[agarrett]

How right those Marines are not to talk to a psychiatrist. They should also never tell the Chaplain about any problems they are having because the Chaplain will also report them to the Commanding Officer. I speak from experience.

  Did the rules change since I was in? As I recall the briefing, chaplains were under confidentiality. They were not allowed to report what people told them, and couldn't tell even if they were ordered. They were still officers, and as I recall, the chaplain who briefed us on this also said if some one told him of something dangerous, he wouldn't let him leave the office until he was sure he'd report it himself, but the chaplain couldn't do so.

  Course, I got this briefing from a chaplain, so if it's wrong or biased, set me straight.

Drew Garrett

[Poohbah]

My experience: it would take something VERY serious for the chaplain to break confidentiality. The only incident of a chaplain running to the CO I ever heard of in the USMC involved a guy who (a) was starting to experience auditory and visual hallucinations and (b) was guarding a Special Ammunition Storage Facility.