In the spring of 2019, I was conducting some phone interviews as part of a ground-breaking research project. The study focused on the moral injurious experiences of women veterans, and the data was very disturbing. As someone who has worked in the U.S. military chaplain corps for many years, I realized that many chaplains did not fully grasp all of the very difficult realities that servicewomen face. Later, I learned that many clinicians and social workers also needed the information I was uncovering.
As a result of the data, I decided to create a new conference to educate these support providers on moral injury in women veterans. I also wanted to hear from those chaplains and clinicians who were doing a great job helping servicewomen and veterans. It took nearly a year to put the event together, but a great committee of dedicated people joined me and we managed to get it done.
Needless to say, the conference was a huge success. Participants included women veterans, chaplains, clinicians, social workers, business leaders, and non-profit organizers. Due to COVID-19, the conference was held on the Zoom platform rather than in a hotel. That turned out to be a great boon for us because by having the event online, people from all over the U.S., Canada, and Kuwait were able to attend.
Presenters included those who were conducing leading edge research, providing excellent pastoral care, and instituting new programs for women veterans. We also heard the tragic stories of servicewomen who suffered from moral injury. It was a very compelling program.
Since only about 150 people attended the conference, we needed a way to get the information out to a greater audience. To do so, we created a proceedings book. The content of the book consists of key presentations, including:
- Contemplative Practices and Lamentations
- Faith-Based and Secular Meditation: Everyday, Betrayal Trauma and Other Posttraumatic Applications for Personal Practice and with Clients
- Moral Injury: A Common And Often Neglected Syndrome Among Veterans Experiencing War Trauma
- Military Moral Injury and Women Veterans
- Planning a Faith Community Military Veteran Ministry
- Female Service Members and Veterans and Suicide Risk: What We Need to Know
The information in the book is invaluable, but we decided to keep the cost very affordable. It is more important that we get the knowledge out to those who need it rather than make money. We are a non-profit organization though and we need to make enough money to support our research and education work, as well as pay the staff. To meet all of these goals, we set the price at $65. We expect to publish the book by the end of January of 2021, but you can pre-order from our store now for only $50. It just might be the most important book you read next year.
Dr. Daniel Roberts is an author, consultant, and teacher who conducts world-class education and research in military chaplaincy. He has over 18 years of experience in providing emotional and spiritual support to the men and women in the armed forces. Daniel also provides training and mentorship to thousands of military chaplains through conferences, classroom instruction, and one-on-one coaching. His students include chaplains from the US Army, Air Force, and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Dr. Roberts also helped the CAF develop military doctrine for the deployment of chaplains as religious advisers.
