. >> reporter: chaplain steven rindahl served 15 months in iraq. now he's the chaplain at the fort jackson hospital in south carolina, which is also the headquarters of the army's chaplain school. there are 2900 full and part-time chaplains, and many have served at least one tour of duty in a combat zone, and, like chaplain rindahl, been haunted by the experience. >> we have 17 of our soldiers killed and one of our contracted interpreters, and i did not keep count of how many traumatic amputations and other wounds that caused our people to be evacuated from theater. >> reporter: it was his fellow chaplains who took him aside and told him that he was suffering from what has become known as "compassion fatigue." >> i realized that what they were saying was true because i would hear footsteps outside in the gravel, the crunching noise, and i would just be terrified that somebody was coming to tell me about another casualty. >> across the board we have recognized that we do have chaplains that have experienced combat trauma. >> reporter: colonel mike d