The US Army has been celebrating the 237th Anniversary of the Army Chaplaincy, as defined by July 29, 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized (or authorized pay for, to be more accurate) chaplains in the Continental Army, whose Commander in Chief was General George Washington.
The celebrations have taken many forms, including a mass parachute jump of chaplains and senior leaders at Fort Bragg to a cake-cutting at Redstone Arsenal.
Some military atheist will probably stamp his feet in “me, too” fashion and threaten to sue over the fact his religion wasn’t included on the cake. Icing demands “equality” and is a “limited public forum,” you know.
An interesting website over at GeneralWashington.net sponsors a sort of ‘living history’ of George Washington’s life. The “blog” on the site follows the dates of Washington’s actual correspondence on those dates more than 200 years ago.
A couple of weeks ago, it noted his order from 7 February 1776:
The Continental Congress having been pleased to order, and direct, that there shall be one Chaplain to two Regiments, and that the pay of each Chaplain shall be Thirty-three dollars and one third, pr Kalendar Month–The Revd. Abiel Leonard is appointed Chaplain to the Regiment of Artillery, under the command of Col Knox, and to the 20th. Regiment, at present commanded by Lt. Col Durkee.
Via the Army Chaplaincy blog.
Or, as the case may be, Have Koran, or Vedas…
An Army news article notes the necessary travels of military Chaplains as they travel throughout the combat area in Afghanistan serving the religious and morale needs of those in their care. There have been a variety of other articles on “fob-hopping,” but this one included an interesting summary of the US military Chaplaincy:
The Chaplain’s Corps has been around since 1775. Following the creation of the infantry as a branch of the Army, the Read more…
Categories: Chaplain Tags: Afghanistan, army, Bible, Congress, george washington, koran, Military, Public Expression, quran, Religion, religious freedom, vedas
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates issued his annual holiday message this past week. As is often tradition when mentioning the military and this “holiday season,” he cited George Washington’s Christmas crossing of the Delaware in 1776:
On Christmas Night, December 25, 1776, General George Washington and his band of 2,400 men crossed the icy Delaware River, won victories against British and German troops, and stirred new hope into the struggle for freedom and liberty… Read more…
Chaplain (1Lt) William Parsons serves a “two-fold” mission in the US Army:
Parsons still wears a cross on his Army Combat Uniform, but the American flag on his right shoulder also symbolizes his mission, not only for God, but for country.
Parsons seems to understand what is often forgotten in the modern culture: character and well-being spring from within, and one ignores them at their peril: Read more…
Not long after talking about the discharge of the cheating Marines, Stars and Stripes noted that two Navy Chiefs are being “forced to retire” after helping a Sailor cheat on a military advancement exam.
During a rare court-martial at sea, chief petty officers Reynaldo M. Bernardo and Ferdinand P. Quinto were found guilty May 24 of failing to obey a lawful order, said the aircraft carrier’s spokesman, LtCmdr Bill Urban…
It appears the cheating, which occurred on the USS George Washington, was fairly obvious:
During the exam, Bernardo and Quinto moved a sailor to a different table and then instructed the sailor to cheat off another sailor’s test, Read more…
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