Need military chaplains trained for ministry in combat?

There’s an app for that.

In an interesting use of modern technology, a Florida-based simulation contractor has received a research contract to develop a combat scenario trainer for chaplains:

Training-simulation engineers in Orlando are now crafting “serious-game” software to lead chaplains through a “virtual battlefield” in which they respond to injured and dying soldiers. Dubbed the “Spiritual Triage Trainer,” it is based on a combat-medic training simulator that the Army has been using for the past several years.

As noted previously, chaplains also go through training on how to survive the bullets and explosions, while simultaneously getting a chance to practice their battlefield ministry.  This simulator, which is presumably like those used by medical and law enforcement professionals, will give chaplains multiple opportunities to experience real-life scenarios and practice their ministry in a controlled environment.

Army research manager Bill Pike noted the breadth of experiences the simulator can give chaplains:

Some of these scenarios will be very difficult for the chaplains, like dealing with someone from another faith, or no faith at all. We could ratchet it up even more by introducing a noncombatant of an entirely different faith and culture. With simulation, there are a lot of things you can do that are very difficult to do in real-world training.

Hollywood portrayals notwithstanding, no computer simulation will perfectly replicate real life.  But any training a member of the military can obtain in preparation for combat — chaplains included — benefits the men, the mission, and the military overall.

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