Chaplains, Casualty Officers provide support following loss of active duty military members

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (WTVD) -- In the wake of the deaths of four American soldiers overseas this past weekend, including First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan and Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, both stationed at Fort Bragg, Army officials here are highlighting the unseen support network that helps guide grieving families through their darkest hours.

140 chaplains and 70 casualty assistance officers at Fort Bragg stand ready to support military families facing loss. It's a responsibility, they say, that demands both compassion and strength.

"It never gets easy, but it's really what many of our chaplains have a deep calling for and desire to serve in that way," said Garrison Chaplain Jay Outen, who oversees religious support operations at Fort Bragg. "At the worst moments of the lives of these families, it's our calling to be there for them during this time."

Outen, who has served 23 years in the Army, including 11 at Fort Bragg, knows firsthand the emotional toll that comes with delivering the worst possible news.

"In my career, I've seen it just, you're there to comfort them for a few minutes," Outen said. "I'm prepared to answer questions, too. But mainly my goal is to listen and just to be there and to offer what they need at that moment."

When a soldier dies, chaplains join casualty assistance officers as part of the notification team, providing counseling, spiritual guidance, and comfort to grieving families.

The work has become all too familiar as fighting intensifies overseas.

On Monday, the Pentagon identified First Lieutenant Tyler Feehan, stationed at Fort Bragg, as one of the soldiers killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan. The next day, the U.S. military announced that another Fort Bragg soldier and Fayetteville native, Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, was killed during a controlled detonation at an air base in northern Iraq.

President Donald Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday to attend a dignified transfer of U.S. service members killed in the war in Iran.

Wednesday's ceremony was the third dignified transfer Trump has attended since the start of the Iran war.

The bodies were escorted in order of rank:

First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii;

Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, a Fayetteville native;

Sergeant Angel Rampersad, 28, of New York;

and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas.

In total 18 service members have been killed in the start of the war and more than 500 have been wounded.

"As senior chaplains, we lived through this 20 years ago this was a regular occurrence, sadly," Outen said. "And so our chaplains and really the military community around here became very adept at handling these situations. And now we have a new generation of soldiers."

Donell Bowser, casualty supervisor at the Fort Bragg Assistance Center, emphasized the importance of empathy in the role. "We have to always remember is the empathy put ourselves how we feel if that was our loved one," Bowser said.

Bowser, who served in the Army during the early 1980s, described the mission as deeply personal.

"I was in Desert Storm and Desert Shield and a friend of mine was killed. So you can understand that that kind of leaves in a way why I do what I do," he said.

Casualty officers help families navigate every step after a service member is killed, goes missing, or is seriously injured, providing administrative, logistical, and emotional support. "No matter how the family member may respond, we're going to always be there for them," Bowser said.

"When a soldier dies, the family basically has no clue as to what needs to be done. So we basically, we are that light in the darkness that guides them through," Bowser added.

Before taking on this responsibility, casualty assistance officers undergo specific training to ensure they're prepared to offer the guidance and support families need during their time of loss.

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