Military

V CORPS' 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION CONDUCTS CONFERENCE TO TRAIN ITS UNIT MINISTRY TEAMS

V Corps Release

Release Date: 5/4/2004

1st Infantry Division Public Affairs Office release

TIKRIT, Iraq -- Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Mike Lembke, the 1st Infantry Division chaplain, hosted a training conference for Unit Ministry Teams of the division's Task Force Danger here April 29.

The conference allowed chaplains and chaplain assistants from the V Corps division's major subordinate units to gather and effectively "compare notes" for the first time since the division deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The conference focused on professional development training for chaplain supervisors, and allowed the UMTs to train on fighting combat stress and burnout, share counseling techniques and discuss reporting of morale levels. Talks centered on morale stress management, counseling trends, worship programs and communication with soldiers' families back home.

The UMTs are spread throughout the division's area of operations and seldom have the opportunity to get in depth updates that face-to-face meetings provide.