Community Magazine August 2019

34 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE R’ Berdugo with General Walsh, former Air Force Chief of Staff. Rabbi Berdugo with his staff at Lackland. R’ Berdugo on recruiting trip in Cincinnati, Ohio. The designation of chaplain is generic. Once a chaplain is assigned to a unit or squadron, he becomes their chaplain, the person to go to, regardless of one’s religious beliefs, for emotional, psychological, and spiritual guidance and support. “If people are comfortable with you because they’ve gotten to know you through their squadron, they are more likely to open up to you, which is what the military wants,” Rabbi Berdugo explains. Chaplains Help Soldiers with Mental Health and Spiritual Issues Most issues that chaplains encounter are relationship-based, or are the result of work-related stress. Over the years, the military has changed - it has become more technical and computerized. Spending time enclosed within cubicles is taxing on the body and the mind. Also, recruits are generally between the ages of 18 to 26 years old; many are unprepared for the rigors of military life. San Antonio is, after all, a boot camp. “We tell them that the Air Force and the military are not for everybody. If it is not for them, usually within two weeks they are home.” Why would a soldier go to speak to a chaplain and not a health care professional? Even today, there is a stigma attached to seeing a mental health practitioner, and a fear that doing so could adversely affect their career prospects. Rabbi Berdugo is trained to listen and to guide, not to solve emotional problems. Whatever is shared with him stays between him and the soldier who has approached him for help. There are no records kept. If there is a mental health matter, Rabbi Berdugo recommends they see a professional therapist, but the individual ultimately decides whether to follow up on his advice or not. For the most part, a chaplain provides a safe space to enable these young men and women to discuss personal issues without fear of professional consequences. The issue of Gd does not arise unless the patient brings it up on his own. If they believe in Gd, the chaplain advises them to strengthen their relationship with Gd, but does not say how to go about doing it. "As for Jews, if I feel there is a spiritual spark inside of him or her, obviously I will push the handle to see how far I can go in mekareving them. I've had some success. However, generally, I listen more than I speak.” PTSD in the Military Over the past decade, the military has seen a marked increase in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suicide attempts, especially among young recruits. PTSD is a direct consequence of deployment in war zones. Witnessing horrific events can equally affect the young and inexperienced as well as the older, more experienced military personnel. “I had a supervisor with a promising career who was forced to retire because of PTSD. It was that bad,” Rabbi Berdugo recalls. The military takes these matters very seriously. To counter possible PTSD challenges, the military works on increasing spiritual resiliency to halt the development of PTSD, and the military also works on suicide prevention. Drug or alcohol addictions, for example, often can indicate a spiritual void. Still, when issues of addictions arise, Gd is never discussed. Instead, the U.S. military encourages strengthening one’s “spiritual pillar,” or “spiritual resiliency.” They explain that some find strength in Gd; some find it in music, and some in volunteer work, among other possibilities. Does this approach work? “No. The suicide rate has not dropped; it's increased,” Rabbi Berdugo said. How does he explain these increases? “Many of today’s young men and women are unprepared for the rigors of military life,