Chaplains thanked for compassionate and insightful services role

The military head of the Royal Navy has paid tribute to the role military chaplains play in making the UK's armed forces what they are today.

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key, was addressing the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland following the annual report from the Kirk's Committee on Chaplains to HM Forces.

The military head of the Royal Navy has paid tribute to the role military chaplains play in making the UK's armed forces what they are today.

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key, was addressing the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland following the annual report from the Kirk's Committee on Chaplains to HM Forces.

This highlighted the work of Kirk chaplains in all three services, including those supporting military deployed to Ukraine, as well as their contribution following the death of Queen Elizabeth, which was deeply felt in the service community.

Admiral Key, the grandson of an Anglican bishop, spoke about the important role of chaplains generally, but also of his personal experience of the Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service.

"There are three components to fighting power," Admiral Key said.

"There is the physical: what kit do you have - what type of person are you? The second is the conceptual: what tactics and strategies are we going to employ? Most importantly, there is the moral component: do we believe in what we are being asked to do and do we believe in each other?

"Never has that been more clearly demonstrated than in Ukraine where the moral component of fighting spirt is proving to be such a determinant, but it is also apparent every single day in every single unit around the world of His Majesty's Armed Forces, and the Chaplaincy is fundamental to our ability to have it.

"That is done with enormous compassion, it is done with wisdom, it is done with insight."

Admiral Key also spoke about how chaplains had supported him as a commanding officer, including one chaplain who had come to his cabin to ask if he was all right.

"I knew at that moment that I wasn't," he said.

"We were on the far side of the world, we had been away from home for many months, I was 34 years old, and I was feeling the weight of responsibility."

In an era when most servicemen and women can maintain contact with their loved ones by mobile phone or email, Admiral Key asked the General Assembly to think in particular of those serving aboard the submarine fleet based on the other side of Scotland, whose duties meant they could go for months without family contact.

"I cannot think of a group on the planet more socially isolated from the people they love than the submariners who serve our nation," he said.

"Particularly in Scotland, where the submarine service is such a profound part of the Royal Navy's presence, can I ask you to keep an eye out for those whose partners, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers are submariners because the pressure on them in a world that expects instant connectivity is enormous."

Admiral Key began his address with a tribute to former Chaplain of the Fleet, the Venerable Martyn Gough, whose funeral was taking place the same day in Salisbury. Rev Scott Brown, convener of the Committee on Chaplains to His Majesty's Forces and himself a former Chaplain of the Fleet, also paid tribute to the Venerable Martyn Gough, describing him as an outstanding leader and man of faith.

Inviting any interested minister to talk to him about what ministry in the Forces could mean for them, Rev Brown said: "The bond between the chaplain and your flock is enduring, is built upon decades of being seen as trustworthy, of being approachable, of being confidential, of being where your people are – in a ship, in a trench, in the back of an armoured personnel carrier, or in an aircraft hangar.

"Today is an opportunity again to give our thanks to those who serve in this unique community, that in the highs and lows, they may know that they are held in the prayers of the Church."

Profoundly important role

The outgoing Moderator, Very Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, had joined Rev Scott Brown on a number of military visits where senior officers had impressed on him how much they respect their chaplains.

"They see you as absolutely essential to the wellbeing of the Armed Forces," Dr Greenshields said.

"I spoke to one young major who said: ‘These are the guys who go into combat with us without a weapon and support us.' I just felt I needed to say something about the respect in which you are held by those you work with on a daily basis."

His successor as Moderator, Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, also paid tribute to the Church's chaplains, commenting: "The profoundly important job you do will not be forgotten by this Church. We hold you in our prayers. "The world today is a tapestry of broken and beautiful and I know we work together to bring peace, healing and love-inspired justice to this global neighbourhood we are all a part of. For the part you play and the compassion you embody, the Church of Scotland thanks you."