By Benjamin Hockman
“What does a chaplain do?” It was a question I had not really thought much about through the course of my military career up until then. It may have occurred to me, but if it did, it was too low on my list of priorities to matter. Nevertheless, after nine years as an officer, I felt convicted to change branches, take up the cross, and serve in this way. Yet, this question seemed like an important one with which to grapple before I journeyed too far into this new career.
I suspect my experience was the same as that for many readers: Chaplains were religious people who helped religious folks do religious things. At best, they were a ‘candy chaplain’ carrying snacks or drinks to make me feel better. That sounded fine for Soldiers suffering in the field, but I had things to do! At worst, they were lazy and undisciplined, poor Soldiers who belonged in the rear at a chapel, not in the field. After all, I reasoned, I had my own Bible. What use had I for a chaplain?
So, I asked my question and I discovered that the official answer begins not with the chapel, but with the Constitution. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Put simply: the Army cannot force soldiers to follow a particular religion; it also means that the Army must protect the exercise of religion.
This means that the various idiosyncrasies of each denomination, even within Protestantism, must be respected. It also means commanders have an obligation to protect and, where practicable, accommodate a Soldier’s free exercise of religion, balancing that right against genuine military necessity.
The Need for Spiritual Readiness
But the concepts of the Constitution are beyond the daily concerns of an operations officer, and it is understandably difficult to keep them in mind, let alone as a priority, before the daily litany of crises. Does my question have any bearing on practical matters?
There is a seductive fiction in the U.S. military, and it is that people may be equated with machines. The thinking is as follows: we need to only give a human energy (food), a task, and the means to complete it, and that task ought to be accomplished. We are then often frustrated – with ourselves or with others – when other matters come into play. “I/you had the tools, why didn’t I/you just do it?”
This is not an unreasonable expectation in most circumstances. But the obvious problem is that humans are not organic machines. We are complex, emotional creatures, and to deny that emotion is to deny your own humanity or the humanity of the Soldiers who have been entrusted to your care. And the Army is full of “highly emotional events.”
Yet, it does not stretch the imagination to recognize someone who has done all they can to suppress this most human of elements. These people are often angry all the time, or swiftly get there, lingering in the delusion that anger is somehow a more valid emotion than fear or sadness. Perhaps there is something to that in a profession of arms—a profession of violence—but however useful anger may be on the battlefield, it is destructive everywhere else.
But worse than an anger response is when someone goes numb – a total breakdown stemming from emotional overload. The consequences of such things are evident; it has been some time since The ‘22-a-day’ push-up challenges may have largely disappeared from our social-media feeds, but veteran suicide remains a devastating problem. And so I reiterate: humans are emotional creatures.
What is substance abuse but an attempt to manage emotional pain? How many careers have been cast awry due to emotionally driven, poor decisions? And these are only the individual impacts. What of the dominating leader whose whole identity is their next evaluation? What of the one who is so emotionally fragile that they cannot handle failure for themselves or from their subordinates, and what does that do to an organization? This is where Spiritual Readiness finds its importance.
Enter the chaplain.
Spiritual Readiness Explained
A chaplain, then, is not merely a nice person to have in a formation. They are an enabler; someone who helps build a form of readiness that becomes especially important when Soldiers are under the greatest strain. This is Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F); this is Spiritual Readiness. Consider this line from the H2F manual regarding Spiritual readiness: “Spiritual readiness is the ability to endure and overcome times of stress, hardship, and tragedy by making meaning of life experiences (FM 7-22, 3-21).” The stated goal is to enable the Soldier to stay in the fight, not coddle them. This is not about helping humans feel better; it is about giving them the strength to remain human through inhumane experiences, so that they can complete the mission.
The manual continues: “Individuals find meaning as they exercise beliefs, principles, ethics, and morals arising from religious, philosophical, and human values.” These sources of meaning cannot come from a mission statement or the ambitions that drive the high performers who fill our ranks. The roots of our actions are inherently internal. By definition, they cannot be attained; they must be lived out. “I want to achieve” is not a value; it is a means to an end.
Perhaps the value is: “I only matter if I achieve,” and the value is lived through ambition. That is a valid statement, but the self-destructive nature of such a value is self-evident. We must have someone with the theological, philosophical, and moral training to engage with and heal the wounded ethics and beliefs of our Soldiers.
Enter the chaplain.
Praxis
So, what does this look like in practice? The first and foremost is simply one of a counselor. What is told to a chaplain in confidence remains in absolute confidence. This is a powerful resource for any Soldier, from the commander on down, that they may unburden themselves. Confession and self-expression are not merely religious in nature, they can heal a distracted mind and allow it to focus on the mission. Yes, Behavioral Health is a powerful resource in this regard, but they are few and far between, especially in austere environments. We need someone nearby. Enter the chaplain.
The second has already been mentioned – that of resilience and readiness. I write this at Fort Knox in the midst of cadet summer training. I have met with many cadets; every one wants to commission and serve their country. They are patriots. Yet, for one reason or another, their plans are failing. For some, an injury derailed the plan. Others failed to meet the standard. In the words of a colonel yesterday, they need to “get off the mat, dust themselves off, and try again.” But this is easier said than done, especially in the midst of failure. Who will strengthen them? Enter the chaplain.
The third is advisement. Let the chaplain serve as a direct line regarding troubles in the formation. Without disclosing privileged communications or identifying individuals, chaplains can also advise commanders on broader trends affecting morale, ethics, and the welfare of the formation. Yes, everyone has an open-door policy posted, but chaplains are far less intimidating to approach. Likewise, how valuable would it be to have confirmation regarding morale and welfare? Again, there are sensing sessions for these things, but I spent two years as a commander, and I know firsthand that the mood of the force is often poorly conveyed to and through leaders whose careers are on the line.
The Mission
I spent years being told that my job as a leader was to take care of my Soldiers. That was true and remains true of every leader. But ours is a profession of arms. The mission always comes first. It must, otherwise we would not do dangerous things. But the ugly reality is that, too often, the tyranny of the urgent overwhelmed my ability to take care of my Soldiers. The trackers, taskers, orders, and inventories needed to be done. I had meetings, rehearsals, and planning to conduct. My time was not my own, and when it was I was barely catching up on emails before the next mandatory thing pulled me away.
But for chaplains, there is no other mission. Of course, there’s paperwork that must be completed and meetings to attend. But the central thing chaplains do remains this: chaplains take care of Soldiers.
CPT Hockman is a chaplain candidate with the Army Reserve. He joined the Infantry in 2011, the Signal Corps in 2015, and the Chaplain Corps in 2021. During that time, he had the fortune to serve as a Platoon Leader, the misfortune to serve as Company XO twice, and the blessing of two great years as a Commander.
