Scenario: You have been assigned to brief the CAP Wing Commander current base resilience practices. As a part of your research, you discover that you believe that the Chaplain Corps itself needs a targeted briefing for self-care and esprit de corps. Of particular note, you observe that many, if not most, CAP chaplains are geographically separated and as a consequence rarely engage with each other. Present a plan for self-care and community care both individually and collectively for the CAP Chaplain Corps.

INTRO

Resilience is essential for readiness; and readiness is essential for critical response. Assigned by the Wing commander to assess base readiness practices, one of the critical issues was the resilience practices of the personnel critical to the overall care and morale of the base–the Chaplain Corps. When drilling down further it was apparent that the Chaplain Corps itself needed a plan for self-care. One of the critical challenges was that chaplains and Religious Support Specialists comprising the Chaplain Corps need mutual support due to the unique challenges and burdens of the position; added to that the Chaplain Corps was geographically separated which caused difficulty with friendship and support. Therefore, the challenge was to craft a plan for self-care for the Chaplain Corps and address the challenges of geographical separation and strengthen resilience and readiness as well as bolster morale and esprit de corps.

 

PROACTIVE PRINCIPLES IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CARE

Chaplains are the on call go to personnel for emergency support care, ministry of presence in critical situations for first responders as well as families impacted by crisis, counselors on call, and the ones charged with ethical questions and morale. Therefore, chaplains need to be at their best and monitoring their own level of stress and emotional and spiritual readiness as well as assess their family and friends’ relationship health. However, chaplains often focus on the needs of others to the point of ignoring their own support needs. This sometimes comes at the cost of their own emotional overload, cumulative stress fatigue and can impact the relationships most important to them including family and friends and even coworkers.

The Four Pillars of Resilience remind Air Force personnel of the importance of mental, physical, social, and spiritual dimensions of all our lives including the Chaplain Corps (Five Pillars for CAP: Mind, Body, Relationships, Spirit, Family).1 This can impact social wellbeing including friends, colleagues, and family, which can lead to weakening other areas as well.

Geographical separation often leads to emotional and relational separation or simply does not afford the opportunity to develop the close friendships that are needed, including the very important collegial friendships with those who understand the unique responsibilities and pressures of ministry. This in turn can lead to an erosion of a holistic readiness to serve others, which is so mission critical to the Chaplain Corps.

Chaplains also model self-care to others around them, reminding us of the adage: “preach all the time; speak only when necessary.” It may be an overstatement, but it highlights an important point: we need to model what we teach. Our walk needs to match our talk.

Virtually every religious tradition has important points on downtime, self-care, and quality relationships, beginning with the practice of a Holy Day, and a time of rest for family and friendship.

CHAPLAIN SELF CARE PROPOSAL

With the importance of self-care in mind, the proposal is to incorporate intentional time for Chaplain Corps support and relationship building virtually to help address the challenge of geographical separation. The proposal in simple bullet point form entails:

• Survey Needs-Use online survey to get a feel for the needs of the Chaplain Corps, such as the one the AF ROTC is using for detachments.
• Virtual “Light Lunch”-Kickoff the program with a “Light Lunch” using the imagery of light lunch along with the idea of adding a light-hearted time and re-energizing the light within each of us through mutual support and encouragement.
• Virtual Support Groups-offer virtual support groups for chaplains to share on a deeper level along with the monthly “Light Lunch”
• Virtual On Call Chaplain for Chaplains-Offer a Chaplain for Chaplain Corps- as an 24/7/365 on call option for chaplains in need of personal or family crisis or simply in need of support and encouragement. This should be offered not only as a phone call but preferable virtually as either Facetime, Google Meet, or Third Room, the new virtual Tele Chaplain offered in beta mode by the First Air Force and being tested at Edwards Air Force Base (below).
• Develop a Steering Team to oversee including both Chaplains and Religious Support Staff.
• Quarterly In Person Meeting-realizing we do need to meet in person as well as virtually.
• Monitor Effectiveness and look for ways to improve and strengthen.

This plan offers a way to address the challenges of geographical separation using newer technology which can help bolster the morale and readiness of Chaplain Corps personnel.

Third Room is a virtual room developed through a partnership with Even Health and the First Air Force and is currently being tested in various contexts including at Edwards Air Force Base. The virtual space can offer opportunities for connection, counseling, support groups, virtual retreats, as well as worship space including memorial services and more.

CONCLUSION

Resilience is essential for readiness; and readiness is essential for critical response. The Chaplain Corps is no exception and in fact may be the critical lynchpin to the broader readiness of forces as well as overall morale and esprit de corps.

The challenge is not an easy one in a fast-paced society where we all face mounting stresses, however by utilizing available new technologies a path of self-care can be blazed that supports some of our most critical personnel who are the care takers of the boarder forces–the Chaplain Corps.