When Lt. Drake Cotman was dating his wife, Shayli, she made it clear that she didn’t want her future husband to be in the military.
no problem. At the time, a military career was not on his radar. He has a degree in linguistics and was pursuing a master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
And early in their marriage, while living in Atlanta, Georgia and working a pleasant job, Drake Kottman asked his wife out on a dinner date to discuss important matters.
He said, “I want to be a chaplain in the Navy.”
She said, “Oh. What’s a chaplain? And the Navy is a military. Obviously, something’s been forgotten.”
Fortunately for Drake Cotman, his wife was willing to listen and they both trusted in the Lord’s direction for their lives. Their faith in God’s plan for them is tested when he is seriously injured in a motorcycle accident and initially has no hope of survival.
Almost four years later, in November 2025, Lt. Drake Cotman completed the U.S. Navy Naval Chaplain School Basic Leadership Course at Newport Naval Base in Newport, Rhode Island. The husband and father of three recently began work as a Naval Air Corps chaplain at U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella near Sicily, Italy.
Kottman is one of 26 active-duty Navy chaplains currently recommended by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but only 50 in the church’s history, according to the Rev. Tamara Harris, chaplain services manager for the church.
“Drake Cotman’s path to becoming a military chaplain was nothing short of miraculous,” Harris said. “After an accident left Drake in critical condition, he and his wife clung to hope. Little by little, moment by moment, they trusted in the call to service they felt in him. That accident and Drake’s remarkable recovery led to unexpected detours that would ultimately strengthen his ministry.”
“Attractive” career change
After serving in the Naga Mission in the Philippines, Drake Kottman earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Brigham Young University with minors in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Middle Eastern Studies with an emphasis on Arabic. He had hoped to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Central Intelligence Agency.
After Drake Kottman and his wife, Shayli, married in August 2013, he took an internship teaching English at a private adult school in Orem, Utah. Because the job paid well, I decided to continue working there after graduation and pursue a master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
After completing his master’s degree, the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where Mr. Kottmann worked for a translation and localization company, writing proposals for large translation services contracts for government and private companies.
One day, while researching a proposal for the War Department, Cotman came across a website about the Army Chaplain Corps and was intrigued. Curious to know if the church supported the pastor, he searched the church’s website to find information.
“I found this all fascinating and then ‘moved on’ and continued working,” he said.
But for weeks, Kottman couldn’t stop thinking about the pastor. He wondered if the Lord was urging him to change careers, and if so, why now?
“I worked very hard and spent a lot of money getting my first master’s degree,” he said. “Why did we do that if we should be doing something else now? And we were a little confused because we felt like we were being pushed to move (to Atlanta).”
He finally decided to pray about it.
“It started to become pretty clear that this wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan idea,” Kottmann said. “My wife has always said she would never marry a military man, so it took me a while to work up the courage to tell her this. She was surprised, but agreed to pray and fast with me to find out if this is what God wanted us to do. We both received the same testimony through the Spirit that God was calling us to this work and that I was to serve as a military chaplain.”
Bishop Kottman at the time had previously worked with Latter-day Saint Army chaplains at Fort Benning, Georgia, and arranged the introduction. The Army chaplain then connected the Cotmans with Latter-day Saint chaplains from the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, and they shared deep experiences and insights.
“Throughout this process, we felt the Lord was directing us to pursue the position of Navy chaplain,” said Kottman.
Peace of mind with a sense of purpose
After deciding to pursue a career in ministry, the Kottmans moved back to Utah in 2018. Drake Kottman returned to his former teaching position and applied to BYU’s chaplaincy program and was accepted.
Even though everything was going well, things were moving quickly for Sheili Kottman. She asked her husband if he could pray about it again, and he did.
The answer came when the couple attended the Provo Utah Temple. They met an older gentleman who recognized Drake Kottman from a BYU Chaplaincy Program panel interview and revealed he was the director. He and his wife, who live near the Payson Utah Temple, chose to attend the Provo Temple that day. As they talked and answered questions, Shayli Kottman felt safe moving forward. She said to her husband, “Let’s keep going, let’s do this.”
As Drake Cotman began the program and gained a deeper understanding of the work of a pastor, he felt more divine guidance.
“It was a sense of purpose. I knew that God was calling me to do it and that this is what I was supposed to do. That certainty definitely helped me trust that even when things got difficult along the way, God knew what He was doing, even if I didn’t understand it,” he said.
With faith and lots of prayers, things worked out. Kottman completed the two-year program and began working part-time as a hospice chaplain and at BYU’s Language Research Center. He eventually left BYU and transitioned into full-time hospice care.
“Nothing has changed.”
On July 5, 2022, Drake Cotman was riding his motorcycle to a hospice meeting when a car pulled up in front of him, according to a police report. As he tried to apply the brakes, the motorcycle wobbled and Mr. Kottman was thrown onto the driver’s side of the vehicle.
He suffered multiple injuries and was taken to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah.
After two surgeries, doctors told Sheili Kottman that her husband had suffered multiple injuries, including a punctured lung, a broken arm and a broken ankle, and was on life support. She recalled the doctor saying, “It looks like there’s nothing left to do for your husband, and we don’t know if he’ll make it through the night.”
He survived that night. The next day, Dr. Shayli Kottman said a miracle happened when the University of Utah Hospital, which was not accepting transfers at the time, made an exception for Dr. Kottman.
Still, doctors doubted his survival, and even if he did, they predicted he might never walk again. More surgeries followed, and Kottman was wrapped in tubes, cords and wires and left in a coma for about four weeks. When he woke up, doctors breathed a sigh of relief because it meant he was on the mend.
Faith in Jesus Christ and many heartfelt prayers sustained Shiley Cotman and others during this difficult time. While she prayed for her husband’s recovery, she also prepared for the possibility that it was not the Lord’s will for her husband to survive.
“I had to start my day by saying, ‘Remember that no matter what happens today, you (Heavenly Father) are in charge. No matter what happens today, remember that this is your plan,'” she said.
After waking up, Drake Kottman learned of his serious injuries and felt defeated: “I’ve ruined everything.” However, even as he thought this, he felt a strong inspiration that “nothing has changed.”
“I remember being so shocked by that, and one of the doctors stopped me and said, ‘Despite everything, I think you’ll make a full recovery,'” Kottmann said. “So I was like, ‘Oh, okay, let’s do this.’ At that point, all the sadness and self-deprecating thoughts were taken away. God has this somehow and we just move forward.”
Despite the long recovery, Shaili Kottman said it was a great blessing from the Lord to have her husband home. While in Liberty Prison, she repeatedly found hope and comfort in reading Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9, the Lord’s loving message to Joseph Smith. She also expressed gratitude for the Lord’s loving kindness and strength to get through each day, and for the generous support she received from so many people.
“It’s been tough, but we’ve seen how bad it can get. Every blessing from this is a blessing we don’t deserve,” she said. “It is given to us by the grace of God.”
Drake Kottman paid tribute to his wife’s unwavering love and support.
“She is the true protagonist of our story,” he said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without her faith, resilience, trust, and support. Even though I was the one in the accident, she went through far more pain than I did and showed strength and courage like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
a more empathetic pastor
When Drake Kottman returned to his job as a hospice chaplain before moving to Italy, he felt like a different person. His experiences have strengthened his empathy for people facing difficult situations.
“When I was working with people, there was a different spirit there,” he said. “You can translate those experiences into what people are going through, whether it’s emotional or mental struggles, and you start to understand a little bit more about the human condition and suffering.”
He wants those who read his story to know that God is still a God of miracles.
“We may not always understand God’s purposes and why things happen to us, but we have learned and truly believe that we can trust God because He always keeps His promises and can turn devastating situations into incredible blessings,” Drake Cotman said.
His wife agreed.
“God’s plan doesn’t always follow the path we envision, but the journey is worth it and the end goal is always grander than we can imagine,” said Sheili Kottman.
