Chaplain (Maj. General) Thomas Solhjem, the Army’s chief of chaplains, visited the Installation Management Command headquarters at Fort Sam Houston Sept. 8 to meet with Randy Robinson, IMCOM executive deputy to the commanding general, and other senior leaders at Joint Base San Antonio, about the Spiritual Readiness Initiative in support of the Army’s life worth living campaign.
“Chaplain Solhjem visits garrisons to talk about spirituality and the impact it has on those most in need,” said Chaplain (Col.) Zell, the IMCOM command chaplain. “It builds resilience for Soldiers, helps with readiness, and is protective against harmful behaviors.”
Chaplain Solhjem was in San Antonio to speak at the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps senior enlisted advisory group and also spent time with the IMCOM chaplain office team.
Chaplain Zell, provided information on the global impact of IMCOM Religious Support. With 600 religious support personnel, 320 chapels, 28 family life centers and more than 14,000 volunteers, IMCOM is the tip of the spear for support of Soldiers and families.
“I love seeing how our collaboration, and work with the chief of chaplains, supports the broader vision of religious support across IMCOM and the Army,” said Zell.
Religious services also helps with the emotional aspect of holistic health by offering counseling services. There are more than 40 family life chaplains across IMCOM.
“These chaplains have a masters in counseling from accredited institutions,” said Zell, who is a licensed professional counselor himself. “Many are certified marriage and family therapists and work in parallel with mental health providers.”
There are 28 family life centers across the globe where trained chaplains provide about 135,000 counseling sessions each year.
Moving forward, IMCOM religious services will continue to provide comprehensive religious support for Soldiers and families through worship, religious education, and pastoral care and counseling.
“The future of IMCOM is going to be more closely aligned with units delivering iterative religious support in coordination with chapel communities and other helping agencies,” said Zell.
To learn more about the religious services available at your garrison, visit https://home.army.mil/imcom/index.php/customers/chaplains.
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