The U.S. is at war with, what appears to be, no end in sight. While we fight throughout the Middle East, tensions rise in Eastern Europe and we closely monitor the actions of China and North Korea. Meanwhile, violent extremism continues to be a major national security concern. Though not all these 2+3 challengers profess religious ideology – some even denounce religion for secularism – religion plays a role in each potential area of operations through culture, governance, or motivation.[1] Thus, the U.S. Military cannot overlook religious factors in conflict if it is to achieve peace. Moreover, the military already contains a group of religious experts embedded in its ranks. These are Chaplains. Given that the military operates in distinctly religious environments, the military must leverage Chaplains and their unique skillset to enhance the peacebuilding, or stabilization, process. U.S. Army Chaplains are uniquely positioned to act as strategic peacebuilders for two reasons.[3] First, joint operations doctrine communicates that the Army already conducts strategic peacebuilding, just by another name. Thus, participating in this framework aligns with the Army’s mission. Second, Chaplains profess key skills instrumental to peacebuilding in religiously characterized operational environments. Yet, the extent to which U.S. Army Chaplains can engage in peacebuilding may be limited. Because of their affiliation with the U.S. Military, Chaplains must always adhere to the parameters of the mission and act in accordance with their Chain of Command.
Peacebuilding, Stabilization, and U.S. Military Doctrine The practice of peacebuilding is an art which requires intentionality and coordination across involved parties. This is particularly true of strategic peacebuilding, or peacebuilding which looks at systemic violence and embraces complexity to transform oppressive conditions into ones which allow for flourishing.[4] Strategic peacebuilding nurtures constructive and cooperative human relationships, strives for social justice, and ends violent conflict.[5] Achieving these ends requires attunement to social conditions and human interaction. It requires experts dedicated to these ends. Army doctrine tries to make certain facets of the Army these experts. Though the predominate mission of the U.S. Army is to “fight and win the Nation’s wars,” this fighting is done with the intention of peace.[7] One type of operation, stability, particularly focuses on peacebuilding theories. Like peacebuilding, stabilization occurs across the conflict continuum, requires relationality via an interagency and partner approach to conflict, and works to eliminate drivers of violence through “security, justice and reconciliation, humanitarian assistance and social well-being, governance and participation, and economic stabilization and infrastructure.”[8] Thus, a clear peacebuilding influence emerges in stabilization. The question remains, however, regarding who could provide the needed expertise to achieve peace. Gerard Powers, director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies at the University of Notre Dame, further nuances this question. Writing about the role of religious persons and institutions in peacebuilding, Powers argues that the “unique spiritual and religious resources available for peacebuilding” deserve attention in the peacebuilding process.[9] This is true because religion plays a role in both conflict and peace, especially when considering the U.S.’s main competitors according to the National Defense Strategy. The doctrine on Civil-Military operations (CMO), a component of stability, highlights this point. CMO are conducted to “establish, maintain, influence, or exploit relationships between military forces and indigenous populations and institutions (IPI).”[10] This doctrine explicitly advises CMO to “incorporate civil considerations,” including religion.[11] CMO recognize that religion is a central part of the societal fabric. Faith-based peacebuilding, therefore, can be one component to strategic peacebuilding. This would include using “distinctively religious and spiritual resources – such as ritual, prayer, and spiritual healing” and leadership by an apolitical, values-based force who can leverage and mobilize governmental powers.[12] Powers’s character description matches the doctrinal definition of U.S. Army Chaplains. Chaplains are leaders in their own faith traditions and serve two primary functions. The first is service as a professional religious leader and the second is as a professional religious advisor.[13] As religious leaders, chaplains must provide for the free exercise of religion for all Soldiers, Family members, and Department of Defense Civilians in their care.[14] As religious advisors, they advise the command on religion, ethics, and morale.[15] In the vein of ethics, they are the gatekeepers of the Just War Tradition – which Powers says does not run counter to peacebuilding, but instead is a “necessary compliment to it.”[16] Chaplains, therefore fit Powers’s model for an effective peacebuilder. Overall, peacebuilding framework aligns with U.S. Military doctrine, thereby making the case that Chaplains could be peacebuilders within a military context. Doctrine simply calls the process by a different name. Considering the prevalence of religion in the military’s operational environments, chaplains must be utilized in this process given their unique skillsets. Skill #1: Bridging the Religious-Secular Language Divide Chaplains have an intimate understanding of religious mindsets and language in the public sphere through study and lived experience. As Staff Officers and religious leaders, chaplains are the Subject Matter Experts on religion for a military organization. It is in their wheelhouse to provide insight and nuance on violence which seems to be religiously fueled. Stability doctrine frequently references religion as a potential driver of instability or mode by which instability is carried out and continued. A “successful” instability narrative may frame grievances as religious in nature, amongst other causes, and emphasize “its marginalization by the host nation government,” including religious leaders.[17] Though the definition of “religion” could be debated and nuanced, the assessment that religion contributes to violence resembles that of theologian and ethicist Sathianathan Clarke in his book Competing Fundamentalisms. He champions understanding the deep complexities which influence behavior and how religion factors into it. To Clarke, religion is both its own unique phenomenon and something which operates “through and alongside other dimensions of the world.”[19] Clarke essentially asserts that while religion may not be a primary factor in conflict, there is no avoiding its influence. Therefore, to Clarke, the only way to achieve peace is to be bilingual in secularism and religiosity because “colliding cultures” are at play.[20] By speaking both languages, religion can transcend contemporary culture to encourage peace and be curbed so as to not become fundamentalist in nature. This enables opportunities for “mutual understanding” as well as “shows grace to other cultural and religious worldviews, and honors difference.”[22] For the U.S. Military, chaplains are the linguists about whom Clarke writes. They simultaneously understand both religious language and motivators to violence, such as complete submission to a school of thought, and the secular language of conflict in which the military is steeped.[23] As persons who pledge allegiance to both “God and Country,” a lived understanding of how religion influences decision making and governance, even in “secular” environments, exists. This is imperative in bridging divides and cultivating cooperative relationships for peacebuilding. Skill #2: Attunement to the Spirituality and Religious Significance of Place In addition to intimately understanding how religion shapes behavior, chaplains have unique insight on the spiritual or religious significance of places. Geography plays a major role in military operations. The world is divided into Combatant Commands based on geography, missional locations are called “Areas of Operation,” and terrain shapes movement. Geography also impacts religious and spiritual experiences. A country may boast historical religious ties, a city may contain holy sites, or a building may host the Divine. Take, for example, the city of Jerusalem. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all lay claim to this holiest city. It wields both religious significance as well as spiritual significance. Writing about Jerusalem, the Jewish-Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai beautifully captures the role of physical place in one’s spiritual or religious life. He poetically documents his entry into Jerusalem on Yom Kippur in 1967. In his poem, he expresses the spiritual connection between his current experience standing in front of an Arab-owned shop and his memory of his father’s old shop.[26] For Amichai, experiencing that shop in the Holy City was worship. His pilgrimage allowed him to reconcile, or build peace between, the past and the present. Amichai’s poetry conveys how geography carries spiritual weight. As such, violating these sites would harm someone to their core and jeopardize the mission. Jerusalem is not alone in this category of religiously significant cities. Rather, cities throughout the Middle East, Eastern Europe, or wherever the next conflict erupts will have – at minimum – religious buildings with spiritual significance. Sometimes, places of spiritual and military importance overlap. Attunement to the religious significance of places impacts the trajectory of an operation. Religious buildings are illegitimate military targets, attacking on major religious holidays would sever relationships, and no one flourishes if the spirit is destroyed. Thus, military personnel must be aware of their physical surroundings if they are to fight and win the nation’s wars and establish peace. When this occurs, guidance is needed on how to proceed in such a way that will respect the local populace while not compromising the mission. Chaplains, given their dual role as religious leaders and religious advisers, carry the insight and clout to provide this advice. This advice helps avoid exacerbating conflict while moving the mission towards peace. Skill #3: Soul Care and Soul Repair Finally, chaplains are in the business of caring for souls. Though a less tangible correlation to peacebuilding than understanding religious language and how places impact mission, caring for souls contributes to peace on a deeper level. The religious radicalization process is one example of when soul care could make a difference. In “The Psychology of Global Jihadists,” sociologist Farad Khosrokhavar assesses how and why persons are radicalized and compelled to jihad. He argues that internalized humiliation resulting from “losing face” with one’s kin or compatriots inspires one to use a disproportionate manner to try to reverse the feeling of humiliation.[27] The goal is to “humiliate the humiliator.”[28] Though Khosrokhavar writes primarily of Islam, his explanation knows no geographic bounds. Members of the U.S. Military, civilians, and enemies can all fall victim to humiliation. Humiliation is not a far deviation from shame. Shame is one of the major symptoms of Moral Injury. Moral Injury demands care for a person’s soul as it is a transgression of one’s values and ethics. Chaplains provide soul care and repair. Thus, as long as the United States fights violent extremism, chaplains are integral to the pursuance of peace because they can address the root causes – a person’s innermost pain – of radicalism. This means chaplains either directly partake in preventing radicalization by caring for people, or advise on the extremist mindset thereby enhancing effectiveness for meaningful engagement. An inversion of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs demonstrates that without internal peace, there is no external stability. This theory also applies to refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs). War, by its nature, disrupts and uproots people. Often, the U.S. Military provides humanitarian assistance in crisis situations. Joint Force Stability doctrine explains that military-provided humanitarian assistance follows a primary line of effort of ensuring the “well-being of the population.”[30] One aspect of this is the “restoration of a social fabric and community life.”[31] This could look like enforcing organization and rebuilding political institutions. Yet, displacement can throw a state not only into political upheaval, but also persons into spiritual crisis. As scholar Edward Said explains of exiles (by extension IDPs), they occupy a territory of “not-belonging” or otherness.[33] They could be characterized by “willfulness, exaggeration, and overstatement” which, like Khosrokhavar warned, could result in partnering with a “triumphant ideology.”[34] This is particularly poignant given that Said names our contemporary era “the age of the refugee, the displaced person, mass immigration” as a result of modern warfare.[35]Ultimately, if potential radicalization is the result of displacement, then the military needs to be equipped to holistically care for people when providing humanitarian assistance. As peacebuilding theorist John Paul Lederach offers, violent conflict necessitates radical healing for society and individuals.[36] What these explanations show is that spiritual crises beget radicalization – crises oft related to conflict. Chaplains, equipped with tools for soul care and soul repair, can prevent the perpetuation of extremism if invited into the conversation by facilitating external peace from internal healing. Conclusion: Future Research and Curriculum Development Whether Islam in the Middle East, Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe, or religions represented by internally displaced persons from humanitarian crises, the U.S. Military operates in environments shaped by religion. While religion can inspire or motivate instability, religion can also create connection and build relationships. Religion can enable peace. The military, therefore, needs experts who adhere to its doctrine and speak the language of faith. These people are chaplains. Given their dual roles as religious leaders and religious advisers, chaplains boast unique religious insights and inherent peacebuilding skills. More study is needed on how the U.S. Military trains and teaches chaplains to be competent in understanding religious mindsets, the spiritual and religious significance of places, and the impact of trauma on souls to ensure that they are prepared to aid in stabilization, or peacebuilding. Moreover, a curriculum on peacebuilding theory and framework must be developed in accordance with contemporary models to be taught to chaplains. Finally, analysis could be done on if different faith traditions or theologies are more apt to peacebuilding than others. The opportunities for future study abound. Even still, as long as the United States engages competitors in areas of operation characterized by religion, the current Chaplain Corps is uniquely positioned to serve as strategic peacebuilders given skillsets and position within both the military and a faith tradition. [1] “2+3 challengers” is a term taken from the National Defense Strategy which refers to the U.S.’s major global competitors. 2+3 breaks down into China and Russia, then North Korea, Iran, and violent extremism. Previously, these challengers were referred to as “4+1.” The near-peer competitors comprising the 4 (China, Russia, North Korea, Iran) and transnational terrorism as the 1. [3] I am writing this paper because my chosen vocation is as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. This class has encouraged me to critically asses how my Christian beliefs intersect with my role as military officer. This paper is, therefore, a reflection on how I can be an agent for peace within an inherently violent context. My hope is that this is publishable for a military professional journal. Though this paper address U.S. Army Chaplains specifically, the principles addressed likely apply to chaplains across branches. However, my familiarity is with the U.S. Army. [4] John Paul Lederach and R. Scott Appleby, “Strategic Peacebuilding: An Overview,” in Strategies of Peace, ed. by Daniel Philpott and Gerard Powers, 22. [5] Lederach, 27. [7] ADP 1, “The Army” (Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army), September 2012, 1-8. [8] Joint Publication 3-07, “Stability” (Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army), 3 August 2016, I-1. [9] Gerard Powers, “Religion and Peacebuilding,” in Strategies of Peace, ed. by Daniel Philpott and Gerard Powers, 317. [10] Joint Publication 3-57, “Civil-Military Operations” (Washington, DC: Joint Chiefs of Staff), 9 July 2018, I-1. [11] Ibid. [12] Powers, 324 and Powers, 328-329. [13] Army Regulation 165-1, “Army Chaplain Corps Activities” (Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army), 23 June 2015, 7-8. [14] AR 165-1, 1. [15] Ibid., 8. [16] Powers, 339. [17] JP 3-07, I-12 and I-4. [19] Sathianathan Clarke, Competing Fundamentalisms, 8. [20] Ibid., 13. [22] Clarke, 185. [23] Ibid., 133. [26] Yehuda Amichai, Poems of Jerusalem, 38-41, 44-45, 58-59, 102-03, 134-35. [27] Farad Khosrokhavar, “The Psychology of Global Jihadists,” in The Fundamentalist Mindset, 139-55, 141-143. [28] Ibid., 144. [30] JP 3-07, xiii. [31] Ibid. [33] Edward Said, “Reflections on Exile” in Reflections on Exile and Other Essays, 173-186 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000), 177. [34] Ibid., 182 and 177. [35] Ibid., 174. [36] Lederach, 28. [37] https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2017-demographics-report.pdf [38] https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2017-demographics-report.pdf [39] https://www.cna.org/pop-rep/2017/summary/summary.pdf [40] https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2017-demographics-report.pdf [41] https://www.cfr.org/article/demographics-us-military [42] https://taskandpurpose.com/military-social-experiment-history [43] https://taskandpurpose.com/timeline-history-women-us-military [44] https://cmrlink.org/data/sites/85/CMRDocuments/MilTransPolTimeline2.pdf [45]https://www.army.mil/article/216774/army_offers_more_flexibility_with_new_parental_leave_policy [46] https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=106087 [47] https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1545568/air-force-implements-new-parental-leave-policy-secondary-caregivers-given-21-da/ [48] https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/MARADMINS/Article/1550376/changes-to-parental-leave-policy [49] https://wtkr.com/2018/06/22/coast-guard-commandant-announces-parental-leave-policy-expansion/ [50] Army Directive 2015-43, 10 November 2015. [51] TB MED 530, 9-602.11. [52] https://dworakpeck.usc.edu/news/brief-history-of-lgbt-military-policy-and-improving-acceptance-integration-and-health-among |