God and Country

Mike Farrell, better known as BJ Hunnicutt of M*A*S*H fame, apparently thinks his “service” with Father Mulcahy qualifies him to speak with authority on the US military chaplaincy.  He authored a lengthy piece on the Huffington Post written in the style of Chris Rodda; that is, heavy on vague accusations and light on facts:

Today, a huge percentage of our military chaplains, according to thousands of aggrieved American servicemen and women, present themselves as fevered salesmen for a fundamentalist version of Christianity rather than as simple, caring souls with a willingness to listen and no attached quid pro quo. These religious hucksters see themselves as “government-paid missionaries” and the youth under their domain “as ripe as black bananas.”

Farrell fails to quantify or provide support for his ”huge percentage,” and provides no source other than the vague anecdotes of Michael Weinstein’s MRFF “clients.”  (Farrell, conveniently enough, is a member of Weinstein’s advisory board.)  Farrell is also apparently blind to his own prejudice, calling people who hold beliefs with which he disagrees “hucksters.”

He authoritatively continues:  Read more…

William Christopher, the actor who played Father Mulcahy on the 1970s/80s TV show MASH, visited with wounded Soldiers at the Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, along with a couple of actual Army Chaplains:

Lt. Col. Ron Leininger and retired Lt. Col. Micheas Langston. Both expressed admiration for their television counterpart.

“Father Mulcahy represented some of the very best qualities of the Vietnam-era and present-day Army chaplains’ values,” Read more…