In your time of need, The 14th FTW Chapel staff is here for you

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kaleb Snay
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  In a perfect world, everyday struggles would be nothing more than dust on the shoulder, but in today's world Airmen must deal with stress in their own way.

The Air Force has long since recognized this as truth, which has set in motion over the years several helping agencies such as the Airman and Family Readiness Center and the Mental Health Clinic. One helping agency that can provide assistance for a laundry list of problems or point you in the right direction is the base Chapel.

"Two of our core competencies are providing both spiritual and pastoral care, and advising leaders," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Brian McCormack, 14th Flying Training Wing Chaplain. "Our job as chaplains and chaplain assistants ranges from counseling to conducting worship services, teaching Bible studies and even conducting briefings during Wingman Day events to help ensure Airmen are spiritually resilient. We also help ensure that an Airman's freedom of religion is accommodated."

Although the Chapel offers many programs to help people, some Airmen may still be reluctant about going because of their religious beliefs or lack of beliefs.

"Everyone is welcome at the Chapel," McCormack said. "Sometimes people think 'If I'm going to see the chaplain, it's going to be like a Bible study.' Even though we are happy to study the Bible, we also help people dealing with a wide variety of issues. Seventy percent of the people that come in for counseling are not coming in to talk about religion. Some come in with a spiritual or religious question, others may come in for a work situation, relationship issues, stress or even loneliness. These are all human struggles we deal with every day."

One of the biggest missions for a Chapel team is to provide freedom of religion and religious practices or accommodations.

"We currently offer Catholic and Protestant services, religious education and 100 percent confidential counseling," McCormack said. "Although, we are not always able to provide direct assistance, we always try to help in some way. For example, we don't have a Muslim chaplain at Columbus Air Force Base, so if an individual needs to see an Imam, we will help them to connect with the nearest mosque."

A chaplain may have to deal with similar situations while in a deployed environment. As non-combatants, chaplains must rely on their chaplain assistant to protect them.

"In my words, a Chaplain Assistant is a defender of things that are holy," said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Thompson, 14th FTW Chaplain Assistant. "Chaplains are non-combatants so in deployed situations it's up to us to ensure they remain safe."

Chaplains and chaplain assistants must work as a team to accomplish the Chaplain Corps mission, said McCormack. Being involved with each unit, squadron and group helps show teamwork and support for the Airmen.

"If people know their chaplains and chaplain assistants, it's easier for them to come up and say 'I've been struggling with this problem. What do you think I should do?'" McCormack said.

Sometimes recognition isn't quite enough for an Airman and they might not feel comfortable expressing themselves to a higher ranking individual.

"It all depends on the problem and the person," Thompson said. "Some don't feel comfortable; others only see the rank and get nervous. Talking to an enlisted member may make them feel more comfortable as we have 'chewed the same dirt' so to speak, going through enlisted training. Even though both chaplains and chaplain assistants have 100 percent confidentiality, I would advise they go to the chaplain first as they are highly trained counselors and some even specialize in certain counseling situations."

The 14th FTW Chapel staff is ready to serve and assist with your needs of counseling, religion and more.

"I think the most important thing to remember is that we're here to help," McCormack said. "If you have an issue, there are many great resources in the military and coming to see your chaplain is a great place to start, especially because it's 100 percent confidential. You can come to talk to us, maybe we can meet that need or maybe we can point you in the right direction. We're not here to judge, we're here to encourage and we're here to help."