REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama -- When the external warrior needs an internal healer, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command Chaplain's Office team is ready to deploy.
Chaplain (Col.) John W. "Jack" Shedd, command chaplain, supervises and coordinates religious support for command Soldiers and their families, Department of the Army civilians, and other authorized personnel. Shedd is responsible to train and mentor religious support teams in critical areas to include suicide prevention, counseling, family and other spiritual fitness programs, while encouraging and strengthening spiritual vitality and resiliency across the command.
"We support everyone in the command -- Soldiers, civilians and their family members," Shedd said. "Most of the people I counsel are civilians. My time is predominantly in Huntsville, but I also do site visits to Colorado Springs, Colorado; Fort Greely, Alaska; and make an occasional appearance at Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. We rely on the religious support teams of 1st Space Brigade, to include the 1st Space Battalion and the 53rd Signal Battalion, to help provide coverage (in Colorado Springs) in our absence.
"They have ably served with many of the same support events, to include memorial ceremonies," he added. "The 49th Missile Defense Battalion at Fort Greely has its own religious support team and a garrison team under Installation Management Command. Kwaj has two civilian religious support contractors, one Protestant and one Catholic, on site."
The religious support team advises the SMDC commanding general and staff regarding matters relating to religion, morale support and spiritual well-being, including impact of religion on operations. They also foster cooperation with, and support of, the religious affairs missions of U.S. Strategic Command and installations where SMDC assets are present.
"The Army's chaplaincy initially came into being primarily to ensure that Soldiers were able to exercise their Constitutional freedom of religion in deployed, frequently austere environments during times of conflict," Shedd said. "Chaplains and religious affairs specialists, formerly known as chaplain assistants, train with their Soldiers and go through the same professional development for just that purpose. Of course, civilians also accompany these troops across the modern battlefield, which knows no 'front line' any longer. They, too, have the same rights and limited opportunities for religious expression, so are also supported. We practice in garrison what we must do while deployed, or train as we fight.
"In an Army Service Component Command headquarter like SMDC/ARSTRAT, where we are not a specifically deploying entity, our role is, at the strategic level, to advise the command on the impact of religion on mission," Shedd said. "Since SMDC's personnel are spread across the globe, that means that we do all we can to ensure that all SMDC assets have access to and support for their particular religious practices, wherever they may be."
Besides discussing what the team does for SMDC personnel located around the world, Shedd talked about the importance of suicide prevention training and how suicides are happening globally, especially with veterans. The suicide prevention training SMDC provides is part of the resources to make people aware of possible warning signs and different avenues to help someone who is considering suicide.
"We value people," Shedd said. "Every person who decides that life is overwhelming and takes his or her own life is a significant loss of someone who was valued by the communities in which he or she was a part -- whether in a family, unit, social club, etc. Unfortunately, suicide rates in the Army, both male and female, have increased well past those of the general American population.
"The loss of any members of a unit or command leaves a hole once uniquely filled; it can significantly impact the morale and function of the unit," he added. "Our Army Family believes that people matter, and that we need one another to complete our various missions successfully. Therefore we train suicide awareness and prevention in the hope of holding onto our valued colleagues, of keeping them present as we work together for a greater good, namely securing our nation's interests."
Shedd then spoke of spiritual resiliency and why it is important for members of SMDC to be able to bounce back from adversity. He talked about how his team provides spiritual resiliency training and how the training may help them become more resilient in the work environment and in everyday life.
"Resiliency refers to an object's ability to return to its original form after being bent, compressed or stretched," Shedd said. "Think along the lines of elastic or a rubber ball. But the concept of resiliency has been applied to humans, referring to their ability to recover from illness, depression or adversity.
"In the Army, resiliency training revolves around activities that help individuals improve their overall health and well-being before adversity strikes," he added. "This increases both individual and unit readiness. The Army has codified this in its Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program, which looks at ways to promote health across five dimensions of strength: physical, social, family, emotional and spiritual."
Shedd said strengthening these elements before adversity strikes helps build inner strength and SMDC's spiritual resiliency training efforts, in conjunction with the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness resiliency training orchestrated by the Command Surgeon's Office, are intended to help personnel not simply survive adversity, but emerge from it even stronger.
"Resilience is the ability to bounce back and recover from the challenges and setbacks of life," said Abigale Ricks, SMDC Readiness and Resilience coordinator. "The way we think about obstacles and process these experiences internally has a direct correlation to how we respond outwardly. Thankfully, resilience can be learned and practiced. That is what the resilience program is here for.
"We need resilient Warfighters," she continued. "We also need those supporting them, families and DA civilians, to face adversity with resilience. The Department of the Army has weathered obstacles and uncertainty. In recent years, fiscal constraints have added increased pressure and demands. The Army Family (Soldiers, civilians, and their families) must not only survive these challenges, but thrive in the midst of them.
"The chaplain is our command's lead for all things related to the spiritual dimension of resilience," Ricks added. "Since our office oversees the resilience program as a whole, the SMDC Command Surgeon's Office keeps open communication channels with the chaplain's office and we support each other as needed. The chaplain represents our command on one of the Community Health Promotion Council's working groups."
Also supporting Shedd on the religious support team is a subject matter expert who coordinates with the chaplain to execute the commanding general's religious program.
"I advise and assist the command chaplain with religious support, policies, and training initiatives throughout SMDC/ARSTRAT consisting of more than 1,000 military and 850 civilian personnel dispersed globally to approximately 16 locations," said Sgt. 1st Class Miguel A. Martinez-Velazquez, senior religious affairs specialist noncommissioned officer in charge. "I also review and recommend policy changes to Army Service Component Commands, Department of the Army and Department of Defense for religious support operations, as well as manage force structure and assignment processes for the chaplain section."
Shedd reiterated that if there is ever a time when situations get out of control or people need someone to speak with, they are free to contact the office at 955-5027.
"We're here, or can get someone for you, any time you need a sounding board," Shedd said. "Call us, day or night."
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