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The program’s reduction and eventual demise reflected a lessening of fears of “godlesscommunism,” new theories of military sociologists that added to military commanders’ skepticismof the importance of moral and spiritual instruction to combat motivation, and “an increasingsecularization of the public sphere” in which arguments for church-state separation once again roseto the fore. By 1963, the Army Chaplains Office had to reiterate to the chaplain-instructors that theprogram was “non-religious” and should not be confused with or used for religious instruction. Sixyears later, a new set of guidelines were issued that clearly set the chaplains task outside the religiousdomain, saying that they must “recognize fully that their role in the Character Guidance Program isstrictly as a staff officer performing a military function.” With the switch to an all-volunteer Army,which did not need public support for a selective service system, the service “sidelined a programdesigned to inculcate personal and civic values in an army of citizen-soldiers, relying instead on arevitalized military ethic to teach the values and behavior appropriate to professional soldiers.” 75Termination of the chaplain-run program also spelled the end of perhaps the most ambitious strategiccommunications effort ever undertaken by the chaplains’ corps, one that counted on “a defensiblepolicy, a respectable identity, a core value” for its inspiration and success.ConclusionMilitary chaplains have conducted the classic tasks of strategic communications—those involvinggoal setting, situational knowledge, communication competence, and anxiety management—in avariety of situations of peace and war throughout history. The development of armed forces’ quasiindependentreligious corps has at times lent crucial role support, both within the services and in thecommunity at large, for the political orientation and strategic direction—including ideas, policies andcourses of action—of the military and its political overseers.The historical record of chaplains as strategic communicators offers a new perspective on howthey were able to maintain the respectable identities and core values as military officers and as leadersof a spiritual community. It is no accident that in non-religious states, political officers or one-partystate commissars have had to fill the void in areas of morale, motivation and political socialization.Since the end of the 19 th century, there have been several instances where military chaplainshave played key roles in post-conflict scenarios such as peacekeeping and stability operations. Inthe Spanish-American War, Army Gen. John J. Pershing’s chaplain worked as a liaison with bothCatholic clergy and Muslim leaders in the Philippines to reduce hostilities. A military chaplain’sreligious support to former Nazi war criminals on trial at Nuremberg created a “unique trust” that“facilitated increased cooperation of criminals with authorities.” In turn, the “symbolic and actualsuccess of these trials was crucial to the stability and reconstruction of post-war Europe.” Morerecently, military chaplains have also established trust relationships with local communities in SaudiArabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, was well as during stability operations inthe Balkans conflict. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, an army chaplain’s outreach to local Muslimclerics resulted in a “measurable decrease” in violence against U.S. troops. “(C)haplains have beendrawn on by visionary commanders to connect with indigenous religious leaders and communitiesto increase success and reduce risks in stability operations,” the authors of a recent study on militarychaplains as “peace builders” noted. “Religion is best viewed as a force useful in stability operationsrather than an issue to disregard or overcome.” 76Appreciation of the military chaplains’ historic role as strategic communicators can be animportant step in the realization of these and other national strategic goals, such as combatingterrorism or carrying out successful peacekeeping missions.75Loveland, “Character Education in the U.S. Army, 1847-1977,” op. cit., pp. 805-810, 818.76On the Nuremberg example, see William J. Hourihan, “U.S. Army Chaplain Ministry to German War Criminals at Nuremberg, 1945-1946,” in Col.(Ret.) Walter J. Boyne, Today’s Best Military Writing. The Finest Articles on the Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Military,” (New York: ForgeBooks, 2005); Chaplain William Sean Lee, et. al., Military Chaplains as Peace Builders, op. cit., pp. 7, 15-16.Security and Defense Studies Review 2009/Edición 2009/ Edicão 2009/ Volume 9, Issues 1 & 2 131