COMBAT STRESS RESOURCES
FOR CHAPLAIN INSTRUCTORS
ON THE PLATFORM
Chaplains should avail themselves of FM 22-51, an open-source document, which will assist them in putting together a block of instruction.  Sample lesson plans are included.
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FIELD MANUAL FM 22-51
Additional resources for the Army Chaplain:
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MORAL LEADERSHIP DA PAM 165-19-001
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CHAPLAINS WITH MARINES IN VIETNAM
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Moral Courage: A Virtue in Need of Development?
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Ethics Training and Development in the Military by Paul Robinson
RELIGION AND AMERICAN TROOPS IN WORLD WAR 2
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RELIGION AND AMERICAN TROOPS IN WW2
Chaplains should refer back to webpages "CH Hughes, parts 2 and 3" for information that will be helpful in producing Powerpoint programs for products you can tailor to meet your specific requirements in order to produce an outstanding block of instruction.
Instructors should note the major themes that were examined in Parts 1 & 2.  An instructor has to do intensive research; a good product doesn't happen overnight. How well you know your subject once the research is completed, will determine how effective you will be on the platform.  Don't be the rookie who puts off until the last minute the important time that is necessary in doing thorough research.

When studying materials and methods of secondary education, one of my professors, Dr. Walters, made this poignant statement: "Know your subject and teach it."  Sounds simplistic, but it's not as simple as it sounds.  If you know your subject then you are prepared to teach it.  An instructor should know his material without reading from a script or notes.  He should be able to walk into a classroom with stage presence, and, as the Aussies say, "get stuck into it" immediately.  The class will know at once if your're just 'winging it' or if you know your stuff.  Don't just  dust off your notes.  Learn the material and reherse it if need be.  And have your electronic and other equipment ready to go.

When writing a lesson plan on Combat Stress, consider the following:

Look at how soldiers from countries other than the U.S. handled the stress of combat. Look at the notes, photo studies and commentary in Parts 2&3 of the Combat Stress webpages.

What was involved that allowed some soldiers to handle the stress better than others?  Did certain types of terrain, weather conditions, diseases, age of the soldier, where he grew up, his family and friends, affect his performance?  Was he influenced by siblings or a father who was serving or had previously served? 

Was the soldier self-conscious about his personhood and situation in the field; was he comfortable with other men in all situations? 

Was the soldier a team player or a 'lone ranger.'

Also, explore the homefront the soldier left behind: what are his/her concerns about what is going on there?
CULTURE IS IMPORTANT
The Chaplain should research the culture of the region/country where the troops he covers are to be deployed.  Soldiers will need factual guidance about the people and culture of that region, and you can be of immense help in pre-deployment briefings concerning things they should be aware of.  There are many do's and don'ts they need to know, including hand gestures and remarks that may offend those they will meet.  How to behave in a foreign country/culture is important.
Applicants for Australian active duty during the Vietnam era, were required to fill out psychological testing papers as a pre-screening tool. It was used to discover who would not be suitable for duty as a soldier.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS FOR AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS
Unfortunately, in spite of soldier pre-screening, some isolated incidents did occur.  Notably, one incident of 'fragging' occurred within one Digger unit.  It was more prevalent among U.S. Soldiers and Marines, especially during Vietnam.  The soldier involved in the Australian incident had been drinking heavily and involved in drug use, which was not the case across the board among the Diggers in the research I have done. Many of them did not like the type of killing carried on among some of the U.S. Soldiers; especially when they would leave their 'calling card Ace of Spades' on the dead VC. (See below):
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AMERICAN SOLDIERS USE ACE OF SPADES CARDS
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FRAGGING AMONG THE US SOLDIERS DURING THE VIETNAM WAR
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FRAGGING AMONG THE US SOLDIERS AND MARINES - STATISTICS
Literature from open sources in public domain are now/newly available for research in putting together a block of instruction on Combat Stress:
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SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF COMBAT STRESS
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Clinical Signs and Symptoms Profiles Associated With Combat Stress Reactions
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Historical and Contemporary Perspectives of Combat Stress and the Army Combat Stress Control Team by CPT Bret A. Moore, Psy.D. & CPT Greg Reger, Ph.D. Introduction: Casualties of War
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COMBAT STRESS (COURTESY OF MARINE CORPS)
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Combat and Operational Stress 101 Part I – Understanding Stress and Taking Care of Yourself
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Combat and Operational Stress 101 Part I – Understanding Stress and Taking Care of Yourself. (NOTES)
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Combat and Operational Stress 101 Part II – Taking Action for Yourself and Your Buddy
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Combat and Operational Stress 101 Part II – Taking Action for Yourself and Your Buddy (NOTES)
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COMBAT STRESS REACTIONS: Tips for Providers
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Operational Stress Reactions: Most Common Stressors and Associated Indicators
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Combat Stress Prevention, Management, and Control
Chaplains should look at FM 22-51 for important guidance concerning Combat Stress control.  One section contains specific guidance for the Chaplain's Unit Ministry Team:
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THE UNIT MINISTRY TEAM’S ROLE IN COMBAT STRESS CONTROL AND BATTLE FATIGUE MINISTRY
Here is an example of a Lesson Plan from that same document:
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EXAMPLE LESSON PLAN LESSON TITLE: IDENTIFY, TREAT, AND PREVENT BATTLE FATIGUE
RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH
Instructors should have done recent research that relates to the cause of Combat Stress among soldiers.

Refer back to Part 2 of this series, to see examples of Australian, British, and American soldiers "loosing it" during battle and what can be done to counteract it.
(A few are included below).

Consideration should also be given to what circumstances led to soldiers "going berserk" in the field.  What happened when a soldier discovered a friend had been cannnibalized by the Japanese enemy? What was the effect of the executions and beheading of soldiers on their mates and comrades?
The Berserk soldier:
Cannibalism undertaken by the Japanese on Australians in particular:
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CANNIBALISM REPORTS - ONE AMONG MANY IN THE OFFICIAL RECORDS
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Cannibalism among Japanese Soldiers in Bukidnon, Philippines, 1945–47 Rolando ESTEBAN. (AN EXAMPLE OF THE WIDESPREAD PRACTICE BY THE JAPANESE)
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JAPANESE CANNIBALISM IN WW2
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JAPANESE PUNISHMENT

It is widely known that more boys are born during and immediately after wars, but there has not been any ultimate (evolutionary) explanation for this ‘returning soldier effect’. Here, I suggest that the higher sex ratios during and immediately after wars might be a byproduct of the fact that taller soldiers are more likely to survive battle and that taller parents are more likely to have sons.


Surviving soldiers were on average more than one inch (3.33 cm) taller than fallen soldiers.


Conservative estimates suggest that the one-inch height advantage alone is more than twice as sufficient to account for all the excess boys born in the UK during and after World War I.


So, what does this new literature tell us?  The following article explains:
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BIG AND TALL - THE RETURNING SOLDIER EFFECT