Chaplains learning to help with PTSD

Special cadre thrives in role of being part pastor, part soldier
Chaplains use knowledge gained in military classes to help soldiers coping with mental health issues
By Deborah Horan | Chicago Tribune reporter
August 12, 2008
Rev. Greg Moser keeps a stack of books on jihad in Asia next to a copy of the Bible in his office. He stores a "battle book" in a drawer at United in Faith Lutheran Church in northwest Chicago. And when Moser is not tending to his flock, the fit pastor with a buzz cut is learning to decode signs of mental stress on the battlefield.

Far from the role of Rev. John Mulcahy, the wisecracking chaplain portrayed on the TV series "M*A*S*H," chaplains sent to support troops in Iraq and Afghanistan today increasingly are being tapped to deal with the darker side of combat, including recognizing the signs of post traumatic stress disorder and potential suicide while they help train soldiers to mentally transition in and out of battle.

"We don't just veg out and say prayers all day," said Moser, 43, who enlisted to become a military chaplain eight years ago, long after he was ordained.

Chaplains always have been on war fronts to cater to soldiers' spiritual needs. Most soldiers never need a battlefield pastor beyond church services and an occasional sympathetic ear. But as the military tackles a rising suicide rate and increased instances of PTSD, it has turned to chaplains to help stem combat-related stress disorders.

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Out of all the emails I receive on the videos I've done, PTSD Not God's Judgment seems to have served an untouched part of this wound. It's the one video I found excuses to not make. I just finally gave in and did it after an email from a veteran who was dealing with God's judgment. I replied to him and told him that it was not God who was judging him, but he was judging God's love. When you consider that God created the archangel Michael before He created mankind, that says something right there. Michael is the warrior angel, created to serve and protect. He's been the patron Saint of military, police and fire departments.

It's very hard to see God's love when you deal with what man does to man in war and in violence here at home. It's very hard to not feel judged by God when combat soldiers have to kill or a police officer has to kill to protect others. Yet God knows what is in their heart and why they did what they did. If it was a mistake, a rash decision, or an act of anger, He knows. He also knows what was in the heart and mind of those who participate. If you believe you did something wrong, look into your own heart and see what was there at the moment. If your heart was not in the right place, then ask God to forgive you. Then ask Him to help you heal. If your heart was in the right place, then ask Him to help you to forgive yourself. Then ask Him to help you heal. Never think for a second there is anything that is not possible for God. After all, He sent your soul to live within your body and He knew you before you came.