Retired US Army Chief Chaplain (MajGen) Douglas Carver, now the executive director of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, recently addressed a community gathering and encouraged local ministries to engage troops as they return from war.

“Treat them with dignity and respect because you don’t know what they have gone through…”  The church pew can be a lonely place for a solder, Carver observed. “We need to go to them. We need to connect our troops to the community,” he said, noting, “The power of isolation is very destructive. Troops are isolated from the community.”

Military chaplains have long connected with and relied upon para-church and other external organizations, and troops benefit from these groups who lend their support.

The support provided military chaplains is extensive, but due to the vast demands and limited resources, they can’t do everything.  The military continues to rely on the community for support — and as these helping groups show, the community continues to provide it.

With reference to ArmyChaplaincy.com.