FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Fort Campbell is known for having some of the most supportive surrounding communities of any Army post. So when the Installation Chaplain's Office set up a training for their chaplains and chaplain assistants, they invited local spiritual leaders in the community to join them in learning how best to care for Soldiers and their Families dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder March 19 at Liberty Chapel.
The training workshop focused on PTSD and how spiritual leaders can better serve military Families, Veterans and spouses of deployed Soldiers who attend worship services both on and off post.
"The idea just came from a need, a recognized need, because for 14 years now we've experienced things we haven't experienced before and it's just that war changes people," said Chap. (Col.) Terry Austin, garrison chaplain. "And we've done this for so long now that we can't deny the fact that Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are in our communities and they're living with something now for the rest of their lives. They gave a piece of themselves in defending our freedom."
He said in one sense its ministry, but in another it's mental and physical, because all three aspects must be healed in order to heal the person.
"Things will never be the same, but you can live and live well," Austin said. "So that's what we're trying to really say, and it's an educational process for everybody really -- for the community and for post."
Austin said it was important to him that the community members be allowed to train alongside Fort Campbell's chaplains because the same training applies to all the spiritual leaders. He also said it provided an opportunity for the chaplains and community members to get to know one another.
"When they see us and when we see them, we build relationships," he said.
The chaplains took the community leaders on a tour of Fort Campbell to show them what a Soldier's day-to-day is really like.
"If folks aren't really familiar with the military or served with the military they have this unknowing aspect of what a Soldier does," Austin said. "Just to understand the world -- if you want to see how something is made, and you have an interest in that, whether it be a boat or an RV … and you get to go to the factory and see how it's made … and you have a greater appreciation for it. How's a Soldier made?"
He said part of the aim of the training was to take the mystery out of Fort Campbell, because he feels the post is as much a part of the communities as the communities are a part of the post.
Although conversations with chaplains and chaplain assistants are confidential, Austin said not everyone wants to talk to military personnel about their issues. That's where the community spiritual leaders often come into play.
"There's a stigma attached to it," Austin said. "[We] just kind of work through those things to help that person understand it's not what they did, it's what they were exposed to. It's not your fault, it's just something that happened to you. It's not that life is not good, it's just this is what it is and we learn to adapt."
Austin said he'd met a Korean War Veteran who lived with untreated PTSD and as a result had never formed a strong relationship with God after returning home. He said he didn't believe God could forgive him for what he did in Korea, even though he'd only been a teenager when he'd deployed.
"As a 17 year old he experienced stuff that no human being should ever have to experience," Austin said. "That affected his ability to see God as a loving God, forgiving, embracing. So he held God at a distance. He was still hurting in his soul which affected his relationship with God because he couldn't forgive himself."
For the seminar, the Installation Chaplain's Office invited three speakers to discuss different aspects of the disease and how it effects Soldiers and the people around them. Retired Lt. Gen. Hugh Smith talked about the history of PTSD as well as his own experiences with the disorder.
Larry Harrison, director of clinical services for Courage Beyond, spoke from the clinical side of PTSD. He told of how his experiences with Veterans changed the way he viewed the condition, such as dropping the word disorder when he discusses it because of the stigma attached to the word.
"[He spoke] about how to help someone you might suspect of having PTSD," Austin said. "So listening to them and letting them tell their story if they want -- or if they don't want."
Cheryl Shellman, a spouse, spoke to the participants from the perspective of the Families of Wounded Warriors.
"[She] and her husband have experienced several deployments," Austin said. Her husband first deployed in 2001 and he hasn't left the rotation since.
Austin said because the Clarksville-Hopkinsville area is such an ideal place to live, about 26 percent of Veterans choose to stay in the area after they retire, so it's important that the community knows how to deal with the issues that potentially come along with military service.
"It is an issue that we will live with. I will die and we'll still be dealing with these issues," he said. "This generation will have these folks in our communities and churches and stores and everything else for a very, very long time. I thank folks for helping us to help those who have given so much in service to our country."
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