KIM LAWTON: U.S. troops fighting in Iraq face many dangers. According to military chaplains on the front lines, among the risks are great spiritual perils.
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JAY MAGNESS (Head Chaplain, U.S. Navy Atlantic fleet): There are issues of fear. There are issues of courage. There are issues of trying to find how the faith is applied to this environment. I think these are the most traumatic moments anyone can ever face in life.
LAWTON: It's the mission of the U.S. Chaplain Corps to help service members -- and their families -- cope with the traumas of war. And the nation's nearly 1,400 military chaplains are actively engaged in that mission, in the Persian Gulf and at home.
Chaplains are noncombatants, but they are do accompany the troops in combat aboard aircraft carriers and on desert battlefields.
Chaplain MAGNESS: I recall just recently hearing one army chaplain who is with one of the infantry units say, "It's going to take a lot to separate me from my people. Where my people go, I will be there with them," which is what separates us out from our civilian counterparts.
LAWTON: As often as possible, chaplains provide prayer and worship services, and one-on-one spiritual counseling to service members in the midst of war.
JESSICA HUNT (USS NIMITZ): This is what you're here to do right now. And if we didn't do it, I think the situation would be much worse and I would be in fear for my family and the country that I love.
Chaplain MAGNESS: This is what we're here for. Our people need to know that their religious beliefs can take them out and beyond the current moment that they're in, that their religious beliefs can sustain them. That through their religious beliefs, they can find courage. They can face their fears, and as well, they can find forgiveness for what happens, whatever happens to them.
LAWTON: Military chaplains aren't allowed to proselytize. They help each service member explore his or her own faith tradition. And they minister across diverse religious lines. Lieutenant Abuhena Mohammed Saifulislam is one of three Muslim chaplains in the navy. He regularly counsels non-Muslims.
ABUHENA MOHAMMED SAIFULISLAM (Chaplain, Norfolk Naval Base): One of the unique things as a chaplain in the military, regardless of what faith group we come from, every faith is important to us. We minister to each and every individual, regardless of their faith group.
LAWTON: In addition to combat zone ministry, chaplains are helping to notify families about casualties and working closely with military mortuary units.
Colonel SCOTT WUESTHOFF: The wing chaplain and I that had been standing out there to meet, greet the airplane, went on board, and we said a prayer for our fallen comrades and their families.
LAWTON: Chaplains are also counseling service members here, as well as those still being deployed to the gulf. And they are actively ministering to the military families who are left behind, providing practical help and spiritual support.
Mary-K Balzell's husband Jerry was sent to the gulf in January. She says the war has been particularly distressing for families who can watch the combat unfold live on television. The support of her chaplain, she says, has been invaluable.
MARY-K BALZELL: I know he has given me words of encouragement. You know -- "Set boundaries for yourself. Allow yourself to watch so much television. You know, meditate if that's what it takes. And don't get overwhelmed. If it's too overwhelming, then it's time to pray."
LAWTON: Chaplains say one of their toughest responsibilities may be helping members of the military deal with the difficult moral dilemmas raised by this war.
Chaplain SAIFULISLAM (preaching): Something good will come out of it. And that's our hope. And that's our prayer.
LAWTON: It's the mission of the U.S. Chaplain Corps to help service members -- and their families -- cope with the traumas of war. And the nation's nearly 1,400 military chaplains are actively engaged in that mission, in the Persian Gulf and at home.
Chaplains are noncombatants, but they are do accompany the troops in combat aboard aircraft carriers and on desert battlefields.
Chaplain MAGNESS: I recall just recently hearing one army chaplain who is with one of the infantry units say, "It's going to take a lot to separate me from my people. Where my people go, I will be there with them," which is what separates us out from our civilian counterparts.LAWTON: As often as possible, chaplains provide prayer and worship services, and one-on-one spiritual counseling to service members in the midst of war.
JESSICA HUNT (USS NIMITZ): This is what you're here to do right now. And if we didn't do it, I think the situation would be much worse and I would be in fear for my family and the country that I love.Chaplain MAGNESS: This is what we're here for. Our people need to know that their religious beliefs can take them out and beyond the current moment that they're in, that their religious beliefs can sustain them. That through their religious beliefs, they can find courage. They can face their fears, and as well, they can find forgiveness for what happens, whatever happens to them.
LAWTON: Military chaplains aren't allowed to proselytize. They help each service member explore his or her own faith tradition. And they minister across diverse religious lines. Lieutenant Abuhena Mohammed Saifulislam is one of three Muslim chaplains in the navy. He regularly counsels non-Muslims.
ABUHENA MOHAMMED SAIFULISLAM (Chaplain, Norfolk Naval Base): One of the unique things as a chaplain in the military, regardless of what faith group we come from, every faith is important to us. We minister to each and every individual, regardless of their faith group.LAWTON: In addition to combat zone ministry, chaplains are helping to notify families about casualties and working closely with military mortuary units.
Colonel SCOTT WUESTHOFF: The wing chaplain and I that had been standing out there to meet, greet the airplane, went on board, and we said a prayer for our fallen comrades and their families.
LAWTON: Chaplains are also counseling service members here, as well as those still being deployed to the gulf. And they are actively ministering to the military families who are left behind, providing practical help and spiritual support. Mary-K Balzell's husband Jerry was sent to the gulf in January. She says the war has been particularly distressing for families who can watch the combat unfold live on television. The support of her chaplain, she says, has been invaluable.
MARY-K BALZELL: I know he has given me words of encouragement. You know -- "Set boundaries for yourself. Allow yourself to watch so much television. You know, meditate if that's what it takes. And don't get overwhelmed. If it's too overwhelming, then it's time to pray."LAWTON: Chaplains say one of their toughest responsibilities may be helping members of the military deal with the difficult moral dilemmas raised by this war.
Chaplain SAIFULISLAM (preaching): Something good will come out of it. And that's our hope. And that's our prayer.
Chaplain SAIFULISLAM: I think we should take the religion out of it. You know, if you look into the other countries who are helping America, they're Muslims too. So you know, we have both sides into it. And in America, there are a lot of Muslims here too. So I don't see it as a religious issue.
Chaplain MAGNESS: We spend a lot of time listening. It's very easy to go in and tell someone what they ought to think and how they ought to believe in situations where they're in such trauma. It's much more important, though, to listen and find out exactly what the trauma is they're trying to deal with than to help them find what their own faith tradition says about this. 
Chaplain MAGNESS: When he could catch me alone without any of his friends around, he came up to me and asked, "Chaplain, wonder if my bombs really did what we intended for them to do? What if they did kill people?" It's up to chaplains to have an answer for that; to help people work through that, to be restored to wholeness, so we don't leave people jettisoned aside because of what they do in service of their country.
Chaplain MAGNESS: There are some people who believe that the protests and the questions being raised by some of the civilian denominations doesn't faze the servicemen. I tend to differ with that. They do hear this. And when they know that they're not being supported, particularly by their own faith communities, it sometimes comes as a very real shock to them. 
Reverend ROGER GENCH (New York Avenue Presbyterian Church): I'm making a statement primarily against the political establishment that has promoted this war. And this is not in any way, shape, or form against the military. And every Sunday, we pray for them.
Chaplain MAGNESS: I don't think any man or any woman in his or her right mind wants to go out and kill somebody. Nonetheless, for the perpetuation of freedom, for the perpetuation of our world, and to find justice, sometimes we're faced with doing just that. It's my belief that we religious people are much more in the business of finding ways to help people be forgiven and to be restored to wholeness and fullness than we are to justify what they do. In some ways, justifying what they do even cheapens life, I think.
