In Place of Mental Health Care, Are Some Troops Being Evangelized?
Wednesday 11 August 2010
by: William J. Astore, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed
Yesterday, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) and Veterans for Common Sense sent a startling letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. It alleged that the military has sent some psychological casualties to chaplains for counseling, rather than to mental health care professionals for diagnosis and treatment. In a few cases, the letter alleges, chaplains sought to provide comfort through evangelism. In essence, it seems wounded and disturbed troops were encouraged to put their trust in Jesus: that He would provide for them if only they accepted Him.
General George S. Patton Jr. was fired during World War II for slapping soldiers with PTSD. Assuming the MRFF letter is correct, are we prepared to fire chaplains for seeking to alleviate PTSD and other disorders with a healthy dose of scripture and heartfelt appeals to Jesus?
I would advise against this.
I can well imagine that a few chaplains, perhaps of an evangelical bent, in their zeal to provide help, may have conflated their own personal conversion experiences and the resultant comfort they gained from them with the kind of professional care and treatment provided by mental health care experts. If one's own doubts and problems were resolved through heartfelt conversion, it's quite possible one would believe that evangelism in the name of Jesus could cure all ills -- a belief they may then have tried to transfer to hurting, even desperate, troops.
Such misguided ministering, if it exists, must stop.
But at the same time let's not forget that chaplains are invaluable as counselors. The equivalent at times to a "big brother" or "big sister," they are both part of a unit but also in a (moral) sense stand above it and the entire military system. It's a demanding job - indeed, it's more than a job, it's a calling - and the vast majority of chaplains perform it well.
Chaplains, of course, are not mental health care providers. Psychological trauma and other serious mental health issues clearly go beyond their abilities and training to treat and meliorate. The letter from the MRFF and Veterans for Common Sense reminds us of this fact, as well as of the burdens of war on our troops and of the dire shortages of qualified mental health care. It's the latter that requires the lion's share of our attention and resources.
That said, allow me a moment to praise military chaplains. The several I've known have been dedicated, decent, godly souls as well as good troops. They share in the burdens of their units even as they provide selfless counsel, spiritual or otherwise. One older chaplain I knew eagerly went through jump training prior to joining the 101st Airborne. If he was going to serve alongside airborne troops, he wanted to know what jumping out of airplanes was like.
National prayer breakfasts I've attended, run by military chaplains of multiple faiths, were always open to troops of any faith (or no faith at all). There were no distinctions between Protestants or Catholics, or for that matter between Muslims or Jews. As celebrations of non-denominational and undifferentiated spirituality, they were irenic, life-affirming, even moving.
Let's be careful, then, not to let instances of Christian evangelism in the ranks distract us from a healthy exercise of spirituality and religious feeling. Let's applaud our military chaplains even as we recognize that they too have limitations. But most of all, let's be sure to get our troops the professional mental health care they both need and deserve.
This article was also published at Huffington Post.
Full disclosure: Mikey Weinstein, MRFF's founder and president, is a member of Truthout's Board of Advisers.
This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Comments
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Applaud our Military
Wed, 08/11/2010 - 12:27 — Anonymous (not verified)Applaud our Military Chaplains? Shouldn't we be working to get rid of them? This Onward Christian Solidiers thing is old-skool propaganda to get the poor rural kids signing up and shooting in wars.
As a trained interfaith
Wed, 08/11/2010 - 16:30 — Rev. Khalila RedBird (not verified)As a trained interfaith chaplain who has worked in civilian psychiatric settings, I applaud the compassionate care provided by military chaplains to those with PTSD. The pastoral care and the psychiatric care can work together to help the whole person find meaning and hope in the face of trauma and its aftereffects.
I remind my fellow chaplains of all varieties that, as chaplains, our calling is to walk beside people of all faiths or none or faiths we don't recognize as such. Not to fix. Not to heal. Just to walk in compassionate and listen with attention, allowing the Healing that is offered to be accepted and welcomed.
A crisis of body, mind, and spirit is no time to trigger a crisis of faith as well.
You would think that someone
Wed, 08/11/2010 - 16:30 — Texas Aggie (not verified)You would think that someone with experience from the Air Force Academy would know better than to downplay the evangelism that is rampant in our military complex. Given that the AFA was responsible for the founding of the MRFF, there is no reason to try to absolve the chaplains of their involvement in the dehumanization of our troops and turning them into mindless automatons who give mindless allegiance to an authoritarian father figure. Looking for the few who still are decent human beings and inventing ridiculous excuses for the others says nothing about the majority who have bought into the authoritarian fundamentalism that pervades the military. Mr. Astore may be a good soldier, but defending the indefensible takes away from that luster.
Maybe we'd be better off
Wed, 08/11/2010 - 17:26 — VegasDave (not verified)Maybe we'd be better off dispensing with the Chaplains and their voo-doo psychology and magical beliefs and instead hire trained psychologists and sociologists to take their place to administer to the troops needs.
Let's face it, the chaplains aren't there to solve the problems of the troops they are there to solve problems for the military establishment.
The truth shall set you
Wed, 08/11/2010 - 19:02 — David (not verified)The truth shall set you free! People who volunteered to carry a gun for the US war crimes cadre in Iraq and Afghanistan need neither evangelism nor mental health care...what they need is the truth. First off: when you volunteered to go kill, invade, and follow orders from war criminals, you were wrong. Second, karma is alive and you will suffer your karma because you did wrong in the military and it will haunt you. Third, the way for you to feel good now is to renounce all US military service and the US military itself, and to work for peace. So yeah, don't shove Jesus or psychobabble into their heads- just tell them to make amends for being part of a criminal war machine. That will heal them, if anything can!
This is not about a few
Wed, 08/11/2010 - 21:59 — Rachel Tabachnick (not verified)This is not about a few evangelicals going overboard. Wade through a few hundred pages of these military ministries' websites and media and you will see that they are quite serious about using their access to proselytize the "international military mission field." Perhaps it is difficult for those who have not come from an aggressively mission background, or been targeted by aggressive proselytizing, to realize how determined these ministries are in their outreach to military personnel.
One chaplain endorsing agency proclaims that they are "leveraging their positions of influence to transform the military" and to "drive soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines toward Scripture engagement and a lifestyle of a 'preferred future.'” They add, The military is a mission field - and our chaplains are missionaries!" Another chaplain endorsing agency's leader has written a book describing the first Gulf War as a massive revival and outreach to bring soldiers into their sectarian brand of Christianity. The Army Well-Being website quotes a Brigadier General at a luncheon series on suicide awareness stating that those who pray will be more resilient and have less marital problems. Personal Growth Retreats have now become "Spiritual Fitness Retreats." Consider that "spiritual health" is now considered a core factor of "Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF). What does this means for those who don't ascribe to this brand of spirituality?
paradox of deeds... loyal
Wed, 08/11/2010 - 22:59 — sallysense (not verified)paradox of deeds...
loyal young lie moments from... those fighting steps to death...
under names instilled within their brains... to have them 'be their best'...
they looked ahead from days now dead... insurance sold to youth...
invincible their young eyes saw... till blood men showed them truth...
how different front lines change the mind... from boot camps stamping 'follow me'...
when seeing skies through other eyes... becomes a lie in infantry...
surviving skills put to the test... in battles on his soul...
whip the dread of 'kill the rest'... which made the soldier whole...
lessons wrought when preachers taught... those kids their golden rule...
sneak outside from where they hide... like questions meant to fool...
down-sized arrows pierce inside... and hit the bull's-eye knot...
as leaking veins collapse in pain... leaving open wounds to rot...
what's left tides over soldier's time... treading water on a wave...
in seas of big shots' apathy... for finding ways to save...
false towers built by self-made power... crumble neath their spell...
of 'right is might' by some men's light... held in that height from hell...
tales tell them... 'do it well... as those before you did'...
while memories of old sympathies... emerge from where they hid...
the enemy's sight of family ties... gets beaten up by second-thoughts...
as faces lose the human race... when saving grace is the guy who lost...
blood lines to what's left behind... back in someone's home...
let the despair of not being there... drip on dying bones...
the war within the soldier's core... strips life from broken seed...
what they go through... for who knows who?!... is the paradox of deeds!...
Our military chaplains have
Thu, 08/12/2010 - 00:40 — Pat (not verified)Our military chaplains have a long and honorable history critical to meeting the spiritual needs of those in our armed services. Chaplains who proselytize are in violation of military regulations...and they know it. This is willful and harmful. Those proven to be doing this should definitely be fired.
The article was well
Thu, 08/12/2010 - 00:54 — Anonymous (not verified)The article was well written, although it fails to mention whether or not soldiers are being referred to chaplains from their own faith, i.e., Jewish to Jewish, Catholic to Catholic, Baptist to Baptist, etc. That makes a BIG difference.
Any chaplain who uses his calling to coerce others to abandon whatever belief system they embrace ought to be reprimanded and if said chaplain continues to push beliefs not shared by the soldier being counseled he/she should be removed from his/her post.
It is also unfortunate---but to be expected---that some of those posting here are taking this as an opportunity for Christian bashing. As a Christian (not in the military) I have been targeted for conversion by fundamentalists because I don't belong to the "correct" sect. I have also been waylaid by atheists intent upon converting poor delusional me to their religion of hopelessness. Misery loves company, I guess. And, no, I am never the one to start the religious "discussion." I only share my views with those who want to hear them!
This was covered in M.A.S.H.
Thu, 08/12/2010 - 09:12 — Anonymous (not verified)This was covered in M.A.S.H. Father Mulcahy was there to add the thrill of purience to the tragic comedy. Some 'Muricans love their purience and their wars.
Military Chaplin is an
Sat, 08/14/2010 - 12:35 — Anonymous (not verified)Military Chaplin is an oxymoron
There are abuses within all
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 12:55 — Anonymous (not verified)There are abuses within all professions, excesses that should not devalue the profession itself.
Dr. Astore: I've always
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 15:21 — Frances in California Again - Really Mad Again (not verified)Dr. Astore: I've always admired your articles regarding military and war issues; you've been boots-on-the-ground therefore, no one knows better than you. This time however, you're helping whitewash something the Pentagon has failed to address. Shunting off PTSD vets to spiritual counselors of any flavor is just another way to get out of admitting that the Pentagon has screwed this fight up beyond repair, and doesn't want to assume responsibility for proper care and benefits for vets. It's not the Chaplains who are at fault in the realm where Mikey Weinstein fights, it's the commanders who take advantage of their rank to oppress the service members in their units. That is not to be borne in America. Let the fragging begin.