US Navy Chaplain (Cmdr) Roger VanDerWerken has an interesting take on an old story, with a Gunny playing the role of the compassionate father.
It puts a unique — and perhaps more relatable — perspective on a sometimes oversimplified parable.
According to an official DoD news release, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates reiterated his position that the status of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is one for Congress to decide. Gates said:
I feel very strongly that this is an action that needs to be taken by the Congress, and that it is an action that requires careful preparation and a lot of training. We have a lot of revision of regulations that has to be done.
At the same time, Gates repeated his former statements that the DoD review Read more
Army Chaplain (LtCol) F. Richard Spencer is a former combat Army officer who has continued to experience combat as a Chaplain, having deployed to Iraq with the US Army.
Spencer has now been appointed a bishop of the Archdiocese for US Military Services, the Catholic oversight body for all Catholic Chaplains in the US military. He is transitioning to the Army reserves, but still expects to be the first bishop to enter a warzone when he returns to combat areas during the high-demand holidays. Read more
The Colorado Springs Independent, which previously reported on both Michael Weinstein’s declaration of “war” on the Air Force Academy and his letter to the Secretary of Defense, apparently obtained access to three cadets to discuss the religious climate at USAFA.
The members of the Cadet Interfaith Council had little negative to say: speaking of religious mistreatment, a Jewish cadet says “not much of that goes on these days;” a Buddhist has “not experienced any discrimination due to his faith.” The Protestant of the three agrees.
All agree with a cadet’s statement that
Right now, I think it might be getting blown out of proportion.
(It is worth noting these cadets were likely provided by the Academy for the purpose of the interview. Given the opportunity, Weinstein could likely produce cadets supporting his point of view.)
Superintendent LtGen Michael Gould is also quoted, and the article offers an intriguing look at religious “complaints” over the past two years. Ironically, there Read more
An article from the Murray Ledger & Times, a local Kentucky paper, has an interesting perspective on the rise of the importance of religion in the military in the 1940s. Dr. G. Kurt Piehler from the University of Tennessee spoke at Murray State University’s scholarship banquet:
Piehler spoke concerning “The Religious Life of the G.I. during World War II.” Primarily focusing on the introduction of an expanded chaplain service to meet the religious needs of American military service men and women…
“We never followed religion as seriously as we did in World War II,” Piehler said, pointing out the increase in religious focus Read more
According to a DoD press release, Army 1LT Rafael Lantigua of the Texas National Guard will soon be the Army National Guard’s first Muslim Chaplain. Lantigua has fulfilled all requirements save some classes required by the Chaplain board. Lantigua, who had a Roman Catholic father and a mother who converted from Baptist to Buddhist, converted to Islam as a teenager. He says he looks forward to being a model for “other members of [his] faith:”
“I am humbled for this opportunity to be a role model for other members of my faith throughout the military,” he said.
While he is by no means the first Islamic Chaplain in the US military, they remain relatively few in number.
US Navy Ensign Aroon Seeda is reportedly being commissioned into the Chaplain Candidate Program. When he completes his requirements, he will reportedly be the second (or perhaps third) Buddhist Chaplain in the US Navy. Like several other Buddhist Chaplains, Seeda will attend University of the West, a Buddhist school in southern California.
Likewise, Brett Campbell will enter the Candidate program at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Naropa was founded Buddhist Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
As reported by Buddhist Military Sangha [Campbell].
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