Morale is suffering among chaplains in Canada's Military

Military chaplains losing programs that help them cope
The Canadian Press
Date: Saturday Apr. 9, 2011 11:41 AM ET
HALIFAX — Some chaplains in the Canadian military say they are losing the very programs meant to help them cope with the suicides, marital breakdowns and combat-related stress they face in their work.

Monthly reports prepared for the Chaplain General highlight concerns over funding cuts that are affecting some chaplaincy training courses, retreats and meetings that address the strain of tending to Canadian Forces personnel.

One branch of the chaplaincy in Halifax reported concerns about the loss of these programs at a time when staff are heavily affected by the ongoing combat mission in Afghanistan, post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers and increasing workloads.

"This is particularly disheartening given that many of these programs were put in place to ensure chaplaincy resilience after so many chaplains were lost to PTSD," states a report from last July that was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

"Nearly every chaplain in the (Canadian Forces) has felt the effects of the Afghanistan deployment. Yet we are heading into a period where we will be unable to provide chaplains with the very programs that were developed to mitigate these effects."

The document from last July states that funding for Maritime Forces Atlantic was reduced to $79,000 for that fiscal year, down from $105,000 for the previous year.

It adds that staff are being asked to project the impact of greater cuts in the future.
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Military chaplains losing programs that help them cope