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[Warning: This article contains discussions of death, which may be unsuitable for some readers. It is recommended that individuals who are sensitive to these themes exercise caution while reading as the content may be disturbing or upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.]
On May 7, the Space Base Delta 1 chapel team participated in a joint training with three cadavers at Fort Carson, organized by the 4th Infantry Division.
The purpose of this training was to prepare religious support teams for end-of-life scenarios in a combat environment.
“The importance of this training is giving our chapel staff experience in helping people pass in peace,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Matthew Gallo, SBD 1 delta chaplain. “When it comes to death, the spiritual impact is so key.”
The trainees included 48 unit ministry team members, 14 U.S. Air Force religious support teams, and three combat medic specialists. There was additional support from 28 volunteers—including 10 unit ministry team members from offsite—adding to the event’s authenticity.
“When we do a training like this, it helps us fine-tune our techniques, manage our emotions, and get ready to be the best at what we can be in one of the hardest scenarios a religious support team can face,” Gallo said.
This training simulated the chapel team entering a combat zone during the tenth day of combat. The team was instructed that many people had already died.
"The part of the training that was most memorable was first walking into the room,” said Capt. Benjamin Riley, SBD 1 chaplain. “You had to process a lot of information quickly to ensure the best care for the service member.”
Upon entering the simulated combat zone, the chapel team was met with screaming, simulated blood, and the smell of cadavers.
“It had the smell of a hospital trauma center,” said Capt. Brandon Acheson, SBD 1 chaplain.
There were three cadavers on stretchers. Each cadaver had a team surrounding it, consisting of a trainer, personnel from the Army Office of Mortuary Affairs, and the religious support teams made up of members from the SBD 1 chapel team, as well as chapel teams from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Academy.
“These real-world cadavers were alive a week ago. Their families, who are still grieving their loss, donated their bodies so that we could do this training,” Gallo said. “It was very sobering to hear that.”
For many of the chaplain teams participating in this training, it was their first time seeing a deceased person.
“Having the cadavers added a level of gravity and realism to the training scenarios and equipped us for what it might be like in a real-world scenario,” Acheson said.
The mortuary affairs team at each station also added urgency that may be seen in a real combat scenario, saying things like, “He’s going to die!”
“I really appreciated the uniqueness of this training,” Riley said. “It gave us a chance to put ourselves in the shoes of a large-scale combat situation.”
For the training, a religious affairs Airman was paired with a chaplain. The Airman entered the training room and was given minimal information about the dying person. Next, the religious affairs Airman reported that information to the chaplain.
“We were given a name, their faith group, and were told, ‘They are about to die,’” said Acheson.
The religious preferences of the dying individuals included Pagan, Muslim, Catholic and Protestant. It was common to hear voices yelling, “We need a chaplain right now!”
Each scenario involved the cadaver, with the trainer positioned behind it, acting out a realistic end-of-life situation.
“The trainer would start acting out the voice and the emotions of the dying individual,” Gallo said. “It brought back real-world memories for me of being in Iraq.”
Each team went through multiple end-of-life scenarios, such as:
A Protestant Soldier with a gunshot wound to the abdomen is dying, and he says to the religious support team, “I don’t want to die. Am I going to die?”
A Muslim Soldier suffered fragmentation wounds, massive hemorrhage, and head trauma. After witnessing the death of a fellow soldier, he requests a prayer for the deceased.
A Roman Catholic Soldier is dying. He requests a chaplain to do Last Rites, but there is no Priest.
A dying Soldier doesn’t talk; he only yells and calls out for his mother.
“This training was very true to life,” Acheson said. “We were presented with surprise scenarios involving casualties with only minutes to live. We had to move and think quickly.”
Capt. Michael Blohm, SBD 1 chaplain, spoke to the benefit of experiencing a wide variety of end-of-life situations.
“The scenarios were a good blend of chaos to push us outside of our normal comfort limits and what we are generally exposed to,” Blohm said. “It was an extremely valuable training.”
There were also simulated medics who were rapidly attempting to save the individuals.
“Working with the medics added a level of complexity because we had to filter out what they were saying to concentrate on providing on the highest level of spiritual care to the dying,” Acheson said.
Each member of the response team got multiple turns of a five-minute long simulation, followed by a feedback session from the Fort Carson Chaplain’s Office.
“It was excellent training and prepared us well for administering spiritual care for a person who only has minutes to live,” Acheson said.
During one of the iterations, the Religious Affairs Airmen provided end-of-life care while the chaplains observed.
“It was a surreal experience,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin-Andrew Povlsen, SBD 1 religious affairs Airman. “It truly underscored the profound significance of administering Last Rites. Our mission is to stand by our Airmen and Guardians—providing support, comfort and care—even in their final moments."
The training had an impact on Tech. Sgt. Davery Crawford, SBD 1 noncommissioned officer in charge of religious affairs at Schriever Space Force Base:
“This training gave me a different perspective,” Crawford said. “You don’t often think about what to say to people in their last moments.”
At the conclusion of each training simulation, every religious affairs Airman and chaplain was given a few seconds to physically lift the stretcher on which the cadaver rested. The purpose was to allow the trainees to experience the realism of working with the cadavers.
“When you have to pick up a human body, it does something psychologically to you,” Gallo said. “It makes it a lot more real for the trainees.”
Gallo also spoke to why this training was so relevant to the chapel team.
“These end-of-life scenarios are stressful because all of a chaplain’s and religious affairs Airman’s training comes to a head,” Gallo said. “If they aren’t ready for that, it’s very overwhelming.”
Echoing that sentiment, Riley emphasized the real-world implications of the training and its importance in times of conflict.
“In a time of war, the Chaplain Corps could be facing these kinds of situations on a regular basis,” Riley said. “We want to ensure that loved ones of our Airmen and Guardians know that their loved ones will have someone with them until the end, and that they’re not alone. That’s extremely important.”
To ensure that the chapel team was prepared to face these end-of-life situations, Staff Sgt. Halie Kritner, SBD 1 religious affairs Airman, compiled a 12-page quick reference tool that outlines major world religions and includes relevant Scriptures and prayers appropriate for individuals nearing death within each faith. It also outlines appropriate faith-based responses to the top 10 most common statements made by a dying service member.
“Drawing from my Security Forces background, where training prepares you to respond instinctively in high-stress situations, I built this 12-page End of Life Quick Reference Tool to equip my team with that same level of readiness,” Kritner said. “It’s about having the right words, rooted in faith, when they’re needed most.”
Gallo expressed his amazement at Kritner’s document.
“I’ve never seen anything like this document, not in seminary or working as a hospice chaplain,” Gallo said about Kritner’s document. “It’s so good because it’s user friendly, and it provides a consoling message for each religion on one page.”
Kritner’s document will go before the Army’s two-star Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain William Green Jr., with the intent of distribution to the entire Army Chapel Corps.
| Date Taken: | 05.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2025 14:19 |
| Story ID: | 497969 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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