Staying Strong: Chaplains Support Comprehensive Fitness, Resiliency in Kuwait

Photo By Natalie Cole | Maj. Glenn Finch, chaplain, talks with a soldier inside a tent chapel on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Aug. 27. Finch, of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, said one-on-one counseling is one of the ways chaplains support troops’ comprehensive fitness.  

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

08.27.2010

Story by Natalie Cole 

1st Theater Sustainment Command

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - Chaplains have been an Army staple since its inception. However, times have changed since the late 17 hundreds, and the Chaplain Corps has evolved to support soldiers in the 21st century. The chaplains with the 1st Theater Sustainment Command on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, and its subordinate units throughout the region exemplify how the modern corps plays a part in making troops more resilient.

The Mission: Promoting Resiliency among Deployed Soldiers

Chaplains’ mission is to promote well-being through worship, counseling, religious activities and religious resources, said Col. Richard Quinn, chaplain, of the 1st TSC. “We enable soldiers with free exercise of their religion, their faith,” said Quinn, who oversees more than 40 chaplains in Kuwait. The Army chaplains, who represent a variety of religions, deploy with the units they are assigned to so that soldiers always have access to religious and emotional support. “There’s a connection in the Army that makes it unique,” said Quinn.

The variety of services and integration of chaplains into Army units is known as a “ministry of presence,” said Chaplain Maj. Glenn Finch, of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, a subordinate unit of the 1st TSC. Finch said having chaplains where ever soldiers are “strengthens resilience and keeps soldiers in the fight. They [the Army] understand that an enduring soldier is a resilient one.”

In fact, resiliency has been gaining attention in the Army in the past year. In 2009, the Army introduced the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program to address the needs of modern troops, many of whom have deployed multiple times. Comprehensive fitness is defined by the Army as a balance of the social, spiritual, physical, emotional and family areas of one’s life. When soldiers are strong in the five areas, they are more resilient to the rigors of Army life, including deployments and combat. Finch said chaplains are well suited to address the spiritual and emotional aspects of comprehensive fitness. “Chaplains understand the impact of values in one’s life,” he said.

Next month, the 1st Sustainment Brigade on Camp Arifjan will open one of the first Resiliency Centers in the U.S. Army Central Command area of operations. “The mission of the center is to provide the ability for soldiers to find necessary resources to support and take care of their pillars of resiliency,” according to Maj. Ric Brown, 1st SB chaplain. The center will have a Red Cross office, a physical wellness center and a classroom for seminars and religious services. Additionally, the center will host “chats with a doc,” so soldiers can talk with a medical professional. Brown, who will be the senior chaplain for the center, said the center will also have specialists who can make mental health referrals and offer physical fitness guidance.

Equal Opportunity: Deployed Chaplains Work to Serve All

The resiliency center is one example of how chaplains connect with soldiers in Kuwait. However, chaplains in forward areas also support combat soldiers on the move. The 53rd IBCT chaplains, for example, often work aboard armored vehicles. “Our chaplains go with gunners. We ride along in MRAPS, HUMVEES [to] talk about their concerns and fears,” said Finch.

Chaplain Capt. Peter Robinson, of the 53rd IBCT, is one such chaplain at the battalion level. He said he goes to ranges, travels to locations where soldiers work and rides along in convoys. The benefits of serving side-by-side with soldiers include “just being someone who’s there, who cares and is … asking questions, help[ing] them spiritually, emotionally,” Robinson said. “It’s really an honor to do it. … To be involved, to bring hope, to walk life with them.”

In addition to moving with combat troops, the three chaplains said they work with all soldiers, even non-religious ones. “The chaplain’s role is to be on the level of the soldier … [to say] ‘tell me your beliefs.’ Anyone can talk about their faith,” even if it’s different, Finch said.

Quinn also said he works with soldiers who “have no spiritual commitment, but because of friendship or referral, they know I’ll be a trusted advisor.” He said support can take many forms outside of dogma. “Really, where I make by money is friendship – it’s one of the best ways I can support soldiers.”

Pfc. Morgan Christian, from Columbus, Ohio, has worked with the 53rd IBCT chaplain in Kuwait. “A lot of times I feel that people who aren’t religious, like myself, think that whatever they say will be interpreted through scripture,” Christian said. “But Chaplain Robinson is very good about keeping it separate if that’s the way you want it.” Christian, who is a finance cashier, said the option to see the chaplain affords soldiers anonymity. “It gives us a different option outside of the chain of command; the option to have what we say be private,” she said.

In her case, Christian said the counseling was objective and helped her think proactively about her future. “He [the chaplain] not only helped me overcome what I was trying to deal with, but he helped me set goals to better my career,” she said.

Spc. Joshua Rogers, from Winchester, Tenn., has also been seeing a 53rd IBCT chaplain during his time at Camp Arifjan. “The main reason I’m seeing a chaplain is for advice and good moral wisdom… in all areas of my life,” said Rogers, 26. “It was the best place to start looking because I was raised as a Christian.”

Christian and Rogers are examples of the diverse beliefs of soldiers who seek chaplain support. Rogers said that while listening to a chaplain’s counsel is helpful, he believes soldiers can get the most out of a chaplain’s advice if they are motivated to take action and apply faith. “I wish soldiers were aware of the spiritual aspect of going to see a Chaplain,” he said. “When you apply God to your life, you get more out of life,” he said.

Rogers added that for soldiers, it is important to be aware of the programs and people – religious and not – that are available for soldiers. “I feel that it’s part of the leader’s job to inform them [soldiers] of the many different places there are to seek counsel and advice,” he said.

Relationships, Optimism: Chaplains Share Common Characteristics of the Comprehensively Fit

Many soldiers know of peers who have struggled during and after deployments. However, there are also troops who stay resilient, and such soldiers demonstrate some common characteristics, according to the chaplains. It is not to say that all resilient soldiers are the same. People have different preferences and ways of spending time. For example, some extroverted soldiers may choose to be out and about socializing after work, while more introverted types might unwind with some alone time. Nevertheless, the chaplains have noticed trends among troops in Kuwait who demonstrate overall comprehensive fitness.

For example, based on his experiences, Finch said soldiers who “are quick to seek help” tend to do well. In fact, being open to taking action for one’s own emotional well being takes maturity and courage, and is part of maintaining comprehensive fitness, he said. “The stigma of seeking a chaplain’s help … is lessening,” Finch said. “It’s a very great trend.” Finch said openness to learning from another’s experiences is equally important. When sharing traits of strong soldiers, Finch said, “another one that comes to mind: They’re teachable.”

In addition to being quick to seek support and willing to listen, all three chaplains emphasized that resilient troops have connections. “They have strong relationships both with peers and family at home,” Finch said. Even small decisions soldiers make in their daily routines make an impact on the connections they have. One of Finch’s tips for a more sociable routine is to “eat on a tray,” referring to the fact that always taking a to-go plate from dining halls in deployed areas eliminates potential social opportunities. Finch said eating with peers “reminds you that you’re in this fight together,” he said. “You can’t under estimate the power of relationships.”

Robinson echoed the importance of relationships. He said he witnesses how many soldiers in the 53rd IBCT surround themselves with supportive peers. “They have good friends, good mentors … They choose, intentionally, people to learn from,” he said.

Finch said he and his teams often see soldiers who are seeking spiritual direction and advice on relationships at home and at work. Quinn also said, based on his experiences, he sees deployed soldiers who struggle with relationships and separation. To promote resiliency, Quinn says he delivers “practical sermons” that address “things they [soldiers] can use in daily life, with God’s help, to cope.” Finch added connections are so important that he teaches seminars on relationship building. “We’re finding that the soldiers coming in isolated already, with no social skills, they don’t last,” he said.

Robinson added that having a positive outlook is also a characteristic of resilient soldiers. “They have that perpetual optimism,” he said, adding that having guiding beliefs and values can help soldiers stay optimistic. “They have strength spiritually, whether it’s in religion or with high values and principles,” Robinson said.

Robinson said that he sees the other elements of comprehensive fitness at work with those who stay strong. For example, he said he notices that the soldiers who are good at handling stressful work environments are often the ones who maintain general health by sleeping, eating well and staying physically fit. Robinson pointed out that while comprehensive fitness “doesn’t make you bullet proof, it has a lot to offer soldiers. I think it’s one of the things I’m very passionate about. I really believe in it,” he said.

• Date Taken: 08.27.2010
• Date Posted: 08.27.2010 05:22
• Story ID: 55243
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW