RAF CHAPLAINCY
SERVING THIS GENERATION: SPIRITUAL RESILIENCE
The Reverend Dr David Richardson
One of the busiest buildings on any RAF station is the gymnasium, as the requirement for physical fitness extends to all Service personnel regardless of their particular military occupation. Like other armed forces across the world, the RAF recognises that its personnel must be physically robust to face the challenges of working hard in demanding conditions. Or, to put it another way, a great deal of emphasis is placed on physical resilience – equipping servicemen and women to endure whatever the operational environment may bring. Recent decades have brought recognition that other forms of resilience, particularly emotional and psychological resilience, are also required, and British military leaders have sought to develop these through a variety of means. The past few years have seen a great deal of interest by the RAF in spiritual resilience, reflecting a growing awareness that this dimension of human life merits serious consideration.
The whole concept of spiritual resilience is probably most aptly summarised by the psychiatrist and Auschwitz survivor Victor Frankl, who suggests that the meaning of life is best understood by a life that has meaning. Spiritual resilience is about placing life in a context of broader meaning, giving us a framework to understand the challenges of life, on both a corporate and personal basis. A wide variety of social commentators agree that as a culture we are generally spiritually shallow, too busy focussing on short term materialistic goals to make much sense of our world. The novelist Douglas Coupland, to name but one, suggests that we have become‘ de-narrated’, lacking a shared story to live within.
The individualised society that we inhabit has brought many blessings but has also left many of us feeling rootless and insecure. As a result, we struggle with questions of meaning and morality, lacking a‘ big picture’ to frame both our struggles and our values. We have a deep human need to live within a framework that is bigger than us. Spiritual resilience is all about helping us identify that framework, understanding how we fit into the world, and acknowledging that we are more than mere physical entities.
RAF Chaplains are currently involved in an exciting new project to develop spiritual resilience within the Royal Air Force, alongside those working in the fields of physical, emotional, and psychological resilience. This material is being explored in classrooms on field trips and a variety of other settings. Through the Robson Academy of Resilience, what the German theologian Paul Tillich called questions of‘ ultimate concern’ can be addressed as part of what it means to lead a rounded human life. Where have I come from, where am I going and what am I here for? Facing up to these questions gives us a greater capacity to deal with the realities of life.
As Chaplains, we are uniquely placed to help the RAF explore this subject. From the very day that they enter the Air Force, we walk alongside men and women as they face the challenges and demands of Service life. They have now joined an organisation which has a narrative, an organisation which takes individuals and develops them into a team with meaning and purpose. With a strong sense of group identity and a calling to serve, the RAF has a story stretching back over a century. Through conversations in classrooms, crewrooms and beside desert airfields, Chaplains help our personnel explore their part in that story as it unfolds today. And, of course, we sometimes have the opportunity to share with them the ultimate story which gives life meaning and purpose.
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