The US Military, Religion, and Yoga

A recent Army article notes US Soldiers in Germany have been attending yoga classes as their physical training.  The article notes

The trend is beginning to catch on. Despite initial skepticism by prospective students, yoga classes are becoming staples of training and treatment at Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Meade and other U.S. Army posts.

In fact, yoga is even being proposed as a cure for PTSD:

The discipline and peace that yoga offers can help treat PTSD both as a cure and preventative measure…Yoga helps Soldiers reduce tension and learn to manage stress. This flexibility can help avoid the shock that often leads to PTSD.

Interestingly, many people do not comprehend the association of yoga with spirituality.  To that point, Albert Mohler recently published an article entitled “The Subtle Body — Should Christians Practice Yoga?,” essentially saying that yoga is a religious Read more

SecDef Opposes Court Injunction of DADT

According to an official DoD news release, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates reiterated his position that the status of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is one for Congress to decide.  Gates said:

I feel very strongly that this is an action that needs to be taken by the Congress, and that it is an action that requires careful preparation and a lot of training. We have a lot of revision of regulations that has to be done.

At the same time, Gates repeated his former statements that the DoD review Read more

The Military, “Private” Choices, and Traditions

Some outside the military fail to comprehend the US military’s ability to govern the “private lives” of those in its service.  What happens outside the gate, or out of uniform, is beyond the military’s purview, they think. 

They’re wrong.

While this misunderstanding of military control has become increasingly evident in recent months regarding sexual conduct, it has been raised about other issues as well.

Ramstein Air Base in Germany recently restricted all personnel to base or their homes in response to increases in perceived threats.  Many civilians Read more

Priest to be First Bishop in Combat

Army Chaplain (LtCol) F. Richard Spencer is a former combat Army officer who has continued to experience combat as a Chaplain, having deployed to Iraq with the US Army.

Spencer has now been appointed a bishop of the Archdiocese for US Military Services, the Catholic oversight body for all Catholic Chaplains in the US military.  He is transitioning to the Army reserves, but still expects to be the first bishop to enter a warzone when he returns to combat areas during the high-demand holidays.  Read more

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