It occurred to me once that perhaps the chaplain might be able to help. They told me I could find him at the officers’ bar, and when I did, he was as tipsy and garrulous as anyone there. He stepped outside to see me, but when I told why I’d come, he laughed and told me I’d get over it. “But if you want, come to services before you fight next time,” the chaplain said. “That way you can kill men in a state of grace.” He thought the joke was very funny. He went back inside to repeat it to the others.
Perhaps this chaplain was struggling himself with PTSD or poor mental health in some other way, maybe he did not have true faith himself, regardless the consequences of his lapse here are terrible. Christians are never 'off duty' and should always be available to be a witness and proclaim the Gospel, especially when asked so directly.
