serving as the Command Chaplain, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. Upon her return, Chaplain Kibben reported to the Office of the Chief of Navy Chaplains, first serving as the Director for Force Structure and Community Management and subsequently as the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Navy Chaplains.

Chaplain Kibben’s personal decorations include the Legion of Merit with one gold star, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with three gold stars, and the Navy Commendation Medal with three gold stars.