Chaplain (Colonel) Butterworth entered active-duty military service in 1996. In the operating force, he served in a number of tactical and operational assignments including deployments to Iraq with the 101st Air Assault Division and 1st Cavalry Division. In the sustaining force, he served at the USAG, Fort Meade, Maryland and the USAG-Kaiserslautern, Germany. In the generating force, he served as an AIT Battalion and Brigade Chaplain for the U.S. Army, Air Defense Artillery School. He also served at the strategic level as the Communications Officer for the Army Chief of Chaplains. Prior to his assignment to National Defense University, he served as the Command Chaplain, U.S. Army North.
Chaplain Butterworth was assigned to National Defense University as a Senior Military Fellow in January 2020. His teaching responsibilities include the Strategic Leadership Foundations Course, ethics, human capital, and Contemporary Topics in National Security Strategy.
Chaplain Butterworth received his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of Oklahoma, a M.S. in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, a M.A. in Counseling and a M.Div. from the Assemblies of God Seminary and, a B.A. in Religion from Southeastern University.
Chaplain Butterworth also received a Postgraduate Certificate in Family Systems Theory from the Georgetown Family Center and is a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Chaplain Butterworth and his wife, Courtney Dock (DoD Senior Communications Planner, Defense Health Agency), have three daughters. They currently reside in Arlington, VA.