JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – Air Combat Command's Chaplain Corps gained insights into the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), analyzed lessons from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and developed strategies for providing religious rights in austere environments during the Senior Religious Support Symposium at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Sept. 9, 2025.
This insight allows the ACC chaplain corps to work towards adapting their approach to better serve warfighters in future conflicts.
“We’re going to get professional development where they will be learning skills to be better chaplains and better religious affairs airmen to take care of people,” said Ch. Col. Kleet Barclay, ACC command chaplain. “The other intent is so they understand the threat and the reality of what China is and what some of their aspirations may be.”
During the symposium, the chaplains learned CCP prioritizes their party’s political goals over the value of religious beliefs.
"As we're seeing in China right now, the biggest thing is being spiritually minded,” said Ch. Maj. Charles Gormley, acting chaplain for the 319th Reconnaissance Wing. “Of course, we're going to, number one, pray for peace. But at the same time, I think that we as chaplains need to be ready and make sure that the warfighter is spiritually minded.”
The conversations mentioned at the symposium contribute to comprehensive community care through prevention tactics, quality of life programs, and data-driven awareness efforts informed by research on military families.
“How do you help a unit mourn the loss of life yet keep focused on the battle? These are some things our chaplains will hear from lessons identified,” said Barclay. “Not just grieving and mourning, but you have survivors’ guilt, and we’ve got moral injury that comes into a person’s life in war or exposure to it that we must be better prepared for. You can’t just pull yourself out of the fight sometimes, you have to stay focused.”
As chaplains prepare for battle, it is necessary they understand moral injury; psychological or spiritual harm from witnessing violence and potentially having to plan for significant causalities.
“I think as a Chaplain Corps, I personally felt a stronger sense of community, of collaboration, and honestly felt I wasn't the only one trying or learning how to swim,” said Gormley. “It was really encouraging to talk to different people and hear their different perspectives and their take on situations that I'm currently doing as a leader for a wing chaplain.”
The symposium allowed Air Combat Command chaplains to learn of current global threats, analyze how these threats affect spiritual readiness, emphasizing ACC efforts are positioned to prepare for the future fight.