Male Chaplains and Female Soldiers: Are There Gender and Denominational Differences in Military Pastoral Care?

Abstract

In this study, 15 United States Army chaplain men described the practices they engaged in when providing pastoral support to women soldiers. Many engaged in creating safe spaces for women and themselves, particularly in regard to avoiding perceptions of impropriety. Other clergy did not consider gender a factor in counseling. Some chaplains placed limitations on the amount of support they would give. This study did not determine the degree to which chaplain men were effective.

Keywords

Male chaplain women soldiers pastoral support gender denominational differences

Introduction

The United States (US) Army chaplain corps is predominantly male. Only 5% of chaplains are women (United States Army, 2014). Although the general soldier population is also mostly men, women make up 15% of the overall active duty force (Department of Defense (DD), 2016). To provide emotional and spiritual support to female soldiers, male military chaplains must navigate religious restrictions, confidentiality, and a dual identity as spiritual leaders and commissioned officers. The current qualitative study addresses the lack of research from the male chaplain’s point of view related to cross-gender counseling in a military setting.

To ensure that chaplains can provide effective support to a diverse population, religious leaders must meet rigorous qualifications before they can serve on active duty in the military. Chaplains are ordained and certified, or endorsed, to serve in the military by their faith group and must abide by the tenants of their denominations (DD, 2014). In addition, candidates must have at least 2 years of work experience as religious professionals, a baccalaureate degree of at least 120 hours, and a religious master’s degree of at least 72 hours from an accredited university (DD, 2014).

Chaplains from different religions may have different approaches and restrictions when interacting with female soldiers. For example, Jewish and Islamic religious laws prohibit men and women who are not married from being in seclusion together (Bleich, 2012; Padela & Pozo, 2011). Chaplain associations, such as the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) and the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), set guidelines that address sexual conduct between chaplains and their clients (APC, 2004; NACC, 2014).

One challenge chaplains face is the extent of confidentiality they are required to maintain. Military chaplains, except for National Guard chaplains, do not fall under state laws governing the reporting of suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, or abuse (Norton & Soloski, 2015). A military chaplain cannot disclose client confidences without the counselee’s consent (Norton & Soloski, 2015).

Military Culture

Chaplains do not operate in a vacuum. As military officers, they are part of a larger organization and culture. Denominations acknowledge the predominance of military culture when endorsing military chaplain candidates. For example, a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod newsletter stated that chaplains “become part of the culture, part of the institution, part of the family of warriors even though the chaplain is a noncombatant part of the team” (Muehler, 2015, p. 1). The Evangelical Free Church Alliance (EFCA) handbook for chaplains affirms that “an effective military chaplain is more than an ordained minister who happens to be in the military, but a true military minister. This requires that a prospective chaplain become fully qualified and fully competent in ministry, and also fully competent in the military” (EFCA, 2018, p. 16). Unlike other enlisted men and women who engage in basic training, chaplains, as non-combatants, attend an intensive, outcome-based, 8–12 week Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course (CHBOLC; US Army Chaplain Center and School (USACHCS), 2019). CHBOLC focuses on initial military training, officer skills, multi-faith chaplain ministry and pastoral skills, leadership, and professionalism.

Theoretical Framework and Study Purpose

Recognizing the patriarchal structure of both the military and the majority of religious denominations, this study uses feminist theology, a transformative movement found in many religions including Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism as the theoretical lens. The major tenet of feminist theology is a critical evaluation and reconsideration of patriarchal structures and androcentric philosophies and practices to draw attention to gender dynamics, power inequalities, and the wellbeing of women (Sharma & Young, 2003; Rafferty, 2012; Ruether, 2014). Fundamentally constructive, pluralistic, and ecological (Davaney, 1991) feminist theology lends itself to the examination of pastoral care in the military. In military chaplain support, there is a power imbalance between the counselee and counselor (Norton & Soloski, 2015). Women, as the receivers of pastoral care by chaplains who often outrank them, are in a reduced-power role. Acknowledging the dual identities of military chaplains and drawing on feminist theology, the purpose of this study was to compare the ways in which male chaplains of various religions provide emotional and spiritual support to female soldiers.

Method

Using a descriptive case study design, this study focused on one research question: how do male military chaplains of different religions provide emotional and spiritual support to female soldiers? The University of Phoenix Institutional Review Board approved this study. All chaplain names used in this article are pseudonyms. Participants signed an informed consent form that described the study, explained how chaplains’ identities would be protected, and authorized the audio recording of interviews. To ensure that direct quotes could not identify chaplains or place their careers at risk, participants were given the opportunity to review and approve the interview transcripts. Triangulation was achieved through semi-structured interviews and public sources, including instructional books from the United States Army Chaplain Center and School, US Army regulations, ethics guides from chaplaincy professional organizations, and denominational literature pertaining to cross-gender counseling.

Data Collection and Analysis

Senior Army chaplains agreed to distribute a recruitment email through their networks. Chaplains volunteered by responding to the email or calling the investigators. A total of 15 US Army chaplains were interviewed—eight Protestants, three Catholics, two Orthodox Jews, one Conservative Jew, and one Buddhist. With two exceptions, all semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted in a face-to-face setting. Two interviews were conducted over the phone because the chaplains were stationed overseas. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed by the interviewer. On average, the interviews lasted 30–40 minutes. To protect participants’ confidentiality, their military rank and unit were not collected. Some chaplains were on active duty and others were in the Army Reserve, but this information was not recorded. The list of interview questions is provided in Appendix A. Depending on participants’ responses, other questions were asked to gain further information.

Analysis was carried out independently by the two investigators to increase validity. Cross-case analysis was done by comparing data from one case to another to determine similarities and differences between cases (Houghton et al., 2015) Inductive theme generation followed a four-stage process: comprehending, synthesizing, theorizing, and re-contextualizing (Houghton et al., 2015). Comprehending is the process of initial coding and writing full descriptions. Each investigator read the transcripts line by line from which preliminary codes from each phrase or sentence were generated. Investigator memos noted discoveries, reactions, and emerging patterns. During the synthesis step, codes were consolidated, redundant ones eliminated, and merged into categories. Excel spreadsheets and QCAmap, a web-based software package for qualitative content analysis (Mayring & Fenzi, 2014) was used to assist with the coding process. Memos and data collected from sources outside of the interviews were incorporated into the categories. Theorizing is the process of annotating the relationships between categories resulting in interconnected themes. Re-contextualizing culminated in resulting statements that characterized the significant findings of the study.

Using multiple sources—in-depth interviews, Army regulations, USACHCS guidebooks, denominational sources, and professional association ethics documents—findings were corroborated. The case study database and chain of evidence, consisting of the QCAmap web application, interview transcripts, and a journal, provided a way for the co-author to verify results and conclusions.

Results

Demographics

All 15 chaplains were serving in the US Army at the time of the interviews. Six of the Protestant chaplains belonged to evangelical denominations: Missouri Synod Lutheran; Evangelical Free Church in America; Nazarene; Church of God, Cleveland Tennessee; and Evangelical Church Alliance. Two participants were members of mainline Protestant groups: Episcopal and United Church of Christ. Two of the Jews were Orthodox and one was Conservative. One of the Orthodox Jews said he was Hasidic. According to this chaplain, Hasidism is a “super strict” version of Judaism, meaning that he observed all religious laws, including those related to cross-gender relations, according to the strictest rabbinic interpretation.

As a point of comparison with the denominational composition of this study, over 60% of US military chaplains are evangelicals (Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, n.d.). Less than 10% of chaplains are Catholic and only 1% are Jewish. Buddhists represent less than 0.1% of the chaplain population. The following sections describe the most significant findings from the study.

Providing Support

As representatives of denominations, chaplains drew upon their own historical and spiritual texts as well as interdenominational texts to inform their support to women soldiers. Seven categories helped conceptualize how chaplain men provided support to woman soldiers: ministry philosophy, sensitivity to accusations, creating safe spaces, transference, counseling, confidentiality, and referrals.

Ministry Philosophy

In terms of ministry philosophy, most chaplains stated they did not consider gender in the way they approached pastoral support. Two of the three Catholics, two of the three Jews, half of the Protestants, and the one Buddhist stated they thought of clients as individuals or that they treated men and women the same. Mike (a Protestant chaplain) recognized “that there are gender differences,” but stated, “I don’t think gender is a factor in counseling soldiers at this time. I just kind of see them as a soldier.” Aharon (a Jewish Chaplain), summarized:

I see them as a person. If a soldier comes to me and they are struggling with time management, there's no difference between a male or a female, or a SHARP [Sexual Harassment and Assault Response Program] issue or an EO [equal opportunity] before they go to their representative or SHARP [person].

Although overarching philosophies were non-gendered, there were occasions where Chaplains drew upon strong female role models to support women soldiers. Esther, Jewish Queen of the Persian King Ahasuerus, known for interceding on behalf of the Jewish people of the kingdom and preventing their annihilation serves as an accomplished woman in the Jewish tradition. Several Buddhist female divinities and female deities, including the war goddess Marishiten, provide examples of women in leadership roles.

Sensitivity to Accusations

Of the 15 chaplains, with representatives from every religion in the study, 11 talked about avoiding accusations. Gary (a Catholic chaplain) freely admitted:

With [a] female I would say that I'm more worried about being accused of inappropriate behavior. So what I do is I counsel them with my office door open and with another soldier within eyesight of the counseling session. For male soldiers, I would say that I'm more relaxed.

Larry, a fairly young Protestant chaplain, reflected:

As a male, it doesn't matter whether you did anything. If there's the impression that there was something inappropriate, and that people start saying, oh we saw a chaplain hanging out with specialist so-and-so. Well, the specialist so-and-so might really need help, but they're a young, bubbly female and you're a 40- or 50-year-old male, it's not really appropriate.

According to Yancey (a Protestant chaplain), the fear of accusations was enforced by senior chaplains and instructors at USACHCS, the formal training center for chaplains, “we heard it at our chaplain school . . . and we had several meetings with the brigade chaplain and we would always bring up the subject of that.”

More than one chaplain made a statement such as Protestant Jim, who believed that today’s culture meant you had to worry about being accused by either sex:

These days everything goes with sexual identity, except for maybe the more conservative chaplains, people have to be careful of perceptions across the board. I mean, if you're too affectionate with a guy and you're a guy, somebody might think you're a homosexual. It's not just members of the opposite sex.

Creating Safe Spaces

Creating safe spaces was important both physically as well as relationally. The office door was a point of emphasis for most chaplains. One Orthodox Jew, two Catholics, and four Protestants stated that they kept the door open or ajar in sessions with women. Aharon said he followed the same practice for men. Chaplains defended this practice by saying they could maintain the confidentiality of the client because although people could see that someone was visiting the chaplain, the conversation itself was private. Aharon (a Jewish chaplain) admitted that leaving the door open could lead to a breach in confidentiality. If the client did not feel comfortable with the door open, Aharon would close it. To this Orthodox Jew, accommodating the soldier was the most important thing, but his common practice was to leave the door ajar.

The tactic of leaving the door open or having an assistant nearby resembled the Jewish yichud law requirements. None of the participants, including the Jews, referenced this law. Although the Jewish law is designed to prevent inappropriate physical relationships (Bleich, 2012), the emphasis from chaplains was avoiding accusations and/or creating a safe space for both chaplain and counselee. As Bill (a Protestant chaplain) shared,

Specifically, I meet with female counselees in an environment that is safe for both of us so that either there is an open door or the ability of someone to walk in, or just a protection for relationships, an environment of security that allows them to feel free to share, which means it's not an environment where the counseling's overheard by other people but it's an environment where someone walking by could either see in or be able to walk in . . . Providing a safe environment where the person has the assurance that they're not going to be victimized. Particularly, a lot of people come to counseling having already been victimized already and I want to set an environmental standard that assures them of safety and that they're not gonna be victimized again.

Neither the Army regulation for chaplains (Department of the Army (DA), 2015) nor the USACHCS guidebooks (Hardin 2017a, 2017b) formally describe this practice of leaving the door ajar.

Creating safe spaces physically is also important where lines of the sacred and profane are blurred (Eliade, 1957). Unlike non-military spiritual leaders that can use buildings (e.g., a Church), rituals, and symbols, military Chaplains use the same offices as other counselors. And as Benjamin (a Jewish chaplain) insightfully pointed out, “we wear a uniform in the Army … so you've already diminished the distance because you're not even dressed differently.” Manipulation of physical space is needed to set boundaries of difference.

Finally, creating safe spaces also applies to the recognition of power dynamics. Curtis (a Protestant chaplain) provided an overview of how military rank can impede a pastoral encounter:

In the Army, I would say the power dynamic of rank, especially how can I get a private to talk to me, a lieutenant to talk to me, or the other way. A lieutenant colonel or colonel might not talk to me because he doesn't think he can tell a captain his problems. The power dynamic of where we are at in that structure, in that hierarchy, and then what can I do to mitigate it either way to help them feel safer.

Transference

Besides accusations, chaplains also worried about soldiers trying to cross professional boundaries or succumbing to erotic transference. Half of the Protestants and one Catholic commented on this concern. Ronald (a Catholic chaplain) revisited his experience with this problem:

This happened once or twice, is if they are attracted to me, and they're not really coming to me for counseling with a problem, they're trying to think of a problem so that they could spend time, kind of an appointment, they're just talking about things.

Although chaplains were sensitive to the possibilities of improprieties, none of them said they avoided providing pastoral support to women.

Counseling

During interviews, chaplains discussed how they approached counseling. Some chaplains saw themselves more as short-term problem solvers than counselors. Two Jews and four Protestants made a point to say they were not highly trained counselors. In contrast, all three of the Jews, two Catholics, and two Protestants talked about problem solving as one of their main jobs. A common theme among them was that they did not give soldiers answers but helped them find the solutions for themselves.

Other chaplains established counseling limits. Two chaplains, a Jew and a Protestant, specified that if the problem could not be fixed in three sessions, then they referred clients to someone else. Another Protestant limited his sessions to five. One chaplain limited his availability to 45 minutes, whereas another worked with clients for no more than 30 minutes. Participants established these limits because either they did not feel properly trained for long-term counseling, a soldier’s problem was too complex, or they simply did not have enough time for counseling amid their other duties. Bill (a Protestant) summarized:

Certain behavioral issues, addictions, deep-rooted sexual trauma, relationship enmeshment are things that cannot be solved. I can care for their souls. I can help them establish their identity or help them reestablish their identity as a person of worth in the eyes of God and others, but for those long-term mental health issues, they need to be seeing someone else.

In the experience of two of the participants, more than one counseling session was rarely needed for most soldier problems.

Every participant was asked about barriers woman soldiers might face seeking quality pastoral support. In total, 11 chaplains dismissed the idea of barriers and felt that ministers provided effective support to the women in their units. One Jew and three Protestants offered alternative perspectives. Nathan (a Jewish chaplain) and Daniel (a Protestant) commented on their communication style. With men, they tended to be more straightforward and plain in their language during counseling, whereas with a woman, they were more concerned about saying things in a way that did not offend the person or give the wrong impression.

Frederick (a Protestant chaplain) criticized some fellow chaplains for not wanting to spend the time it takes to help a woman. Not all clients are the same, but Frederick gives women the time they need in his office to work out their issues. This process can take more time than some chaplains are willing to spend.

Confidentiality

Military chaplains and their assistants have complete confidentiality with the soldiers who come to see them, meaning that a chaplain cannot reveal anything discussed between him and a client without the soldier’s expressed permission (DA, 2015). Chaplains see this confidentiality as a major benefit for soldiers. According to Aharon (a Jewish chaplain):

Confidentiality is the most important thing for me … I think that's the only thing that makes chaplains a special peer than the other ones. I believe that if confidentiality is breached, you're done as a chaplain in that unit … Once a chaplain is marked by his unit's guys, that he's not an okay chaplain [snaps his fingers], finished. He can stay there another one and a half years. No one's going to talk to him.

Chaplains were asked to describe how they maintained confidentiality while keeping the door open. Participants felt that even with their door ajar, their offices were away from personnel traffic areas and the actual content of their conversations were private. Chaplains were also quick to point out that if they felt that a conversation might be overheard, they would conduct the session in a different place.

Referrals

In reference to sexual violence, five chaplains mentioned they referred woman soldiers to a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program representative. The SAPR program is multi-tiered and includes several people that work with survivors of sexual violence. Sexual assault response coordinators (SARCs) are assigned at each army installation and help commanders implement SAPR in their units, oversee unit victim advocates, and advise survivors on their reporting options (DA, 2014). Victim advocates (VAs) provide crisis intervention, referrals to medical and legal providers, and support throughout the survivor’s medical and legal proceedings. Chaplains turned to SARCs and VAs because they offered additional expertise and resources to help women recover from assaults and seek justice.

There were other experts that chaplains turned to when they felt they were out of their depth or needed additional support. Experts included behavioral health professionals, Military Family Life Counselors, and licensed counselors. Chaplains also turned to the Veterans Administration and Vet Centers for help.

Chaplains held different philosophies about referring soldiers to woman chaplains. For certain issues, Leonard (a Catholic) said, “In general I would say, it's probably better for women to help women with a lot of sexual issues and men to help men with a lot of sexual issues but I wouldn't make an absolute law about it.”

Two chaplains said they never had to refer soldiers to chaplain women. Two others said that woman soldiers did not prefer to receive support from chaplains of the same gender. Larry (a Protestant) said he never referred a soldier to a stranger. Whether another chaplain or a mental health provider, Larry had to know and trust the person before he would refer someone to them.

In reference to referrals, the basic guidebook for chaplains states chaplains should refer soldiers when “the issue is outside of your scope of practice or boundaries, you are not trained on a particular issue, personal issues arise, the soldier requests a referral, or there are specific limitations set by your endorsing agency” (Hardin, 2017b, p. 8). Acknowledging that “chaplains are not normally trained to treat domestic violence, suicidality, personality or mood disorders, or homicidal ideations” (Hardin, 2017b, p. 8), chaplains are advised to seek guidance from their “supervisory chaplains or Family Life chaplains [ministers with special counseling certifications] prior to treatment in these cases” (Hardin, 2017b, p. 8).

Discussion

Chaplains maintained that their ministry philosophies, which were based on non-gendered justice and equity, guided their counseling of women soldiers. Yet, their behavioral practices indicated a heightened awareness of gender and sexuality. Anthropological studies have shown that societies rely on “models for” and “models of” reality grounding their social practices in the actual world they live in (Geetrz, 1973; Shilbrack, 2005). According to feminist ethnography, people's experiences should be contextualized to reflect the ways that race, class, and nation are intersecting with gender and sexuality (Davis & Craven, 2016; McGuirk, 2018).

The concern over being falsely accused of inappropriate behavior was prevalent in that nearly all chaplains mentioned it and took steps to avoid it. Chaplains responded to the cultural shift towards the acceptance of diverse sexual identities with increased fear of false accusations. In general, chaplains received little formal guidance from their denominations, seminary training, or the Army in how to avoid accusations, transference, or inappropriate relationships.

More than half of participants said they were not trained social or mental health counselors. The army regulation governing chaplains states that “pastoral care and counseling is an essential capability of the Chaplain Corps” (DA, 2015, p. 44). The religious support handbook that all chaplains receive in their basic training course states that chaplains should see themselves as expert pastoral counselors (Hardin, 2017b). All participants understood their duty as spiritual counselors and readily referred counselees to social workers, mental health providers, family support resources, and appropriate reporting channels.

Feminist theories posit that the term woman is a false generic (Neuger, 2001). Women, like men, are unique individuals. Although the lack of guidelines and training, as well as many chaplains’ philosophies of treating woman soldiers as individuals, might seem to attest to the uniqueness of each woman, what is lacking is the other aspect of feminist counseling theories, which is the recognition that women work and live in societies that are dominated by misogyny, sexism, false narratives about female immorality, and power structures that favor men (Neuger, 2001; Rafferty, 2012; Ruether, 2014). As Larry attested, the military itself is a place where sexual predators seek vulnerable women. In general, women experience the military in a different way than men (Roberts, Kovacich, & Rivers, 2017). The presence of predators, victim blaming, and the uniqueness of the women soldiers’ experiences all speak to the need for training from USACHCS, denominations, and seminaries on the issues that shape women’s lives. Treating a woman without understanding her identity as a soldier is dismissive of her experience.

Chaplains mentioned taking steps to avoid transference and inappropriate relationships. Feminist counseling theories tend to dismiss the concepts of transference and countertransference as fictitious or pathologizing (Brown, 2001; Takemura, 2011). What feminist therapists do acknowledge is that in the course of a therapeutic relationship, both client and counselor can experience an array of strong emotions that can affect the relationship between the two individuals (Brown, 2001; Sherman, 2002; Takemura, 2011). Although erotic feelings for a counselor or client may occur, strategies for preventing these emotions from hindering a positive counseling relationship have been suggested in the psychotherapy literature (Brown, 2001; Sherman, 2002; Takemura, 2011).

Victim blaming was one of the barriers mentioned by chaplain Curtis (a Protestant). He said some chaplains who perceive a sexual assault survivor to be promiscuous are less willing to provide pastoral care. Extant literature supports the notion that sexually indiscriminate women are less likely to get help, more likely to be blamed, and less likely to be believed than conservative women (Harrison et al., 2008; Rebeiz & Harb, 2010; GRACE, 2014).

A few chaplains felt the best way to take care of women soldiers was to refer them to female chaplains, but in a previous study concerned with women soldiers and chaplain care, participants did not express a preference for female clergy (Roberts et al., 2017). In terms of counseling skills, male clergy need to be adept at helping soldiers work through emotional trauma of all kinds, assisting sexual assault survivors, asking open-ended questions to draw out clients’ feelings, and providing care for anxiety and depression (Roberts et al., 2017).

Recommendations

Chaplain Protestant Curtis advocated for sensitivity training for chaplains. He felt that using videos, vignettes, and real-to-life scenario training would help ministerial men be more empathetic to the pain that women service members sometimes experience. Such education might encourage chaplains to wholeheartedly engage with woman soldiers when providing pastoral support. Part of that training should include strategies for maintaining an appropriate counseling relationship amid the strong emotions that pass between client and counselor. Training materials should also be sought and incorporated from programs already well versed in gender and sexuality counseling. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs National Chaplain Center provides instruction to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) veterans (Kopacz et al., 2019)

Denominations should reconsider the guidelines they provide to their clergy. The instructions should acknowledge that women service members experience the military in a different way than men. Most military chaplains are men and White, so women, LGBT and questioning soldiers, and other minorities belong to the outgroup. Research shows that outgroup members are less trusted than ingroup members (Harrison et al., 2008; Rebeiz & Harb, 2010). Ministers should receive training on ingroup/outgroup and gender bias. Educators should expose ministers to the facts of misogyny and patriarchy and challenge them to critically evaluate providing care to women. Denominational guidelines should stress the importance of conducting counseling in a setting that does not expose clients to the possibility of a loss of confidentiality or privacy.

Limitations and Future Research

The qualitative case study method does not enable the generalization of findings to the entire population of chaplain men. One limitation of the study was that there was no way to determine how effective chaplains were in providing support to women. The types of questions also limited the research. Questions were restricted to how chaplains provided support to women but did not ask how they ministered to men. No comparison between pastoral care for men and women is possible. Interview questions centered on philosophies, guidelines, and possible barriers. These questions limited participants’ responses and might have prevented chaplains from describing other important aspects of their ministries to women. For instance, sexual violence came up as a subject only because chaplains mentioned it, not because it was a principle topic of questioning.

Future research could investigate the overall effectiveness of chaplain men by surveying women soldiers about their experiences with male chaplains. In a study by Roberts et al. (2017), seven out of 10 women experienced a lack of support from chaplain men, but this was a Delphi study with a small population. A second avenue to investigate in future research would be how non-heterosexual soldiers perceive chaplain support. Some denominations, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, are strict in their stance on homosexuality and do not allow chaplains to perform same-sex marriages, provide relationship counseling to gay couples, assist anyone leading same-sex relationship training, or participate in a worship service that is led by a chaplain or a volunteer who affirms homosexuality (Ebert, 2013). Looking at both chaplains and counselees, a study on how participants perceive their religion, construct rituals, and personally embody their beliefs may enhance the pastoral encounter. Additional studies on the creation of sacred space may lead to the identification of boundary setting, helping to create familiar and safer spaces for those seeking spiritual support and those providing it.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the University of Phoenix under a grant from the Office of Scholarship Support.

ORCID iD

Daniel L. Roberts

Daniel L. Roberts has been serving in the U.S. Army chaplaincy for over 18 years. His ground-breaking work, entitled, A Comprehensive Plan for Providing Chaplaincy Support to Wounded Female Soldiers: A Delphi Study, integrated the needs of wounded female soldiers and the expertise of female chaplains to develop a cutting-edge model of support for women in the military. His current research centers around moral injury in servicewomen. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: droberts@chaplainconsultants.com.

Joann Kovacich is Associate Faculty at the School of Advanced Studies, University of Phoenix. She is an applied anthropologist, qualitative researcher, and program evaluator. She has co-developed several self-study web-based modules for health care professionals in the area of aging, Alzheimer research, interdisciplinary rural health care delivery, medication management, trans-cultural communication, and evidence-based complementary therapies for palliative care. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: jkovacich@email.phoenix.edu.

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