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: Read more
FoxNews notes a gathering of Chaplains and endorsers who are forming a “coalition” to
provide legal and other support for chaplains and soldiers who might be disciplined over conflicts concerning their views on homosexuality.
According to the article, the Chaplains and their endorsers are concerned about how the integration of openly homosexual military members will actually play out — not just how the DoD says it will.
The article explains the disconnect, when the military responded to the questions with a standard refrain:
“We’re working under the assumption that DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) is the law of the land and we haven’t been working in anticipation of anything else right now,” said [Chaplain Carleton Birch, spokesperson for the Army Chief of Chaplains].
Retired Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews has helped found the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, and says that’s precisely Read more
A panel discussion in Washington, DC, entitled “Current Topics Facing Today’s Military Chaplains” included Chaplains (LtCol) Carleton Birch, (LtCol) Lisa H. Tice, and (CAPT) John H. Lea of the Christian faith, Chaplain (LtCmdr) Abuhena Saifulislam of the Islamic faith, and Chaplain (Capt) Jerry Seidler of the Jewish faith.
Birch reportedly said that the DADT repeal may be fairly benign for Chaplains, given that they’ve been counseling homosexual servicemembers all along.
Army Chaplain Lt. Col. Carleton Birch said Wednesday that chaplains already have experience in counseling homosexual soldiers and will likely be able to adjust easily to an openly homosexual military.
“I’ve counseled homosexual soldiers when Read more
An article at the LA Times documents an interview with Christy Goetz, wife of Chaplain (Capt) Dale Goetz — the first Chaplain killed in combat since Vietnam.
Salient quotes:
His soldiers say the chaplain died doing what he loved — talking to them, praying with them, helping counsel them through long days and nights of fear and dread. He had been carrying CDs for them to record personal messages to their families.
“Chaplains don’t sit around the big bases waiting for Read more
In response to the controversy over the “Ground Zero Mosque” in New York City, a spate of articles has taken to highlighting the “non-controversy” over Islamic prayers occurring in the Pentagon Chapel, just feet from the impact point of one of the other airliners hijacked in 2001:
The Pentagon chapel is part of a memorial to the 184 people killed in 2001 when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 flew into the west side of the Pentagon and plowed through three of the building’s five office rings.
As part of its massive renovation, the Pentagon opened the nondenominational chapel in November 2002. The chapel hosts a daily prayer group and weekly worship service for Muslims, and provides similar services for Jews, Hindus, Mormons, Protestants, Catholics and Episcopalians. Read more