WEBVTT

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I'm Captain Ryan Carter
from Scarborough, Ontario,

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and I'm a Chaplain, currently serving
at the Royal Military College of Canada.

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Chaplains are spiritual leaders
in the Canadian Armed Forces

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who support military personnel
in their careers both at home and abroad.

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Chaplains care for and advise members
of the Forces on spiritual expression

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that includes all types of world religions.

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Me, as a Muslim,
I'm grounded in my faith tradition,

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I'm educated in my faith tradition,
I'm part of my faith community.

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That's my foundation.

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But certainly I work with people
of all different backgrounds.

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And people seek our assistance
for various reasons.

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Chaplains are advocates.

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We walk with people
through their difficulties and their challenges.

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People trust us.

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We're that impartial member of the military

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where people can seek
support and assistance through.

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And that, I think,
is the essence of what Chaplains do.

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This can include supporting families
and their loved ones,

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offering counselling services, and
helping members with their spiritual needs.

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They serve on bases across Canada,
and in deployed theatres of operation

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like humanitarian missions
or antiterrorism operations.

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Chaplains may also work
with civilian religious faith groups

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in the course of their duties.

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I think that's what I love the most
about my job is every day is different.

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It's very dynamic.

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A day could consist of me
doing physical training with the troops,

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serving food, and just interacting
with the members on the ground.

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Or it could be me
performing religious services, doing a parade.

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And one of the things I love doing
is connecting with the chain of command

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to inform them of the pulse, the morale
of the unit and see how things are going.

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And I think that's a function
which is central to what I do -

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is to make sure everyone is doing OK.

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Chaplains typically begin their ministries
as a unit chaplain with the Navy,

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Army or Air Force
for the first three to four years of service.

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A big part of what we do
is what we call ministry of presence.

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Chaplains have to be present
in all aspects of the unit life.

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Which could mean having
a coffee with the members, you know,

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see how things are going,
having lunch with them.

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A big part of understanding military life
is simply: walk with the troops.

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And at the core of what we do,
that ministry of presence

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is what makes us unique
as a military occupation.

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Chaplains are highly skilled in active
listening and have a sense of adventure.

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They have an open attitude and promote
diversity within the Canadian Armed Forces

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by providing an environment
that is caring and compassionate.

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Some of us are clinical chaplains -

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mental health chaplains who work in the clinic
alongside the mental health workers.

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We have other chaplains
that specialize in conflict.

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Other chaplains
that specialize in pluralism and in ethics.

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So there are many options available later on
in your career where you can specialize

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in these unique areas
of ministry and advocacy.

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When I look around myself,
I see myself in position

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where I can respond to where I see the gaps -
things that are missing.

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Part of it is education.

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We all need to learn about difference,
we all need to learn about diversity,

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and we all need to learn about each other.

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And one of the greatest joys
I participated in is to set up

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and to establish educational opportunities
for members here at my unit.

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To set up opportunities,
to experience other religions, other cultures.

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And I think this has been
one of the greatest joys of my career

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is to have this opportunity where I can teach,
where I can be part of the change,

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and advocate where advocacy is needed.