Mission First 1 You and Your Chaplain CH (COL) BONNIE KOPPELL 807 th Medical Command COMMAND CHAPLAIN

Mission First 2 “The Soldier’s heart, the Soldier’s spirit, the Soldier’s soul are everything. Unless the Soldier’s soul sustains him, he cannot be relied upon, and he will fail himself, and his commander, and his country in the end.” -15 th chief of staff of the Army, General of the Army, George C. Marshall

Mission First Chaplain, not……

Mission First ….Chaplin

Mission First Mission : To provide for free exercise of religion Title 10, U.S. Code, Sections 3073, 3547, and 3581 To perform and provide comprehensive religious support to Soldiers, Family members and other authorized personnel Religious advisor to the commander 5

Mission First United States Constitution, Amendment 1: 6 Constitutional Compliance “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”

Mission First Qualifications: Education Bachelors Degree Masters degree ≥ 72 graduate hours Age- NLT 42 years of age Endorsement by religious body Meets Military standards At least two years of ministry experience 7 CH Tim Vakoc injured by an IED in Iraq and later died of wounds.

Mission First History: Pastors were Soldiers in Revolutionary War. George Washington enacted command Continental Congress created the chaplaincy on July 29, 1775 Chaplains have accompanied Soldiers in every U.S. military engagement 8

Mission First Things to Know… Geneva Convention – “Non-Combatant” Addressed as “chaplain” rather than rank Tested, and upheld before the US Supreme Court 9

Mission First IT IS THE COMMANDER’S RELIGIOUS PROGRAM! 10

Mission First Commander’s responsibilities: Establish and maintain a climate of high moral and ethical standards Provide religious, spiritual, moral, and ethical support to Soldiers Support the free exercise of religion for all personnel Provide UMT’s with the resources required to perform their duties 11

Mission First 12 Chaplains Support Commander as Special Staff Officers Perform or provide religious rites and pastoral counseling to Nurture the Living, Care for Wounded, and Honor the Dead Develop and implement the commander’s religious support program Liaison with indigenous religious leaders Provide the commander with personal pastoral care, counseling, advice, and privileged communication

Mission First Chaplain Duties Religious Services: mass, worship, prayer breakfasts, memorial services/ceremonies, and weddings Religious Education: Bible study, moral leadership, stress management, marriage and family, leader development Pastoral Care: ministry of presence; visits and counseling Suicide Prevention: ASIST trained 13

Mission First Ministry of Presence Army chaplains are not assigned to a chapel; they are assigned to Soldiers! 14

Mission First Chaplain Branch Insignia Buddhist Christian Hindu Jewish Muslim 15 Chaplain Candidate

Mission First Caring for Your Chaplain Significantly lower selection rates than most branches Branch specific promotion boards RSC chaplain manages USAR assignments Must have a Chaplain in the rating chain, usually the Intermediate Rater Career Life Cycle: specialty tracks 16

Mission First Unit Ministry Team UMT consists of one chaplain and one chaplain assistant 17 UMT members are not to be assigned additional duties or command responsibility for Soldiers in order to maintain autonomy for counseling (AR 165-1, 3-4) Examples include: Platoon leadership, welfare, morale, victim advocate, sexual assault response coordinator, and EO

Mission First Confidentiality 18

Mission First Confidentiality Confidential Communication : Any communication to a chaplain or chaplain assistant given as a formal act of religion or as a matter of conscience Communication made in confidence to a chaplain acting as a spiritual advisor or to a chaplain assistant aiding a spiritual advisor A communication not intended to be disclosed to third parties in any context, legal or otherwise 19

Mission First Confidentiality Continued Confidentiality Continued Privileged Communication : ‘Privileged’ and ‘confidential’ are often considered synonymous However, when they are differentiated, ‘Privileged Communications’ refer to information which is not admissible in a court or legal action ‘Confidential Communications’ are general, referring to information which is protected, both in and out of the legal context Generally, a confidential communication is also privileged 20

Mission First Other Chaplain Responsibilities 21

Mission First Strong Bonds Strong Bonds promotes resilience Single Married Family Chaplain led training: non- religious in nature Supported and paid by RSCs 3 day duty (Friday-Sunday) 22

Mission First Yellow Ribbon Support Events are for deploying and re-deploying Soldiers and their Families Chaplains brief on the Role of Chaplain, conduct chapel services, and are available for counseling 23

Mission First Religious Advisement Joint Publication 1-05 Religious Support Two major Chaplain responsibilities - religious advisement and religious support Religious advisement – focus on the impact of religion on joint operations Chaplains provide religious advisement consistent with their noncombatant status 24

Mission First Soldier Leader Engagement 25

Mission First Soldier Leader Engagement Chaplains will often be involved in liaison activities with both: Indigenous Faith Group Leaders Faith-based NGO’s Cultural sensitivity is critical Lack of favoritism is critical MUST BE ORDERED BY THE COMMANDER! FM 1-05, Religious Support,

Mission First Guiding Principles for Advising Guiding Principles for Advising Know the commander’s desired end state and supporting mission objectives Form partnerships with other staff working groups Determine how the religious terrain shapes/impacts the operational environments Contribute relevant and timely analysis of the religious factors 27

Mission First 28 Advising Continued Religious Terrain encompasses a range of categories (GTA , Religious Factors Analysis, p.16)

Mission First Combat Multiplier In the past - “Few American military personnel could be said to have demonstrated much cultural awareness, much less an interest in acquiring it.” What we have learned - “The more these (front-line) troops know about the local culture, the greater the chance that they will develop relationships that will prove useful to mission accomplishment.” Lawrence Yates, The U.S. Military’s Experience in Stability Operations, , 32 29

Mission First PMESII-PT Chaplain will have input to the PMESII-PT operational analysis P - Political M - Military E - Economic S - Social I - Information I - Infrastructure P - Physical Environment T - Time (see ATP , A-1ff for religious considerations within PMESII-PT analysis) 30

Mission First Multi-National Social Intelligence HISTORY AND CULTURE MATTER; SO DOES LEADERSHIP! 31

Mission First Why Should You Care? “The burdens of governance require culturally astute leaders and joint forces capable of adapting to nuances of religion, ethnicity, and a number of other considerations essential to success.” “The military force should, consistent with security requirements, respect the religious celebrations and the legitimate activities of religious leaders.” Joint Publication 3-07, “Stability Operations,” xxviii 32

Mission First JIIM Considerations JIIM Considerations 33

Mission First Guidance on Religious Accommodation “The mission of providing religious support remains the same no matter the threat. Chaplains adapt religious support operations based on the operational conditions and the mission of the unit.” FM 1-05, 2-4 Principle: Err on the side of religious accommodation, unless it interferes with the mission 34

Mission First Examples of religious accommodation: Letting Muslim Soldiers work night shift in order to observe Ramadan Allowing for worship space and time for all religions Providing for religious dietary considerations; Halal and Kosher 35

Mission First Don’t forget, the Chaplain is YOUR confidential resource, and YOUR advisor at all times! 36

Mission First References References Combat Multiplier- Lawrence Yates, The U.S. Military’s Experience in Stability Operations, , 32 Guiding Principles for Advising- Religious Terrain encompasses a range of categories (GTA , Religious Factors Analysis, p.16) Key Leader Engagement- FM 1-05, Religious Support, 2-2 The Soldiers Heart- The 15 th chief of staff of the Army, General of the Army, George C. Marshall 37

Mission First References Continued References Continued The Role of the Chaplain in the United States Army- CH (MAJ) Daryl Densford Religion and the Contemporary Strategic Environment- CH (COL) Bonnie Koppell A Commander’s Guide to Getting the Most Out of Your Chaplain- CH (COL) Marc Gauthier Advising the Commander- Anonymous Multi-National Social Intelligence- Joint Publication 3-07, “Stability Operations,” xxviii AR Chaplain Activities in the United States Army Religious Accommodation, FM1-05,

Mission First 39 QUESTIONS?