Retired Chaplains Oppose DADT Repeal

The Alliance Defense Fund has previously stated its position that the “repeal” of DADT would ultimately result in untenable conflicts between the moral, religious positions of military Chaplains and the new policy.  The ADF is now publicizing a 6-page letter signed by 41 “distinguished” Chaplains opposing the policy change.

The letter says, in essence, that if homosexuals were allowed to serve openly by direct military policy, the Chaplains would be forced to choose “to obey God or to obey men.”  Chaplains would be forced to avoid preaching on certain topics, or would face Read more

Chairman: Officers Who Support DADT Can Resign

Update: The Army announced that General Mixon will not be reprimanded.

LtGen Benjamin R. Mixon, commanding general of US Army Pacific, previously wrote a letter to the editor encouraging servicemembers to “speak up” about their views on the potential repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  His letter was used as the second example of an active duty officer publicly disagreeing with the proposed change, when he said

If those of us who are in favor of retaining the current policy do not speak up, there is no chance to retain the current policy.

This was particularly salient, because, as the General pointed out, there has been little public opposition from those in the military on the topic.  (By contrast, present and former members of the military who oppose the ban have been a common item in the media, some in clear violation of military regulations.)  The supposition was that military members did disagree, but feared the reaction of the military if they expressed disagreement with their Commander in Chief and senior officers.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, who have expressed support for President Obama’s proposal to lift the ban, called General Mixon’s letter “inappropriate“:  Read more

Chaplain Accused of Violating DADT

A US Army National Guard Chaplain is under investigation for violating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by allegedly “telling” a superior Chaplain that he was gay.

Aris Fokas is a United Church of Christ minister who joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2003 at the age of 39.  Fokas has reportedly denied the disclosure, though he reportedly

declined to say anything about his sexual orientation other than to acknowledge he is single and has never been married.

He noted, too, that the United Church of Christ ordains openly gay and lesbian ministers, a denomination-wide policy since 1980.

In an apparent attempt to defend himself, Fokas says  Read more

Weinstein Defines Religions, Assigns Followers

According to the Advocate, a homosexual advocacy publication, Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation is on a new crusade: supporting the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Comically, Weinstein, who has been taken to task for his displays of Constitutional ignorance, again displays his lack of knowledge with regard to the ongoing controversy.  The Advocate asked him…twice…what power the President had to repeal the policy on homosexuals in the military.  Twice, the former White House counsel talked vaguely about executive orders without explaining how an executive order can overturn a law passed by Congress (Title 10, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 37, § 654).  (Answer: it can’t.)

When asked about who the MRFF is “fighting,” Weinstein again displayed his tendency to make up his own definitions of religious groups–and then to assign people to them as he saw fit.

We’ve got this fanatical religiosity in fundamental Christianity… Read more

Chaplains Disinvite FRC’s Perkins over DADT Statements

Just days after noting the potential impact that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal might have on military Chaplains, there are now widespread articles on the decision by an Air Force base Chaplain’s office to rescind the invitation of a speaker who opposed President Obama’s proposed repeal.

The actions were those of an individual Chaplain’s office and were not necessarily indicative of the decisions of higher level leadership.  However, the decision itself is a perfect example of the conflict that organizations opposing the repeal intend to highlight.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins had been invited in October by the Chaplains’ office to speak at the February 25 National Prayer Luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base (now known as Joint Base Andrews).  Perkins is a US Marine veteran and ordained minister.  Supposedly, after President Obama used his State of the Union to call for a repeal of DADT, and Perkins and the FRC vocally opposed him, the Chaplain’s office rescinded the invitation.  (Notably, the Chaplain’s office is free to invite or disinvite anyone they choose; it is their public reasoning for doing so that makes this case interesting.)

The letter from the Chaplain’s office rescinding the invitation reportedly said:  Read more

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Changes May Impact Chaplains

With the Obama administration’s recent efforts to allow homosexuals to openly serve in the US military, some organizations are beginning to describe the impact that such a policy change could have on US military Chaplains.

As reported by the Catholic News Agency, the Alliance Defense Fund is one such group.  The CNA said

Proposed changes allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military could marginalize military chaplains from religions which consider homosexual acts sinful, a religious liberty group has warned.

The ADF specifically said that the ‘affirmation’ of homosexuality in the military Read more

Prayer, Government, and the US Military

The National Prayer Breakfast was already a controversial event this year, as at least one group had urged President Obama to skip the annual event attended by sitting Presidents for the past few decades.

He chose to attend, but he did not avoid controversy.  He addressed the concerns of those who did not want him to attend by specifically speaking against a law about homosexuals in Uganda.  The normally smooth orator also managed to mispronounce a military rank, calling a Navy medic a “corpse-man” rather than a “corpsman” (properly pronounced “core-man”) (not once, but three times), and he expressed the thought that non-theists Read more

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