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<p>Military Chaplains are professionally qualified to provide pastoral care to everyone,
regardless of faith or belief background. However, should a Service person feel uncomfortable
with talking to a Chaplain, they are able to seek appropriate professional support
from a variety of alternative sources, which can be facilitated by the Chaplain. This
includes their Chain of Command, through the Services' professional social workers,
medical staff, and dedicated welfare staff. Mutual support is also available via the
various staff networks, including the Humanist and Non-Religious in Defence (HAND)
Network.</p><p> </p><p>Having carefully considered whether this provision is adequate
and suitably reflects the needs of all our people, we have recently conducted a review
of this matter and consider the provision of pastoral care merits enhancement so that
we can deliver even better support. Accordingly, we are intending to recruit a non-religious
pastoral officer for each of the Armed Services, and are currently working with a
range of stakeholders from the within the breadth of the AF community to determine
how best to take this forward including how we engage with appropriate professional
endorsing bodies.</p><p> </p>
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