Understanding the chaplain's role in an age of weapons of mass destruction.

Abstract

The possibility and/or use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), in the same manner as disasters, terrorism, and other large-scale events, will trigger a huge response from the military services, government organizations, and community groups. Deploying a systematic, coordinated, and timely response is the challenge of all crisis response management teams. Victims and rescuers will have different issues and need different types of support at different times before, during, and after such a threat. Spiritual reactions of survivors as a result of WMD will impact diagnosis and treatment of psychological casualties. The chaplain, as the team pastoral care provider, contributes to the design and implementation of an effective, multi-disciplinary, and cohesive intervention strategy to meet today's realization of WMD threat.