National Defence committee  Thank you very much. One of the things I think we need most, in order to tackle the challenges that are before us as a military community, is a sense of community. It's hard to achieve that. It's harder today, perhaps, than when we had bases where everybody was posted. There were some downsides to that, too.

National Defence committee  Command is a lonely place. The CO of a unit is often the loneliest person in the unit because they're the one at the top of that pyramid making the decisions. They have a strong team of advisers around them and usually a senior NCM who is very close in that command team relationship, but it can be a lonely place.

National Defence committee  I would think that there probably is a percentage of folks who might see that as a barrier. Anecdotally, when I was a seagoing chaplain there was a tradition in the Canadian navy and in the Royal Navy where chaplains didn't wear rank at sea because it was seen that the rank itself might become a barrier for the sailors to seek the chaplain out as somebody who could be of support to them.

National Defence committee  We're structured as teams—that's key—and not just chaplain teams that are multi-confessional, multi-faith ecumenical teams, but interdisciplinary teams. We work hand in hand with the chain of command, which has the responsibility to care for our men and women in uniform, and all aspects of that care, including their spiritual well-being.

National Defence committee  We have a chaplain strategy that was signed off, approved by Armed Forces Council in 2008, and the follow-on campaign plan was approved in 2010. Our goal is laid out to prosecute that plan moving forward. It's about ensuring that we have an operationally effective chaplaincy, a learning chaplaincy, and a calling of choice.

National Defence committee  I'm very satisfied that the help is there for them. What troubles me is that, despite very strong efforts on the leadership's part and on the part of peer support, there still remains stigma. People are afraid to acknowledge their hurt and their need for assistance, so anything that we can do to help encourage them....

National Defence committee  Thank you. It is my understanding, even though as indicated the number of suicides is one of the leading causes of death within the Canadian Forces, that statistically the number of suicides in our population isn't drastically different from that across the country. That said—

National Defence committee  Absolutely, and every instance in which someone is experiencing that level of despair, cannot see another way out, and opts for that as the solution to end their pain is tragic. Across the nation and across our Canadian Forces, anything that we can do to take away the stigma of mental pain, mental anguish, needs to be done.

National Defence committee  sThank you. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, as it was mentioned, I am Colonel Fletcher. I currently serve as Director of Chaplaincy Strategic Support, which is essentially a chief of staff role within the Office of the Chaplain General. I'm humbled to have been selected for promotion this summer, and God willing, I will assume the duties and responsibilities of chaplain general in September.