Not unlike their Yankee counterparts, the British military is reporting difficulty in recruiting military Chaplains, despite an ever increasing demand due to the ongoing conflicts.

The Rev Stephen Sharkey was deployed to Afghanistan and described his support of the troops:

“I let the soldiers know I was there, sometimes they would seek me out. We talked about everything ‑ pastoral, financial, personal, relationship, grief and bereavement issues. I would talk to anyone, whether they were Christian or not.”

He said the majority of those he met were open to faith and spirituality. “Often they ask us to pray for them. They say it can’t do any harm. When they go out they don’t know if they will come back. When their friends go out, they don’t know if they’ll come back.”

The challenges of supporting the religious freedoms of military members–as well as the honorable drive to support those freedoms–are not limited to the American military.