Grace Under Pressure: A Chaplain Reflects on Suicide Prevention

By Dana McCullough, Health.mil Staff

“Warfighting first.  Be ready to fight and win today, while building the ability to win tomorrow.”  Navy Chief of Chaplains (Rear Adm.) Mark L. Tidd shared this creed in an interview with health.mil to underscore September’s nationwide focus on suicide prevention.

Tidd observed that the same tenets that guide decision-making among seamen of all ranks apply to achieving a state of spiritual and mental well-being.

However, the battlefield of the mind, unlike the combat environment, is a painfully private terrain for some service members.  Some of our country’s bravest men and women struggle with personal demons, perceived failures and seemingly unanswerable life questions that, in the end, leave them desperate.  This is where Tidd and others like him, working closely with service members, their loved ones and medical providers, can step in.

 

 “We’re there, available, and accessible,” Tidd said, adding, “That time becomes an opportunity to have those important conversations…ones that often lead to conversations with family members.”  With a combination of scholarship and humor, the Chaplain explained, “We call that deckplate ministry because we walk the deck plates of the ship.  I call it ‘redeemed loitering’.”

For many, chaplains are known for providing religious services.  Tidd stressed, “The opportunity to practice one’s faith is a readiness issue.  The provision of religious ministry, meeting people’s religious needs is key to helping them toward resiliency.”  He added that, “We [chaplains] care for all, regardless of religious commitment, faith or no commitment.”

Additionally, spiritual counselors can work in tandem with members of the medical community to weigh options for well-rounded approaches to healing.

Tidd characterized the chaplain/physician collaboration as a partnership with the fundamental goal of achieving overall good health for the service member.

Chaplains' Reach Out to Soldiers Extended in Afghanistan

By Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service

Jan. 26, 2007 – U.S. military chaplains serving in Afghanistan want troops who have been extended to know support is there for them. "Hang in there; we're right with you," is what chaplains want recently extended soldiers to know, a senior chaplain here said. About 3,200 soldiers of 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, learned yesterday that they will be extended in Afghanistan until June, about 120 days past their scheduled redeployment date.

"Chaplains are uniquely and sympathetically aware of what these soldiers and their families are going through right now," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) William Laigaie, Combined Joint Task Force 76 chaplain. "Everything that is being done now will continue being done, including worship schedules and visits to outlying areas."

Laigaie has been a chaplain for 21 years and has seen firsthand the impact of sudden extensions. How individual soldiers deal with the news depends on how each person deals with change and loss, he said. "I find that the impact to this kind of news is the same across time and across units," he said. "Soldiers love their jobs, but they love being with their families.

"They'll feel a sudden change and loss. The change is they're staying. The loss is that they will not get to see their families yet," Laigaie added. "Once they get through the disbelief and the checking, they will think about their losses. 'What about my assignment? What about my family?'"

Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Andy Gibson, Combined Task Force Chamberlain chaplain, said soldiers and families can feel angry, disappointed and betrayed, and it's important for soldiers to know that those feelings are normal.

"It's normal to feel those things," he said. "But this horrible feeling will pass, and they will be coming home. We're going to make it; we're going to do our jobs; and we're going to come home."

The chaplains outlined things each soldier should do or remember:

Focus on success. "It's important that each soldier focus on success," Laigaie said. "Once they have it, it's theirs forever. In the end, they're going to be proud that they stood up to the task, that they gave more. Stay proud, work proud and return proud."

Talk to families. "Our families are particularly important right now in supporting that soldier," Gibson said. "Soldiers should, in turn, encourage them."
Keep the right perspective. "Put into perspective that the period of time extended is much shorter than the period they've already endured," Gibson said. "They're trained well and have advantages over a soldier who just deployed. They're veterans, more aware and more battle-hardened. They need to remember they are part of a larger program to keep Afghanistan free, and if (Afghanistan were to be) abandoned, their last year would have been in vain."

Be professional. "Be professional, know your job, and exude the confidence your soldiers depend on," Gibson said.

Grieve privately; encourage publicly. "Supervisors need to get their perspective and mental health in line," Gibson said. "They should get as much information as they can and share that with soldiers and with families in the rear, keeping operational security in mind. This is not the time to clam up, to say, 'Suck it up and drive on,' but to explain what's going on. Grieve privately. Encourage publicly."

Seek help if you need it. "Soldiers should not wait for a problem to become a crisis," Laigaie said. "Seek help sooner rather than later. Buddy care is particularly important. We'll pull each other through."

Combat Stress offices are located at Bagram, Kandahar , Jalalabad, and Orgun-E, and experts travel to remote forward operating bases for counseling, Gibson said.

The extended soldiers, assigned to Task Force Spartan, should remain proud of what they are doing in Afghanistan, Laigaie said. "Rise up; meet the task; and overcome," he said. "Remember that this reflects the confidence our leaders and the American people have in the American soldier. They have confidence in the Spartans that they will rise to the task."

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