I am a VA chaplain and a Colonel in the US Army Reserves. In these roles I help men and women transcend the paralyzing impact of powerlessness and I wrote a book on this topic entitled: A Chaplain's Battle: Transcending Powerlessness in an Explosive World. I came to this topic as an Army chaplain deployed several times to war zones at the onset of our nation’s participation in the global war on terror. Through interviews and research, I quickly learned that this sense of powerlessness is widespread and unspoken. Yet when given the chance, I found my colleagues and other frontline caregivers quite willing to share their experiences—if only to help the thousands of other men and women who have yet to understand and to overcome it. In my experience, powerlessness is one of the symptoms of moral injury. The remedy to powerlessness is found in recognizing the limitations of human power and engaging in supportive community.
