NORFOLK, Va. — In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command (CNRFC) Chaplains Office launched a 24/7 chaplain hotline, Apr. 1.
This around-the-clock on-call phone service for Reserve Force personnel and their families provides safe and confidential counseling and spiritual services.
The CNRFC 24/7 chaplain line is available at (757) 322-5650 for all Navy Reserve Sailors.
“There are a lot of Reserve Sailors out there who are experiencing stress,” said CNRFC Command Chaplain Capt. Brian J. Stamm. “We see this as a healthy outlet. Some individuals may not be willing to talk to somebody about some concerns, particularly concerns about mental health issues if they thought the conversation was not 100% confidential. This provides a safety valve.”
Only Navy Reserve force personnel and their families are authorized to use the service. Active Navy military and civilian personnel are encouraged to use chaplain resources available locally at their command or installation.
“In any crisis, making sure you have someone to reach out and talk to is a way of reassuring hope,” Stamm added. “When you start to lose hope in a situation, you very easily lose perspective. That’s one thing we hope to do by providing a duty chaplain as someone you can call.”
Stamm says his new guidance to Reserve Sailors in light of the ongoing COVID-19 response is to wash your hands and pray. “If you are religious, remember prayer is always a good practice. We have a prayer posted on the CNRFC website that will be changing every couple of weeks.”
The Navy Reserve takes pride in being a ready, agile force providing valuable and vital support to the Navy and the Nation. Today, the Reserve force consists of 59,641 Selected Reserve Sailors (including 10,153 Full Time Support members) 43,754 Individual Ready Reserve members and 422 civilians. The Navy Reserve team, over 100,000 strong, delivers strategic depth and operational capability to the Navy and Marine Corps team and Joint Forces in times of peace and war.