According to a variety of sources, the National Prayer Breakfast is an annual Washington, DC, event for Congressional and Executive leaders that has been ongoing for decades.  President Obama spoke at this year’s event in February.

The tradition has spread across the country, with a variety of other locations holding similar breakfasts, luncheons, or other gatherings.  Members of the Chaplain corps often sponsor Prayer Breakfasts at military installations.  Prayers and speeches are often presented by Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Chaplains, as well as notable personalities.  Though they are non-denominational and inclusive, they are not without controversy.

The 10th Mountain Division held theirs in early March, with noted speaker Bobby Welch invited to address the group.  Welch is a Vietnam Veteran and decorated former Army officer, as well as former President of the Southern Baptist Convention.  He and his book, You, the Warrior Leader, have frequently been mentioned by Michael Weinstein in his Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s “war” against Christianity in the military.

Air Force Chief Chaplain (Maj Gen) Cecil Richardson has made the rounds of many Air Force bases, including Dyess, Maxwell, Edwards, Vandenberg, Peterson, Pope, and Charleston, as well as Fort Meade.  Encouraging servicemen and women to have faith, using the story of David and Goliath, Richardson said

I’m not saying that nothing bad will ever happen to you.  But if you put your faith in Him, whatever He authorizes, He will give you the grace to handle it. You see, we’ve got air cover. God has a huge Air Force full of angels, and he’s not downsizing. You’ve got a wingman. And victory comes to those who step out and act on their faith.

Like Army Chief Chaplain (Maj Gen) Carver, the Air Force Chief of Chaplains has not been spared in Weinstein’s criticisms of religion in the military.  Weinstein has called the Chaplain a “Constitutional rapist”: 

We view Richardson as the prototypical poster child of the type of constitutional rapist we are trying to eradicate from existence within the US military.

Regardless, the annual National Prayer Breakfast or similar remembrance is a decades-old tradition, rooted even in civilian government, that allows men and women in service to their country to pause and pray, both for themselves, and for their country.