Survivors of the fallen have a new advocate on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
Kristi Pappas began work as the Survivor Outreach Services coordinator for Army Community Service March 9. The Kansas City, Missouri, native is an Army veteran who retired in 2014 after 23 years of service in the Chaplain Corps.
"I was raised Greek Orthodox in a Catholic neighborhood," she said with a laugh. "My mom was Lutheran. My dad was Orthodox. I went to a Methodist church and my best friend was Jewish."
Pappas has been a music therapist since 1980 and was a pastor prior to joining the Army. She said creativity in all its forms, whether it be art, music, writing or yoga, can help people cope with traumatic life events. She has used her music therapy and creative arts skills throughout her career.
"My ultimate goal is to open a creative arts and spirituality center for post-traumatic stress because God created us to be creative," she said.
During her Army service, Pappas was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and deployed for a year to Kuwait, among other assignments. What remained almost a constant for Pappas at all her duty stations was her work with families of the fallen.
"Loss is a spiritual issue," she said. "Yes, you physically die, but you leave people behind and our society still hasn't accepted it's the circle of life."
As a chaplain, Pappas served on notification teams her whole career as family members were informed that their Soldier had died. She logged her first death notification during her first month of active duty service while she was stationed at Fort Drum, New York.
"Back then, they didn't have the training for the CNOs (casualty notification officers)," she said. "The assumption was as a chaplain you know how to do this and you can work with the other officer to train him or her."
SOS is an Army Community Service program designed to provide both short- and long-term assistance to the survivors of Soldiers who die while on active duty.
"Our mission is taking care of the survivors of the fallen," she said.
And that care can take many forms, from providing a shoulder for survivors to cry on to helping them manage finances, Pappas said.
"We're there as a support system to get them the help they need," she explained. "I can be there as much as they need."
Pappas specifically works with surviving family members who need grief resources and assistance with other non-financial issues that may come up.
Pappas also said she has a problem with the term "survivor" and thinks it should be replaced with the world "thriver."
"That means we've re-engaged life and we're able to not only move on, but to work within our loss and understand the new normal. If you don't thrive, you're stuck," she said.
For more information on SOS on the joint base, call 703-696-8846/8847. The office is located in Building 203 on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base.
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