It is still stunning that the program that began in 2003 is still seen as the answer when all other efforts have been built off of the Battlemind program. If I said that Battlemind had nothing to offer it would be like saying "more people die every year than ever before" which is true, however leaving out the important point of there are more people living on this planet than ever before. Battlemind had some good points. Peer-to-peer in the form of Battle Buddies was a good idea but it was not implemented correctly in every unit. The need to have debriefing done after action was also a good idea, but it was not done correctly in every unit after ever event. The need to have more mental health teams respond was not done the way it needed to be done and teams would often have to travel many miles to get from one unit to another.
The need for spiritual recovery was another good point because PTSD often causes a spiritual crisis. When addressed properly, spiritual healing is vital in the recovery of a soldier after they have seen more things than they were able to "get over" and move on from. People in general survive a traumatic event one of two ways. Either they believe God saved them for a reason or God abandoned them.
This manual from the DOD addresses the need for spiritual healing within and all the other factors.
March 2009
COMBAT AND OPERATIONAL STRESS CONTROL MANUAL FOR LEADERS AND SOLDIERS
UNIT MINISTRY TEAM SUPPORT
1-37. This section addresses the general role of the unit ministry team (UMT) in the commander’s program of COSC and in COSR ministry. The UMT is assigned to a command or designated by higher headquarters to be responsible for the direct UMT support to the command. The UMT provides professional ministry support to leaders in fulfilling their combat and operational stress identification and intervention responsibilities. The UMT can also assist in training leaders to recognize combat stress symptoms.
1-38. The unit is organic to Army units at all echelons from battalion and above. The UMT’s primary mission is to provide for the personal delivery of religious support to Soldiers and other authorized personnel. Because the UMT is an integral part of the unit, it is a resource immediately available to the commander to assist with COSC.
1-39. The UMT consists of at least one chaplain and one chaplain’s assistant. The UMT also provides area religious support in their unit’s area of operations for assigned or attached units without organic religious support assets.
1-40. During combat operations, the UMT often collocates with the battalion aid station in order to provide religious support to casualties and to be with Soldiers who are most likely to experience COSR. Using their professional training, skills, knowledge, and relationship with the Soldiers, chaplains provide religious and spiritual support focusing on the prevention of mild and severe COSR. Chaplains also provide religious support to COSR casualties as an important part of the replenishment process.
1-41. In addition to being a spiritual/religious mentor for Soldiers, chaplains are trained in the TEM process and are able to assist the TEM facilitator. Chaplains are effective TEM team members as well as trainers of small-unit leaders (such as platoon leaders, noncommissioned officers [NCOs], senior combat medics, and health care specialists) in TEM team member skills and stress management techniques. (See FM 1-05, for further information on the role and functions of the UMT.)
1-42. The UMT can assist commanders in the identification of Soldiers experiencing COSR.
Chaplains work closely with the unit medical personnel and are trained to recognize the signs of combat and operational stress and provide religious support to Soldiers experiencing COSR.
Chaplains assess the Soldier’s religious needs and then provide the appropriate religious support. Chaplains are also trained to evaluate Soldiers experiencing COSR for possible referral to medical, BH, or COSC unit personnel. When advising commanders on COSR among Soldiers, chaplains must ensure that they do not violate Soldier’s rights to privileged communications.
1-43. The UMT can help Soldiers regain their emotional, psychological, and spiritual strength. The chaplain’s ability to relate religious and spiritual aspects of life to the Soldier’s situation is an essential element of the replenishment process. Chaplains contribute to replenishment by ensuring the following types of religious support:
Providing worship services, sacraments, rites, and ordinances.
Providing memorial services and/or ceremonies honoring the dead.
Assisting with the integration of personnel replacements.
Providing personal counseling to assist Soldiers dealing with the grief process.
Requesting religious resources as required for reinforcing the Soldier’s sense of hope.
Supporting TEM by providing opportunities for Soldiers to talk about their combat experiences and to facilitate integration of the combat experience into their lives.
Providing leadership training and supervision of TEM.
Reconnecting the Soldier to the foundational principles of his personal faith.
Assisting in resolving spiritual, moral, and ethical dilemmas presented by the circumstances of war.
This all sounds great but the problem is, there are not enough Chaplains to go around.
Military copes with shortage of chaplainsBy 2009, there was still a shortage
Posted 2/5/2008
By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY
Army Maj. Paul Hurley journeyed four days by convoy, aircraft and helicopter to reach the remote outpost in Iraq near the Syrian border where 50 U.S. soldiers hunkered down in November 2006. He was the first Roman Catholic priest to visit in six months.
"It was a very profound experience (to) visit soldiers who are facing their mortality every day," Hurley recalls. He celebrated Mass and heard confession from a dozen Catholic soldiers before leading Thanksgiving prayers for the base.
Hurley belongs to a dwindling flock of chaplains whose mission to support soldiers and their families has been strained by the demands of war and a shortage in their ranks. The Navy and Air Force usually recruit enough religious leaders, but the Army, which expects chaplains to be able to do everything soldiers do except carry a weapon and now relies heavily on reserve units, is hurting for spiritual aid.
Chaplains are trained to help servicemembers of all religious faiths — or none. Among denominations, though, Roman Catholic chaplains are the most scarce, a reflection of a nationwide priest shortage. There are no imams to minister to a growing number of Muslims in the Army Guard and Reserve. The California and New York National Guard, which have a larger proportion of Jewish soldiers than other states, could use more rabbis, says Army Guard Maj. Timothy Baer, who recruits chaplains.
Lt. Col. Ran Dolinger of the Army Chief of Chaplains Office says every battalion that deploys to Iraq or Afghanistan has a chaplain. To fill those slots, more than 75 chaplains have been "volun-told" to report for multiple deployments, he says.
The Army also has turned for chaplains to the Reserve and National Guard, which have the biggest shortfalls of spiritual personnel. Dolinger says the Army Reserves are short more than 100 chaplains of an authorized 516. The Guard needs nearly 250 more chaplains to fill its 722 slots.
read more here
Guard has chaplain shortage
Posted: September 26, 2009
By Phil Anderson
When Kansas National Guard soldiers are deployed to hot spots in Iraq and Afghanistan, they don't walk alone into the hostile areas.
Military chaplains are assigned to units, ensuring the troops' spiritual needs are met. Chaplains are available for religious services, Bible study and individual counseling. In some cases, they go to the front lines to conduct services.
Finding a sufficient number of chaplains has become increasingly difficult in recent years, as evidenced by the high vacancy in available slots. At present, the Kansas Army National Guard has only six of 15 chaplain slots filled, meaning there is a 60 percent vacancy rate. Kansas Army National Guard officials say the vacancy rate is representative of other Guard units across the country.
read more here
This is from the Army site
Chaplains Corps
Since July 29, 1775, approximately 25,000 Army Chaplains have served as religious and spiritual leaders for 25 million Soldiers and their Families. From military installations to deployed combat units and from service schools to military hospitals, Army Chaplains and Chaplain Assistants have performed their ministries in the most religiously diverse organization in the world. Always present with their Soldiers in war and in peace, Army Chaplains have served in more than 270 major wars and combat engagements. Nearly 300 Army Chaplains have laid down their lives in battle. Six have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Their love of God, Country and the American Soldier has been a beacon of light and a message of hope for all those who have served our nation. Currently, over 2,900 Chaplains are serving the Total Army representing over 130 different religious organizations. Over 800 Chaplains and Chaplain assistants are currently mobilized or deployed in support of contingency operations throughout the world.
What is really amazing is that this year it was reported that the Air Force is actually cutting the number of Chaplains.
Troops: Loss will be felt when Air Force cuts chaplain corps by 15 percent
By JENNIFER H. SVAN
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 17, 2010
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Air Force is reducing its number of chaplains at a time when airmen and family members are seeking their counsel more than ever.
As of this spring, 544 chaplains were on active duty, but as many as 79 positions will be trimmed over the next two years, Air Force officials said.
The reduction of up to 15 percent in the chaplain corps stems from efforts to make certain that the most crucial positions in the Air Force — such as manned and unmanned aircraft pilots — are filled, and ensure that no field has more than the mandated number of personnel, officials said
Personnel cuts phased in about four years ago will leave the Air Force with 465 funded chaplain positions by the end of fiscal 2011. How close the Air Force gets to that goal depends on how many chaplains opt for voluntary separation and how many are given early retirement and involuntary separation, said Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ann Stefanek.
Marriage and family issues remain the most-cited reason airmen and family members sought a chaplain’s counsel, but from 2007 to 2009, combat-stress counseling cases jumped 350 percent, by far the largest increase, according to the Air Force.read more here
The spike could be a result of more airmen deploying and for longer stretches, chaplains say. Across the Air Force, most 90-day deployments have moved to 120 days, and critical career fields — including the chaplain corps — have moved to 179- and 365-day deployments, according to Air Force officials.
Chaplain counseling sessions have increased 37 percent in recent years, from 130,329 in 2007 to 179,944 in 2009, according to the Air Force chaplain corps office.
As you can see when there was more and more demand on Chaplains to address combat traumas, there were less and less Chaplains to go around. How did they expect Battlemind to work when everything they said needed to happen didn't?
We saw the numbers go up and many walked away from their "training" believing if they ended up with PTSD it was their fault. Many more "stuffed" it instead of addressing what was happening to them.
What is worse about all of this is there are too many coming home to nothing. No support from their own communities and churches. We can wonder all we want about what else can be done but until we take a look as what was done and failed, we won't stop repeating the same mistakes.
