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2011 NCMAF Annual Conference
The NCMAF Conference is always an interesting and educational conference. Every year it is held in Alexandria, VA.
Chaplain Colonel Eric Wester presented the results of a research project. It showed the results of a survey of US land forces in the combat zone of Iraq, collected in the summer of 2009. It was called the Army’s Excellence in Character, Ethics, and Leadership (EXCEL) survey. It measured spirituality as one of the individual variables among soldiers. Spirituality is expressed using composite score and three discrete factors. The three factors of spirituality in this study are connection to others, religious identification and hopeful outlook. Chaplain Wester discussed the statistical significant correlations between higher scores of spirituality with measures of ethics and the resilience of Soldiers. Specifically, spirituality correlates positively with five factors of ethics, such as moral courage and moral confidence, as well as increased psychological and physical resilience.
Chaplain Captain Erick Harp of the United States Air Force gave a keynote address during the luncheon. It showed the hardship and reality of serving during wartime. It was a moving address.
The film clip “Chaplains Under Fire”, a documentary, that NCMAF attendees were given a sneak peek of, was quite informative. Round-table discussions on selected clips produced interesting dialogue among the participants at the conference. Chaplain Endorsers from different faiths agreed how important it was for the Chaplains to be available to all faiths. They remarked that soldiers facing death, injury and hardship on the battle field need compassion and spiritual guidance from their Chaplains. During these times, religion is universal, and compassion is ministered to all by all faiths.
Posted on January 14, 2011