A third and fourth P that non-chaplains provide to chaplains are Presence and Participation. Nothing is more discouraging to chaplains than spending eight to twelve hours preparing a worship experience and to have no one come including the commander. Not only being Present, but volunteering to Participate in chapel, religious, moral, and morale building activities is essential in order to support chaplains, help keep their morale up and help them do their jobs better. These activities provide a variety of contexts and encounters with soldiers, thereby enlarging the frame of reference for chaplains. This increases the reliability of the chaplain s observations.
Access is one of the most important support functions that non-clergy can provide to clergy.
Chaplains need access to not only the soldiers and the commander but information about operations, patients, family and the chain of command. Ideally access is unfettered. This might mean that chaplains need to have the same security clearances as other senior staff officers and commanders. It also means that they will need to be informed as to meetings, briefings and other command related activities. Keeping in mind that chaplains have a unique set of lenses through which they observe the world, they are less interested in the technical aspects of operations or activities and more interested in relational issues.