The Defence Academy has played host to a ‘first of its kind’ course, training ten Ukrainian military chaplains preparing to serve on the front line.
Supported by the UK Armed Forces under Operation Orbital and The Defence Academy’s Defence Leadership and Business Group (DLaB), the course came in response to a request from the Armed Forces of Ukraine to equip participants with the religious and practical resources needed to support personnel through the most challenging aspects of operations.
Over a period of two weeks between 22 May and 2 June, the visiting chaplains were embedded with the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department (RAChD) at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre (AFCC), Beckett House. Through a team of interpreters, lessons included the provision of pastoral care and spiritual support to soldiers and their families, and included subjects such as bereavement and loss, and managing mental health difficulties.
Speaking from Beckett House on the final day of the course, The Reverend Michael D Parker, the British Army Chaplain General, said:
“It has been the greatest of privileges to work with our Ukrainian Partner Forces to develop an understanding of chaplaincy within high-intensity warfare. Together, we have examined the centrality of the moral component of fighting power and the part chaplains play in monitoring and sustaining this. They have been able to teach us as much as we have been able to teach them.”
Major General Andrew Roe, Chief Executive and Commandant Defence Academy, echoed the importance of such engagement:
“The visit by mobilised religious leaders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine offers a unique opportunity to capitalise on the excellent expertise offered by the AFCC here in Shrivenham.
“Enhancing spiritual and physical preparations for deployment, developing religious resources to sustain them, and developing a framework for pastoral and spiritual care, cannot be understated. Its contribution to the moral component of fighting power is not only valuable but essential. The Defence Academy is proud to host this unique training course.”
The visiting chaplains were able to visit and worship with Ukrainian soldiers currently training in the UK as part of Op INTERFLEX.
Reverend Robin Richardson, who was responsible for developing the Defence Academy programme said:
“A significant proportion of the programme was devoted to delivering chaplaincy within an operational context, with participants supporting troops who are currently undergoing battlefield training in Wiltshire, as part of the UK-led training of Ukrainian recruits. The bespoke programme highlights the broad range of training the UK has delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which has also included basic infantry training, medical training, and training on Challenger 2 tanks.
“These ministers are driven by their faith to step out of the door, unarmed, into the face of any enemy so that they can provide care for people of all beliefs. They are operating in circumstances that we could never dream of experiencing ourselves, drawing on their faith to support those navigating the chaos of war and doing everything they can to give soldiers hope.”
There are currently 160 chaplains within the growing, multi-faith chaplaincy branch of the Ukrainian military, which was formally established in 2021. There are aspirations to grow their ranks to 738 chaplains, to ensure that spiritual and pastoral support is available across units, hospitals, and training sites.
Colonel Vitalii Skrybets, Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Military Chaplaincy Service, said:
“Every army has two types of weapons. The first type is visible and countable: personal, equipment, and machinery. The second type is invisible: the warrior’s fighting spirit. It is the chaplain’s responsibility to shape and maintain this spirit. Without considering the strength of the Ukrainian warrior’s spirit, the Russian occupying army is destined for defeat in this war.
“Military chaplains have particularly important social mission that goes hand in hand with their pastoral care: strengthening the fighting spirit of our soldiers as an essential component of our victory. But equally important is the chaplain’s mission to help our soldiers remain human and preserve humanity in the conditions of war, to defend human life – both their own, their military comrades and, ultimately, every Ukrainian.”