Tag Archives: marriage

Military Leaders Call for Moral Courage, Leadership

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In the face of the “sexual assault” scandal in the US military, Department of Defense leaders fanned out across graduation ceremonies to call on new and graduating officers to live out moral courage.  From Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, speaking to the graduating class of 2013 at West Point [ellipses original]:

When you are faced with difficult decisions, you will always know that the right thing to do…is the right thing to do.  Do it.  Listen to yourself and be guided by what you believe is right.

Standing against the crowd and choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong, as the Cadet Prayer prescribes, can be very lonely and frightening at times.  And it requires immense moral courage.

It is an interesting position to assert that every officer knows the right thing to do — meaning many in the current controversies have been knowingly choosing to do the “wrong thing.”  Of course, the “moral courage” to which Secretary Hagel refers presupposes a knowledge of right and wrong; normally, that is defined outside of “listening to yourself,” unless one includes a moral and religious upbringing in one’s character.

Secretary Hagel is Continue reading →

US Army’s Strong Bonds Protect Military Marriages

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The US military has long recognized the value of the family, even as it applies directly to the military mission.  For that reason the military services have had a variety of programs to not only counter divorce, but also to help make marriages and families stronger.  An Air Force Times article notes budget cuts have apparently not eliminated the marriage enrichment programs in the Air Force.

The Army’s long-running program is Strong Bonds, a chaplain-led retreat which gets husbands and wives away from the day-to-day toils to focus on their relationship:

It’s a chance to really look at marriage with Continue reading →

Family Life Chaplains Train to Save Lives

A Fort Hood press release notes the training program for Army chaplains in marriage and family counseling.  In a trait few seem to realize, the chaplains who attend the program are not only specially trained in counseling, they also get a degree in the process:

“Our primary mission is to train Army chaplains in marriage and family counseling,” said Chap. [LtCol] Mark Knox, director of the FLCTC… “[Chaplains] go to school and get an additional degree over at Texas A&M in Counseling Psychology. And then we provide Continue reading →

Michael Weinstein Calls for General’s Court Martial over Religion

Update 2: General Umbarger has issued an apology, saying

I apologize for and regret the negative attention my well-meaning endorsement of an organization which so generously offered to help our Soldiers, Airmen, and their families. As I have done so many times before, I instinctively advocated on behalf of my service members.
 
This situation underscores the enduring need for all of us to pursue every possible avenue in providing services to our faithful military families.
 
It is my earnest desire and sincere hope that my comments will not detract from the professionalism and dedication of the extraordinary men and women who serve and sacrifice every day in defense of our communities, State, and Nation.

Governor Mitch Daniels, who is responsible for appointing the Guard Adjutant General, has defended the General.  That’s pin #1 for Weinstein’s promised lawsuit.  The Army Inspector General is reportedly looking into the complaint.

Update: Weinstein said he plans to file a “class-action lawsuit” if no action is taken against the General.

As is his common practice, Michael Weinstein has called for the court-martial of Major General R. Martin Umbarger, the Adjutant General of Indiana, making him the point man for “the Indiana Army and Air National Guard, the Indiana Guard Reserve and State employees, totaling more than 15,800 personnel.”

General Umbarger had appeared in a short video, in uniform, requesting support for a charity called Centurion’s Watch.  His comments included:

“Centurion’s Watch is a wonderful way that you can help. Any donation or resource that you can give this organization…I can’t think of a better organization that you can support. So if you want to give back, if you want to have some way you can help, I would highly encourage that you support this organization.”

Weinstein’s response:

“Maj. General Umbarger is incontrovertibly endorsing…a private sector entity which is clearly a comprehensively sectarian, proselytizing, fundamentalist, evangelical Christian parachurch organization…”

As support for his claim, Weinstein cites  Continue reading →

Kunsan Air Base Chaplains Defend Military Marriages

The Air Force assignments in Korea are generally one-year remotes, meaning Airmen are stationed in Korea for a year while their family waits back home.  That doesn’t mean the Air Force stops supporting their families and helping them strengthen their marriages.  In fact, the opposite is true:

A Marriage Care Retreat hosted by the Kunsan AB Chapel from Aug. 8-10 here gave them and 20 other couples the chance to work on their relationships.

The Kunsan Chapel intended the Marriage Care Retreat to be a means for those “physically separated from their spouses to still connect with them,” though it also Continue reading →

Fighter Pilots and the Love of a Clanging Symbol

An OCF article notes the likely common experience of Eric Creekmore, a former US Marine Major and F/A-18 Hornet pilot, as he tried to ‘do the Christian thing’ and point out a fellow pilot’s sin to him:

A squadron buddy in the process of getting a divorce had just finished telling me of a weekend with his new girlfriend. Technically, he was still married — the papers weren’t yet signed. Trying to be the “good” Christian, I saw this as my opportunity to point out his transgression. After a brief treatise on fidelity and marriage, I punctuated my comments by calling him, “Mr. Immorality.”  That would make clear the error of his ways and with any luck I would soon be leading him in the sinner’s prayer.

I eased back in my office chair with a sense of pride at my work for the cause of Christ. Looking for additional opportunities to “help,” I asked why he was getting a divorce in the first place…

It turns out the situation wasn’t quite as Creekmore imagined, and his arrogant self-righteousness was soon replaced with sorrow.  His attitude, however, Continue reading →

Samaritan’s Purse to Support Military Marriages

As noted many times here before, the integrity of marriage is something the US military and some outside organizations attempt to strengthen.  Franklin Graham’s Samaritan Purse is starting Operation Heal Our Patriots to join the fight to defend military marriages, focusing specifically on the marriages of those who return wounded from combat.

The marriage enrichment program, featuring weeklong retreats to a remote, refurbished fishing camp in Alaska, begins next month Continue reading →

Chaplains: Strong Families, Strong Military

The Christian Post notes the value of a stable marriage for members of the military, and the efforts the US military takes to support the marriages of its members:

“In order to have a strong army, we also need to have strong families,” Lt. Col. Carleton Birch, a Strong Bonds chaplain and spokesperson, told CP.

The article specifically discusses CREDO and Strong Bonds:  Continue reading →

Chaplains Host Alaskan Marriage Retreat

Chaplain (Capt) R. Scott Savell recently highlighted an Air Force Chaplain Corps’ MarriageCare retreat, which Joint Base Elmendorf hosted at an Alyeska Resort.

Twenty-three couples gathered at the beautiful Alyeska Resort for a three-day MarriageCare retreat April 27 hosted by the JBER chaplain corps.

This retreat was an all-inclusive weekend provided at no cost.

The only thing we asked couples to commit to was Continue reading →

Retreats Aim to Help Save Military Marriages

An article at MSNBC notes the emphasis the US military has placed on protecting marriages, particularly those under the strain of combat deployments.  Divorce rates have increased in the military, and the home life directly impacts a servicemember’s professional readiness:

Retreats are an effort to reverse this trend. Organizations around the country are making it their mission to offer military couples and families places to have fun, bond and prepare for life on the home front through classes and counseling. These retreats are provided by nonprofits such as Project Sanctuary, Project New Hope, Coming Home Project, Operation Purple, Operation Oasis and the Army’s Strong Bonds.

Military Divorce Rate Highest Ever, MercyMe Teams with FamilyLife

The rate of divorce in the US military was recently reported as 3.7%, with an increase in officer divorces accounting for an increase in the military as a whole.

The Air Force had the highest rate, at 3.9%.  Enlisted women had a nearly 10% divorce rate.

The general American population had divorce rate of 3.5% in 2009, the last year for which numbers are available.  (It’s unclear if these “population” numbers also included members of the military.)

While this may sound dire, it’s also worth noting it is difficult to Continue reading →

Women in Combat Have Three Times Suicide Rate

USA Today notes preliminary data from the US Army indicates “the suicide rate for female soldiers triples when they go to war.”

The findings…show that the suicide rate rises from five per 100,000 to 15 per 100,000 among female soldiers at war. Scientists are not sure why but say they will look into whether women feel isolated in a male-dominated war zone or suffer greater anxieties about leaving behind children and other loved ones.

Some might earlier have called that last statement sexist, particularly in light of recent recommendations that women be allowed in combat Continue reading →

Focus on the Military Marriage

Focus on the Family has a series of articles on “The Chain of Command in Marriage,” a brief look at the challenges to marriage in the military.  Interestingly, it quotes Judy McChrystal, wife of former Chaplain (Col) Scott McChrystal, who is brother to General Stanley McChrystal.

The article is a fairly comprehensive overview of the challenges to maintaining (and rebuilding) a healthy marriage within the military environment.  The author is Jocelyn Green, author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives, one of many marriage and military resources available from Officers’ Christian Fellowship.

Chaplain Strengthens Marriages from Iraq

Chaplain (Capt.) Brent Crosswhite, a US Army Chaplain from Fort Hood, is deployed to Iraq, but still managed to team up with his wife to help strengthen Soldiers’ marriages.

The Chaplain is holding a marriage class in Iraq while his wife leads an identical one for spouses at Fort Hood.  The husbands and wives cover the same materials, and at the end of each session there is a video teleconference with the other class.  One of the goals is to mitigate the 20 to 30 divorces that the average Army brigade Continue reading →