An article by Agence France-Presse, published at Military.com, notes the recent exceptions provided to three Sikh applicants to the US military. An anecdote tells of Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi’s experience in initial training:
On his first day of training at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, a first sergeant pulled [Kalsi] out of the crowd and Read more
Michael Weinstein, head of his own non-profit Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says ChristianFighterPilot.com is a “Christian supremacist” site containing “outright lies” and “falsehoods.”
This most recent attack finds its source in a letter written by Weinstein and addressed to the Secretary of Defense — and copied to everyone from the Joint Chiefs to President Obama. In it, Weinstein says a “catalyst” to a complaint from an Air Force Academy cadet was:
The inclusion by the Air Force Academy Public Affairs Office in the daily Academy-wide “Falcon Clips” email of a sectarian Christian-themed blog post…
The “Falcon Clips” are a compilation of public references to goings-on at the Air Force Academy. They are emailed out daily, and, according to these reports, included a reference to “Bat Signal Busted, Weinstein Declares War Back On.” It would appear Weinstein Read more
A metal-covered New Testament, originally a source of strength for a Sailor in World War II, is now providing a connection for a Sailor nearly seven decades later.
“My dad just approached me…a couple days before I was leaving to go back to fly overseas,” Chris Carson said. “He said, ‘You take the Bible with you, Chris. It’s important to have it with you to keep in mind the good Lord.’ My dad is pretty religious. I brought it with me.” Read more
Religious freedom in the armed forces — something the US military takes very seriously — sometimes goes beyond the servicemembers that most are apt to think of. In the case of Fort Hood, Texas, it also applied to the children. As noted by the Army news release:
Students and staff from Fort Hood’s Smith Middle School took part…in an event known as “See You at the Pole” Sept. 22.
SYATP is an annual, student-led global day event that draws students from across the world to their school’s flagpoles to pray for their nation, schools, students and teachers, according to the website.
More than 20 students and faculty members took part bringing their own prayers and a group prayer. Read more
After the recent ADF publication of a letter from 66 former military Chaplains opposing the repeal of DADT on religous freedom grounds, Christianity Today printed a similarly themed article from civilian Chaplains and endorsing agencies.
The Southern Baptist Convention, which has the most chaplains of any denomination at nearly 450, passed a resolution in June against the repeal of DADT, claiming that a large percentage of currently serving military personnel said they would not reenlist or would end their careers early should the policy be repealed. Read more
Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation publicly prides itself on its self-proclaimed “defense of the Constitution,” but its recent response to a critic defies its own description.
A detractor emailed the MRFF defending the “christian concert coming to FT Bragg [sic],” previously discussed here. The MRFF published the message, as it frequently does, and its response was telling.
Rick Baker, an MRFF “regional coordinator,” said Read more
According to various reports, Fort Bragg plans to continue with its Rock the Fort event despite complaints the participation of US military personnel constitutes a violation of the Constitution.
In a letter this week responding to concerns expressed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick wrote that he’s confident the planned “Rock the Post” event doesn’t infringe on anyone’s freedoms. Read more
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has called for the US Army to cancel a Chaplaincy event at Fort Bragg, NC. The event is Rock the Fort, which is associated with Billy Graham’s Evangelistic Association. According to the BGEA website:
When evangelist Josh Holland gets up to speak at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., this Saturday, he plans to honor the soldiers who are present, thanking them for their sacrifice and what they do to ensure our nation’s freedom.
“I also want to talk about the truest kind of freedom, which is found in a relationship with Christ and in freedom from sin,” Holland said during a phone interview this week.
The AU takes issue: Read more