Chaplains are often the first line of defense for service members’ moral and spiritual concerns. They provide counsel in theater to help service members cope with battlefield experiences and face new challenges after returning home. Military chaplains and behavioral health providers have intersecting roles in providing care to service members and their families.

Chaplains Committee

Recognizing their overlapping roles, as well as the importance of spirituality in well-being and readiness, the Psychological Health Center of Excellence sponsored a Chaplains Committee (formerly the Chaplains Working Group) to provide a forum for discussion and to share resources enabling collaboration between the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs and civilian chaplains and mental health care providers regarding common needs, concerns, and suggestions.

Quarterly Webinars

Through quarterly webinars, chaplains and mental health care providers learned about and discussed the latest evidence on common issues in order to ensure the best support to service members and their families. The last Chaplains Committee quarterly webinar was held in May 2021. 

Previous webinars have addressed:

• Moral injury and posttraumatic stress disorder
• Sexual assault
• Substance misuse
• Suicide prevention
• Psychological health
• Confidentiality
• Legal and ethical issues

An archive of past webinar materials, as well as additional training videos and resources for chaplains and mental health care providers, is available on the Psychological Health and Chaplaincy website on the MAX.gov platform. (Register with your Common Access Card or federal email address.)

If you have any questions about the Chaplains Committee, please send an email to osd.afcb5120@mail.mil.

Confidentiality Webinar

Access the presentation and audio recording file from the September 2020 webinar on confidentiality of communications between chaplains and service members.

Chaplain Resources

• Air Force Chaplain Corps
• Army Chaplain Corps