 Welcome. Today we're here with the Chief of Chaplains, Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben. Ma'am, thank you for joining us. Now, today we're here to talk about what chaplains do for sailors and the Navy, and maybe bust a couple of myths. But first, September is Suicide Prevention Month, and chaplains play a big role in sailor resilience. Ma'am, what more can you tell us about the chaplain's role in suicide prevention and intervention? Thank you so very much for the opportunity to share exactly those thoughts. I think it's really important for sailors, family members, commands to really understand the particular and very critical role that chaplains can play with respect to suicide prevention and intervention. We have an opportunity to really get to know a command well. We know where people are. We know who they are. We have opportunity to have an access to just about every space. We're talking with sailors around. We can kind of pick up signals and where an area is particularly tense, or an individual is having some struggles personally. And this is probably the most significant thing, is that when an individual is struggling with something in their lives, and they just really want someone to talk to about all those issues, whether suicide is on the table or not, they know that they can come to a chaplain with complete confidentiality. And should the decision be part of their thoughts that they might be thinking about suicide to just lay that out on the table sometimes, is really very important, so that they can just know that somebody heard it, and then therefore they see that somebody has heard them. And in hearing them, then maybe suicide gets taken off the table. Well, ma'am, for sailors that might be struggling in this area, what message would you have for them if they're not really sure where to turn or even where to start? So really, all of us are here together in the Navy to not just to complete a mission, but we're really here as what is truly shipmates. And what I would hope every sailor would know is that all of us have a responsibility to each other. There are a number of people within the command, but most especially, that there are chaplains who are more than willing to listen to your story. If you are one of those folks who are thinking about suicide, I would highly encourage you, I would urge you, in fact, to look for someone whom you trust, that you can talk to to get that out and in the open so that people can get you to the resources that you need. Well, ma'am, as we talk a little bit about chaplains, what can you tell us in your experience are some of the most common myths or misconceptions about chaplains that you see out in the fleet? What I have heard time and again is that chaplains just do religious stuff, you know, that we only work on Sundays or on the weekends. Well, obviously, that's not true. We're in the command every day. We're walking around the spaces every day. And what we do in that time is not, we're not just killing time. We're not just yucking it up with one sailor to another. But really what we're there to do is to listen and to create an environment that people know that there's somebody out there that they can trust. But oftentimes what happens when a chaplain walks in a room, the language just changes. In fact, it just sort of shuts down. And part of that reluctance to speak is really that we represent something greater than ourselves. And that can be a really scary thing. But the bottom line is, is that I would hope that if you are one of those sailors who are reluctant to talk to us as chaplains, you need to know that we're not just gonna swat you, we're not gonna swat you over the head with a Bible. We're not gonna try to convert you. We're gonna take you where you are. You set the agenda when you come to talk to us. You, you're the one who sets the conversation. And if you wanna go down a discussion where we talk about religion, we talk about faith, I'm all over it, and as all are the other chaplains inside of the chaplain corps. But if you just wanna talk through some stuff and you don't wanna put that religious flavor on it, whether you're a person of faith or not a person of faith, or of no faith, then we are still an advocate for you, regardless of what you're wrestling with, regardless of the direction you want that conversation to go, that what we have for you is really our open ears, open arms, and an opportunity for you to just be yourself. Well, Ma'am, you mentioned the 100% confidentiality between what a sailor says and a chaplain, but the chaplain still works for the CEO, so what level is that confidentiality? There must be some level of mandatory reporting that comes into the conversation. Chaplains are not mandatory reporters, in any case, in any situation. It's what makes us unique from any other provider that's out there. Now, everyone has a level, every of the other providers have some level of confidentiality that has a limit, but we don't. Ours is 100%, not 99.44, 100th percent, but 100% confidentiality. A commander can come up to me and say, Chaplain, tell me what Seaman Smith just said, and I will say to the commander, aside from the fact, sir, ma'am, that I can't tell you that, you don't want me to tell you what Seaman Smith said. What you want, aside from the fact that Seaman Smith could have some pretty colorful language and a fascinating discussion, but what you want, commander, is you want that pressure valve. You want that somebody in your command who can release that pressure valve so that it doesn't have any other further impact on the rest of the command. You want every one of your sailors and their family members to know that there's a safe place that they can go to just be themselves. Commander, you don't want me to tell you the truth, not because you can't handle it, but you don't want me to tell you what's going on because what you really want is for your sailors to know that you, as a commander, have provided for them in this very particular and unique resource. Well, ma'am, thank you so much for joining us, and if you out there have any questions that we didn't ask today, you can reach out to the chief of chaplains on facebook.com slash chief of Navy chaplains. Thanks for watching.