God and Country

It’s long been known that Michael Weinstein is starved for attention in a way unique for a man his age.  His zealotry for his cause is so consuming, in fact, there are times even his wife has said he has gone “overboard” — because he wants attention.

“When he goes a little overboard, we talk about it,” [Bonnie Weinstein] said. “But people don’t realize that going overboard is what’s getting the attention.”

In theory, Weinstein’s claims of ubiquitous persecution would result in droves of US military members beating down his door for help.  In fact, the opposite is true — in 2007 Weinstein even had to advertise to find someone to complain:

Without such a pawn, Read more…

US Army Chaplain (Capt) Thomas Dyer was once a Marine.  He was also once a Southern Baptist preacher.

Dyer has served for several years, including a deployment to Iraq.  While he’s the first Army Buddhist chaplain, several Buddhists have recently become chaplain candidates.

The TV station local to Fort Benning recently did a short segment on the Chaplain, and the military’s support to religious freedom his service demonstrates:

The US military continues to face a shortage of Catholic priests, while the Catholic church itself has a shortage of church leaders:

Catholics make up the largest single religious denomination in the military…There is one chaplain for every 1,300 Catholic servicemen and servicewomen.

One way they’re attempting to alleviate the strain is with a joint scholarship Read more…

In what is probably the least reported, longest running lawsuit regarding religion and the US military, a group of chaplains has been told they can proceed with some, but not all, of their claims against the Navy.

A slightly changing group of chaplains, chaplain agencies, and churches sued more than 20 years ago alleging the Navy discriminates against Read more…

A US Army article details the support of Army chaplains to families and Soldiers as they deploy and return home.  Check out the name of the chaplain:

“We help strengthen family relationships,” said Maj. Billy Graham, 101st CAB chaplain. “We conduct the ‘Strong Bonds’ retreats for married soldiers and hold events for single Read more…

Pastor Rick Warren gave an interview to ABCNews’ Jake Tapper in which he “defended the use of military force.”  Apparently, this was newsworthy:

Military service…is a worthy and valid vocation. In fact, the greatest compliment that Jesus ever gave, he gave to a soldier in scripture. He said, “I’ve never seen such faith in all of Israel.” And the Bible said God has Read more…

Bagram Air Base’s chaplains organized a Run for Jesus 5-Miler in which nearly 600 US servicemembers attended a sunrise Easter service followed by a run around the base.  One group even carried an 8-foot cross.

The 82nd CAB Chaplain’s team hosted the first “Run for Jesus” on Bagram Apr. 8. Held on Easter Sunday, the 5-mile race began with a sunrise service hosted by three of the CAB Chaplains. More than 560 people completed the track around Bagram Airfield.

Nearly 700 photos of the event are available on the unit’s Facebook page (in Part I and Part II).

Other US servicemembers in Afghanistan were also able to take time Read more…

Fort Bragg’s Rock Beyond Belief passed quietly last Saturday.  While organizers had predicted a crowd of 5,000, Richard Dawkins, the main draw of the event whose “sell out” crowds were the justification for the attendance forecast, ultimately spoke to only “a couple hundred” spectators.  Photos of the event show Aiden, the musical act originally billed as Dawkins’ lead-in, playing to only a few dozen who had stuck out the day.  It also appeared the military base was hosting a largely civilian crowd.

Rain early in the day may have affected attendance, much as the heat affected the Christian Rock the Fort the atheist event was meant to protest.  Rock the Fort reportedly drew 3,000 to 4,000 of the forecast 10,000 (and the atheists had been quick to mock the attendance numbers of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association event).

Interestingly, Col Sicinski was on site of the event and indicated the event wasn’t the controversy it may have been made out to be:  Read more…

Chaplains in the US Marine Corps are actually officers in the US Navy.  Chaplain (LtCmdr) Mark Tews comments on the importance of chaplains to his Marines:

“If a Marine is having a bad day and needs a place to go and to feel safe and talk about any issues, the chaplain is always there for them,” he explained. “For Marines, this is a place of sanctuary where they don’t have to worry about anything and can talk with the chaplain about anything.”

The primary organizer of Rock Beyond Belief, the atheist festival occurring this weekend at Fort Bragg, has — again — drug Fort Bragg and the US Army through the mud in an apparent bid for publicity.

In a sensationally titled “Fort Bragg wont let us feed homeless vets at the atheist festival,” Justin Griffith says Fort Bragg denied their plan to do a canned food collection.  Griffith summarized [emphasis original]:

The ‘pro-starvation’ camp has prevailed…

At issue is Joint Ethics Regulation 3-211, which says the DoD can let non-Federal entities (ie, Rock Beyond Belief) use DoD facilities (ie, Fort Bragg’s resources) except for fundraising events.  Apparently, Fort Bragg determined canned food collection was fundraising.

Whether collecting canned food for a charitable cause constitutes non-Federal fundraising is a legitimate question.  Rather than take direct issue with that, however, Griffith took a different tack:  He said the Christians Read more…

Two US Army chaplains, Chaplain (Col) John McGraw and Chaplain (Col) Jerry Lewis, recently took the Army’s resiliency mantra to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Their African hosts seemed to welcome the opportunity:

Chief of DRC Chaplains Col. Jeanne Paul Keela sees the emerging relationship between his organization and U.S. Army chaplains as Read more…

The Jewish online magazine Tablet covers the story of US Army Chaplain (LtCol) Larry Bazer, who recently returned from a deployment as the “only Jewish chaplain in Afghanistan.”

The article contains some interesting commentaries on the chaplaincy in general, as well as some specifics related to life as a Jewish chaplain:

The [Camp Phoenix] chapel, said Bazer, “was a cozy little place”: a small, nondescript room built of plywood. During the day it was devoid of any religious symbols, but during the evenings a few crosses would turn it into a Protestant chapel, or some icons into a Catholic church. On Friday nights, candles and challah—sent each month by the “challah lady,” a Long Island Jewish woman—made it a synagogue.

Chaplain Bazer’s congregations varied from none to nearly 20 as he traveled Afghanistan as the only Jewish Read more…

US Air Force Chief of Chaplain (MajGen) Cecil Richardson recently spoke to the Fairchild AFB National Prayer Luncheon on prayer, where he also noted the “relentless attacks on people of faith and traditional values” that have recently characterized the public discourse:

“It’s to pray for ourselves, our community, units, friends, families and leaders,” said the Air Force’s ranking chaplain.

“It’s also a time to pause and remind ourselves despite the relentless attacks on people of faith and traditional values, Read more…

“Being spiritually fit to fight is an essential element to being ready to accomplish your mission,” is Air Force Chaplain Lt. Col. Harp’s opinion on the mission of spiritual fitness.

Camp Buehring, Kuwait, recently opened its “Spiritual Life Center,” giving American troops at the remote base a place to “nurture the spiritual health of the warriors.”

Spiritual strength is one of the pillars of resiliency the military has attempted to support in its troops as they both fight in combat and reintegrate at home.

“I never attended services in the civilian world. But all that changed when I joined the Army.”

Jake Kohlman thought religious services during basic training would be a good excuse to get away from the military training instructors.  He was right.  But he was also renewed in his faith.  As it turns out, many trainees may have gone just for the doughnuts:

After the service we filed into the parking lot, where some kind, older veterans had set up picnic tables with lemonade and doughnuts. Now I understood why the service was so popular…The doughnut I had that day was the best I’d ever had.

Turns out some other trainees caught on:

Eventually, word leaked out to the rest of the company about the doughnuts and lemonade, and by the end of Basic, 65 soldiers from my company alone were marching to services on Sunday…’

Chris Rodda of Michael Weinstein’s MRFF has previously said Christian Read more…