On Dec. 12, 1985, 248 members of the 101st Airborne Division were killed in a military air disaster in Gander, Newfoundland.
The tragedy not only sparked the usual investigations of how and why it happened but has also generated some self-examination among the military chaplaincy and its response to the tragedy.On the whole, those looks give pretty good marks to the chaplaincy, especially the response at Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st.
The chief examination of the overall response to Gander was done by a small research team assembled by the Walter Reed Institute of Research and included representatives from the 101st Airborne Division and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Services.
Chaplain (Maj.) Kenneth Ruppar, assigned to the Directorate of Combat Developments, Academy of Health Sciences at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, looks at the findings of the report and its meaning for the chaplaincy in the current issue of the Army's Military Chaplains' Review.
"Reading the report," Ruppar writes, "I concluded that the `unit ministry team' at Fort Campbell provided excellent pastoral care. Many hours spent with family members and unit personnel enabled these people to receive emotional and spiritual support so crucial for facing their futures."
But, it notes, because most of the Army's personnel enlisted since the Vietnam War and have no combat experience, "The military is not psychologically prepared to deal with death in any significant numbers."
And such tragedies have the potential for spiritual and emotional burnout.
The report notes - in looking toward to the future - that attention during a crisis such as the Gander tragedy rightly "focuses on the bereaved immediate family" but too of-ten neglects "the large number of others who suffer.
"Two such groups who could profit from professional consultation are troops in the unit and senior leaders."
Other neglected groups, according to Ruppar, who will also need spiritual support include service providers such as body handlers, family assistance officers who must work with the bereaved, security police and even chaplains.