Frequently Asked Questions

Chazak Rescue is open to Christian men and women, single or married, who are 18 years of age or older. To apply, you must meet the following criteria:

• Complete Chazak Foundations training
• Prior international/cross-cultural mission trip
• Able to swim 50 feet
• Able to run a continuous mile
• Current passport
• High School Diploma or GED

First, an applicant must pass all listed prerequisites.

Next, Cadets are chosen based on a combination of previous life experiences, cross-cultural experiences, and their relationship with God. Both emotional and mental health are considered. References are contacted, leadership potential is considered, and physical fitness is taken into account when making the final cut. Based on these results, we use a rubric to select the most qualified cadets. We are only accepting 12 applicants per year.

All cadet applicants will be notified on April 1st of the year for which they have applied of their approval status.

Cost

Foundations: $4,995 total - includes a $1,000 nonrefundable deposit
If accepted into Chazak Academy, the deposit is applied to Year 1 training

Defender Training Year: $25,000 total
Includes a $2,500 nonrefundable deposit

Defender Deployment Year: Free
$2,500 deposit is returned if the year is completed
Monthly stipend provided if training payments are current
Overseas living expenses covered

Guardian Training Year: $25,000 total
Includes a $5,000 nonrefundable deposit

Guardian Deployment Year: Free
$5,000 deposit is returned if the year is completed

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Expenses Beyond Tuition

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Our goal is to make tuition as all-inclusive as possible.  However, there are inevitably some additional costs. Following are the 3 biggest training costs that are not included in tuition.

1) Cadets are required to have medical insurance and travel insurance in order to train and deploy with Chazak Rescue.  The estimated cost of domestic medical insurance through the company Chazak recommends is $150 per month.  Travel insurance, through a Chazak partner, is an additional $4 per day while deployed outside of the USA.  

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2) Chazak buys all training gear, most standard issue gear, and some standard issue clothing.  Cadets are required to buy some of their own clothing so they can get what fits, and some standard issue gear (Standard issue gear is the gear all cadets keep as their own.) The total estimated cost to a Cadet for gear and clothing that they are required to buy in years 1 and 2 combined is $1,000-$1,500* depending on their choices.  
*Note, a Cadet could easily spend far over this estimate if they are buying only high-end brands.  However, this is not necessary or even recommended during training, as anyone considering long-term employment with Chazak Rescue will make much better gear and clothing choices after they have been through training.  

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3) Cadets are responsible for the cost of travel between their home and trainings (aside from deployments).  Once they arrive at a training all travel, food, and lodging expenses are covered by Chazak.  For most training segments this will just be one round trip, but note that in some training segments, like 1.4 Core Training, Cadets will be traveling to several different training locations throughout the U.S.  We cannot provide an estimate of this cost as it will be dependent on where Cadets live relative to training locations.

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Training for Chazak Rescue will be held at various locations including:

Ebenezer Bible School
6560 York Rd
Spring Grove, PA 17362

Camp Andrews
1226 Silver Spring Rd
Holtwood, PA 17532

The King Barn
173 N. New Holland Rd.
Gordonville, PA 17529

If you choose to get married while in Chazak Academy, you may drop out at the end of any year, take the following year off, and rejoin a year later. Or, if you don't want to interrupt your training, you may get married on any extended home break (mostly between years or over Christmas) or possibly during 3.3 deployment.

The first year looks like this:

• 8 weeks away
• 1 1/2 weeks at home
• 6 weeks in a Bible college setting in the Lancaster, PA area. Visitors are permitted and most weekends are free
• 6 months living and studying from home. Cadets will be gone approx. one week per month for various training
• 7 weeks in a wilderness location with limited interaction with friends and family

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The second year looks like this:

• 4 weeks of classroom training. Visitors are welcome and most weekends are free. Location TBD
• 9 1/2 weeks deployed out of the country
• 3 1/2 weeks home over Christmas
• 11 weeks of training with visitors welcome most weeks. Some weekends are free, others are occupied with training. Location TBD
• 7 weeks deployed out of the country
• 11 weeks of training that includes approx. one month of deployment out of the country. Depending on the specialty chosen, this training would be away from Lancaster, PA
• 2 weeks of year-end debriefing ending with graduation, then a 3 week break before starting year 3

At this time, Chazak Academy is not certified by the U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and therefore cannot enroll students with an F-1 or M-1 visa or issue the Form I-20 that prospective international students must use to apply for a student visa to enter the United States. For further information regarding student visas see the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Interested international students may contact Chazak directly to consider eligibility to apply for a temporary visitor visa.

Because we are targeting war zones and hard-to-reach areas, it is very likely our Cadets/Guardians will experience trauma while serving on the field. To be proactive and detect early signs of trauma, each Cadet/Guardian completes weekly and yearly evaluations.

Specifically, Cadets are guided in being a whole and healthy person.

At Chazak Rescue, we value creating a space where Cadets, Guardians, and staff are well taken care of while being able to process the realities of life.