Military Chaplain tells grieving troops inability to cry is a "blessing"

When I saw the headline, I knew it would be an emotional piece to read. I never expected to be totally pissed off!

Troops from the 10th Mountain Division gathered to honor and grieve for the loss of their friends. They were seeking comfort but instead heard the Chaplain tell them:

“So the numbness you experience, the callous attitude you may have, your inability to cry like normal people during times of grief is not a burden or a curse that you should be concerned about.


It is actually a blessing from God that allows you to continue in this fight.


“You are warriors with hearts of steel that have allowed you to fight a brutal war day in and day out. You are not normal people, you are soldiers, American soldiers who go outside the wire and accomplish your mission in spite of the reality that every step, every movement mounted or dismounted could possibly be your last.”

Yesterday I did a post about how there is more and more demand placed on Chaplains but not enough to go around. DOD manual did no good

The UMT can help Soldiers regain their emotional, psychological, and spiritual strength. The chaplain’s ability to relate religious and spiritual aspects of life to the Soldier’s situation is an essential element of the replenishment process. Chaplains contribute to replenishment by ensuring the following types of religious support:
Providing worship services, sacraments, rites, and ordinances.

Providing memorial services and/or ceremonies honoring the dead.

Assisting with the integration of personnel replacements.

Providing personal counseling to assist Soldiers dealing with the grief process.

Requesting religious resources as required for reinforcing the Soldier’s sense of hope.

Supporting TEM by providing opportunities for Soldiers to talk about their combat experiences and to facilitate integration of the combat experience into their lives.

Providing leadership training and supervision of TEM.

Reconnecting the Soldier to the foundational principles of his personal faith.

Assisting in resolving spiritual, moral, and ethical dilemmas presented by the circumstances of war.

This was issued March 2009. If this is what Chaplains are telling our troops when they are left with the loss of friends, then maybe it goes a long way to explaining why suicides have gone up and why so many still won't ask them for help.

Memorial in Afghanistan stirs soldiers’ emotions as they grapple with combat deaths
By LAURA RAUCH
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 20, 2011
FOB HOWZ-E-MADAD, Afghanistan - A muted laughter echoed under the canopy as a small band of Company C soldiers gathered on a wooden platform.

They talked of small things; unimportant things that made them smile.

But as a gentle music began to play, a somber realism took hold: The members of Company C, 1st Battalion, 32nd Regiment, part of the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y., were there to remember. They took their seats as the other guests settled in around them. Some bowed their heads in prayer. Others began to quietly weep.

A cruel emptiness filled the space as the battalion chaplain, Capt. Omari Thompson, read the names of the soldiers being remembered: Sgt. Edward J. Frank II, 26, of Yonkers, N.Y.; Spc. Jameel T. Freeman, 26, of Baltimore; Spc. Patrick L. Lay II, 21, of Fletcher, N.C.; Spc. Jordan M. Morris, 23, of Stillwater, Okla.; and Pfc. Rueben J. Lopez, 27, of Williams, Calif.
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