Training Chaplains in Iraq and Afghanistan

[Farnan]

Summary:

As new Afghan and Iraqi armies come online in their deeply religious countries, their soldiers will naturally begin to seek chaplain support. Religious leadership in Islamic countries is much more valued and enjoys far more influence than in the West. So the issue of training Iraqi and Afghan chaplaincies is orders of magnitude more important than might be the case for other Armies—particularly in a conflict that has such complex religious dimensions.

This need for indigenous chaplains presents a thorny challenge to coalition efforts. If we take a role in setting up indigenous chaplaincies, the risk is serious for giving offense or appearing to meddle in religious affairs not our own and hereby set back our own efforts. However, if we are not involved in fostering chaplaincies for these new armies, then a wily enemy will surely find a way to infiltrate their radical religious leaders and ideas into the armies we are training and co-opt them to subversive ends.

So, we find ourselves on the horns of a dilemma that will not go away and will likely get worse if we do nothing. As to how we might find our way through this difficult issue, I offer in this article lessons learned from an experiment in indigenous chaplain training that took place in Afghanistan in 2004. I believe that refined and expanded, it might serve as a model for future projects to be undertaken on a larger scale that will help ensure the Afghan and Iraqi security forces remain protectors of liberty and not devolve into enemies of it.

http://smallwarsjournal.com/mag/docs...64-eliason.pdf

(Article is by a Chaplain in the US Army)

I never really thought of this before reading this report but what they say is true. We have to train their chaplains at being chaplains instead of Mullahs.

[Erebus Pasha]

This is a good article which has had a great deal of thought gone into it.

If adopted on a greater scale then I think this would help the new Afghan Army in fostering relations with local tribal chiefs, religious leaders and communities as a whole.

Although for me they would have to be the most stringent checks on potential Imam or Mullah recruits to make sure they wouldn't at anytime be susceptible to radicalism.

[Osceola]

By chaplain you mean a muslim right?

I know it's a stupid question, but when I think chaplain I think of the dude with a cross on his helmet.

[Farnan]

Yea Muslim Chaplains. There are actually Muslim Chaplains in the US Army too, along with Buddhist and Jewish besides the Christian ones.

[Osceola]

Thats interesting.

Are they called imams? Any links/info on them?

[Farnan]

They retain the title Chaplain, but they can use whatever religious title they want.

http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-...0.6934015.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=90228826

[Каие]

Bad idea. In a country where there exists so many religous groups, and so much historical conflict and tension between them, this will only split the army into camps.

[Farnan]

Bad idea. In a country where there exists so many religous groups, and so much historical conflict and tension between them, this will only split the army into camps.

The problem is that there will be Mullahs in the Army any way, the idea is to train them to accept and provide help for people of all religions as US Chaplains are supposed to.

[Каие]

Well if you proceed with caution it might just work, but it might also just backfire enormously.

[Farnan]

Well if you proceed with caution it might just work, but it might also just backfire enormously.

True. Its a thin line to walk, but it must be walked or there will be problems.

[The King Of Peasants]

The important thing is training them to be chaplains though they help with spiritual issues, chaplains are not strictly religous and also help with many things relations with locals, morale issues etc... And as the article states they are there anyways giving them the training makes them far more moderate.