THE KUKMIN DAILY

Chaplain (Col.) Thomas Wheatley of the United States Eighth Army is so proud of what he does as chaplain that listening to him made me think, “Would military life be possible without chaplains?” During Kukmin Daily’s recent opportunity to meet Chaplain Wheatley in his office, we asked his thoughts on the series of suicides, violence and fatal hazing in Korean army barracks.

“Would chaplains have made the difference? They could have if they were doing their basic job right: to be present with the soldiers. With all the leaders including the chaplains spending more time in the barracks, such accidents are less likely to happen. You’re more likely to spot a problem when you know the men well, having spent time together with them. This is part of our suicide prevention training.”

He emphasized the importance of frequent face-to-face between soldiers and chaplains also in dealing with various problems that arise on military bases, such as sexual assault and harassment, and alcohol and drug abuse. The role of chaplain is so important that U.S. Army suicide prevention is organized as a team effort that includes the medical command, staff personnel, chaplains and chaplain’s assistants.

Chaplain Wheatley explained the Three Doctrinal Core Principles of the U.S. Army chaplain: “Nurture the Living” through worship service, baptism, sacraments and so on, “Care for the Wounded” in hospital or at war, and “Honor the Dead” through memorials and funerals. “The well-being of U.S. soldiers is about all the five aspects -physical, mental, emotional, relational, and family- of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness. As for the soldiers’ spiritual component, the role of chaplains is critical,” he said.

Different from the U.S. Army, which dispatches chaplains all the way to battalion level, the situation now in Korea is that most military base churches at battalion level are served by civilian ministers who concurrently serve nearby local churches. When given the chance recently to talk with high-ranking personnel of the Republic of Korea Army about how to prevent accidents in the barracks, Chaplain Wheatley said he had advised the addition of chaplains at the battalion level and an overall increase of the number of chaplains.

According to the Korean National Defense Ministry and the Eighth U.S. Army, the size of both military forces is about the same, with 520,000 and 500,000, respectively. The number of Korean chaplains, however, is significantly smaller, with only 500 Korean compared to 1,600 U.S. chaplains. Colonel Wheatley noted, “It is also important to raise ‘good quality’ chaplains.”

He strongly emphasized the importance of the chaplain’s assistant. “Sometimes the assistants are a valuable resource for chaplains because they are enlisted and therefore trained, and spend time together in the barracks along with other soldiers,” he explained.

Chaplain Wheatley is from Virginia, U.S.A. During the interview he shared his experience of hearing God’s voice saying he would become a chaplain. He has been a U.S. Army chaplain for almost 27 years now, and it has been about four months since he came to Seoul, Korea, as Eighth Army Command Chaplain. He served as Battalion Chaplain at the 36th Signal Battalion in Daegu, Korea, in the early 1990s. He resides in Seoul with his wife, a former teacher by profession, and three homeschooled sons in their teens.

Reporter Jaechan Park (jeep@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


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