Jason Torpy, the one-man band that is the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, recently posted a point-by-point refutation of recent accusations of the US military being hostile to Christianity.
Much of his disagreement was nuance or the way in which something was phrased, which isn’t worth discussing here. The interesting ones, though, were the cases in which he agreed with the US military’s “anti-Christian” actions:
January 2010 — Department of Defense orders removal of tiny Bible references on military scopes and gunsights.
Torpy: True and appropriate.
This issue has been discussed before. While there is no religious requirement the references remain, the fact they were targeted because of their (obscure) religious reference — only after Michael Weinstein complained, notably – is troubling. That he would seek this Read more…
The short 5-minute video is retired Chaplain (MajGen) Douglas Carver, formerly the US Army Chief of Chaplains, and now the executive director of chaplain services for the North American Mission Board, sharing stories from his experiences as a chaplain in the US Army.
One of the most interesting, at about the 2:00 mark, is his story about a civilian-clothed operator whom he helped reconcile his mission — covertly tracking and killing the enemy, on a personal level — and the righteousness of God. As the story continues, Chaplain Carver relates how that man came to help him.
FoxNews reports on the continuation of a “scandal” from 2010: Trijicon, the maker of the much-vaunted ACOG gun sight, was known for putting an abbreviated Bible verse reference on the end of its serial numbers. Michael Weinstein found out, claimed that Islamic terrorists were offended when they were shot by rifles with these scopes, and demanded the Army remove them. Trijicon ultimately offered to provide kits to remove the references. (After threatening legal action against Trijicon, Weinstein also apparently implied his MRFF was a Christian organization…)
The Army now claims these inscriptions violated the terms of the contract: Read more…
A US Army article from Afghanistan covers the “Teach-Love-Care” aspect of the military chaplaincy. Several chaplains are quoted discussing unique and interesting aspects of the chaplain field:
On exposure to varying religious beliefs in the military:
“As a civilian minister, I was very church oriented, always surrounded by Christians. There wasn’t much chance to go out and meet people of other beliefs,” said U.S. Army chaplain Capt. Soojin Chang, a Southern Baptist chaplain…”But in the Army, I don’t have to go out and search for these people. They come to me and we discuss about our belief. There is a mutual respect with each other.”
The DoD has published a lengthy, two-part (1, 2) story on Chaplain Emil Kapaun, who will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor tomorrow. The articles contain many details of his private and military life, as well as many photographs.
Heavy contract training pilots — that’s heavy as in how much they weigh, not what they’re flying — for a US Army helicopter course have filed a lawsuit as a result of the Army’s attempt to limit their weight to 250 pounds:
Aside from the union, the suit was filed by six flight instructors whose weight ranges from 252 to 272 pounds, including their Read more…
A local article highlights US Army Chaplain (Maj) Douglas Ball and Chap (Capt) Rodney Gilliam, who visited an off-site training location to meet Soldiers’ spiritual needs:
The chaplains wanted to show Soldiers they care about them and are there if they need to talk, Ball said.
“For many of them, I provide a different avenue,” he said. “One of the advantages of the chaplains is our confidentiality…
The quoted troops responded positively: Read more…
The news of a US Army briefing seemingly supporting a doctrine of Michael Weinstein — and the firm decision by the Army to disavow the presentation — made surprisingly wide press this weekend.
At issue was a briefing given by a US Army Reservist on “Extremism and Extremist Organizations” (PDF, with notes) which listed “evangelical Christians,” “Ultra-Orthodox Judaism,” “Sunni Muslims” and “Catholicism” alongside “al Quaeda [sic]” as “religious extremism.” (In fact, evangelical Christianity was at the top of the list.) The briefer was apparently a Military Equal Opportunity officer, ironically enough.
An attendee of the briefing — who describes himself as an evangelical Christian — took issue, obtained a copy of the briefing, and provided it to the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty (CARL) and the military Catholic Archdiocese:
“Men and women of faith who have served the Army faithfully for centuries shouldn’t be likened to those who have regularly threatened the peace and security of the United States,” retired Col. Ron Crews, Read more…
Kapaun will receive the award posthumously for his extraordinary heroism while serving with 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, during combat operations in Unsan, Korea, and as a prisoner of war, according to the White House announcement…
The commanding General of the unit in which Chaplain Kapaun served Read more…
An official Army article documents the unique stories of Chaplain (Maj) James Freitag and Chaplain (1Lt) Cecil Edwards — two men who rose to high enlisted ranks before being commissioned as chaplains:
With a combined total of 60 years of service, two former reserve component sergeants major are currently serving as chaplains and both are deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Of the soldiers who enlist in the Army, very few reach the rank of sergeant major. In the history of the Army only two sergeants major have become chaplains.
It has long been said that, in general, former enlisted troops can Read more…
According to former Congressman Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, Chaplain (Capt) Emil Kapaun — who died among his fellow POWs during Korean War — will posthumously receive the US military’s highest award: the Medal of Honor.
Former Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt…sent a note he had received from an officer in the Pentagon about preparations for a White House ceremony April 11. Tiahrt later posted the letter on his Facebook page, which said that Kapaun also will be honored April 12 at the Pentagon.
President Obama will reportedly present the Medal to his family in early April. The family will be joined by other distinguished guests: Read more…
Religion News Service — the non-profit media group that famously took a grant from atheists aimed at providing favorable news coverage — provided a balanced look at the US Army’s research into the previously-discussed virtual chaplain training, otherwise known as “spiritual triage.”
Trailing the [computer animated] combat medics, the uniformed military chaplain kneels and performs “spiritual triage,” assessing who is dead, who is soon to die, and who is likely to survive.
For the dead, there is silent prayer; for the gravely wounded and those in pain, there are words of comfort…At each point in the action, a prompt asks users what they think is the appropriate Read more…
Marine Corps Base Hawaii recently named its chapel for US Navy Chaplain (CAPT) Joseph Estabrook, a Catholic chaplain who had championed the creation of a chapel to house the “roving congregation” on the base: Read more…
In October of last year, an atheist Army Soldier, SSgt Victoria Gettman, lodged complaints after a mandatory suicide prevention briefing ended with a military chaplain taking the stage and offering a candlelit prayer.
The incident seems fairly benign, and merited little attention at the time. Now, though, it seems Michael Weinstein is weighing in with (yet another empty) promise to file a lawsuit:
Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, doesn’t consider Gettman’s case closed, and he and his litigation team intend to pursue an “aggressive” federal lawsuit if the Army fails to rectify Gettman’s complaints.
The article contains an important quote from Gettman [emphasis added]: Read more…
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of any government, military, or religious organization.
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