DCoE sponsored a video teleconference (VTC) last week to address the challenges ministry teams face in promoting resilience, recovery and reintegration with our service members, and I had the unique opportunity to participate in this discussion. As a military Chaplain, I’m part of the ministry team offering guidance and spiritual assistance to warriors on the frontline and their families back home. I provide counsel in theater to help them deal with their battlefield experiences, and am there when they return home and often face new challenges, such as readjustment to civilian life, coping with the loss of a loved one, trouble sleeping and nightmares. Just as the men and women we counsel are human, with human responses to the horrors of the battlefield, so too must Chaplains and Chaplain Assistants often cope with similar feelings.

Photo Credit SSgt. Christine Jones U.S. Army Capt. Scott Koeman, a chaplain with the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, holds a group prayer at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Wolverine, Zabul, Afghanistan

Chaplains from the Multi National Forces in Iraq opened the VTC with a presentation on how they cope with the day to day stresses of living in theater. Just as service members find it helpful, they emphasized how important relying on one another’s support in the ministry team is for coping. Finding time to maintain some personal balance, such as getting adequate sleep and exercise and keeping in contact with loved ones at home also helps keep their spirits up. The Chaplains find strength in knowing that they and their family members are being prayed for by others.

RPC Parrish Walker, of the Office of the Chaplain of the Marine Corps, and I discussed current programs used by the Navy and Marine Corps to teach Chaplains coping strategies. We focused on pre-deployment, sustainment and post-deployment programs, such as the formal training “Chaplain Self Care While Caring for Others: The Art of Finishing Well” professional development workshop and informal options such as a “daily soul check” over coffee. We also discussed retreats that Chaplains and their families can attend.

A group of Army Chaplains detailed a crisis intervention theory currently being used to prevent Chaplain burnout. The approach uses three tactics through providing group emotional support, teaching skills to promote emotional stamina, and opportunities to find meaning in a crisis.

Chaplain David Carr and Chaplain John Tillery of the Air Force gave the final presentation, which focused on pre-exposure training and caregiver reintegration retreats. Obtained from a study conducted regarding the combat stressors military caregivers face, they discussed what was needed to be resilient under stressful conditions. Spirituality, training, exercise, sleep, and acceptance of pain all help. They also discussed how reintegration retreats help ministry team members cope with their combat experience.

Gen. Fred Franks made a surprise visit to the VTC. He listened to the presentations and addressed the group, expressing his gratitude for the efforts of the ministry teams. It was truly an honor to hear from Gen. Franks.

To help continue this important conversation, DCoE is facilitating a monthly Chaplain Working Group to continue discussing ways in which the needs of the ministry team can be better served. I look forward to participating with this group in order to provide useful information and resources to Chaplains and Chaplain Assistants. If you have any questions about this group or about topics discussed during the VTCs, please contact: DCoE.GlobalVTC@tma.osd.mil

*All of the presentations from this VTC are available here on the DCoE Website.