Tag Archives: dog tag

Mikey Weinstein, Chris Rodda Panic over Dog Tag Legislation

Last July, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF complained to the US military that Shields of Strength was combining US military trademarks with Bible verses on novelty dog tags. SoS did have authorization to use the military trademarks, but the Army told SoS to stop to prevent the “negative press.” A few weeks ago, the Marines did the same thing. First Liberty has come to their defense.

In an op-ed published at the Military Times earlier this week, First Liberty’s Mike Berry told the story:

Kenny Vaughan started Shields of Strength (“SoS”). SoS is a small, faith-based company from Texas that produces military-themed items inscribed with encouraging Bible verses. For more than two decades, Kenny has been making these inspirational replica dog tags for service members and first responders. To date, SoS has donated hundreds of thousands of its replica dog tags to military units…

Over the years, SoS replica dog tags became so popular and so nearly ubiquitous that, according to author and historian Stephen Mansfield, “aside from the official insignias they wear, [the SoS dog tag] is the emblem most often carried by members of the military in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Berry and First Liberty sent Read more

Mikey Weinstein Targets US Military over Bible-Themed Dog Tags

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his research assistant, Chris Rodda, recently criticized the presence of military symbols on products sold by Shields of Strength, an online jewelry/accessory store that sells various religious and patriotic-themed items, including some with Bible verses. (While Weinstein has claimed he never acts without a complaint from a member of the military, this complaint appears to have been generated by a FoxNews article and nothing more.)  The duo took specific aim at the SoS line of dog tags, which combine Bible verses with the emblems of the US Armed Forces. From Chris Rodda [emphasis added]:

The problem? The use of official Armed Forces emblems and logos on blatantly religious items like these dog tags is not only an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion, but also violates the Department of Defense’s regulation on what items can and cannot be licensed to contain the official DoD emblems and logos.

The first accusation is laughable. No one thinks the government is establishing or endorsing a religion because a private company produces dog tags with Bible verses on them. The reference to Read more

Army Major Wants Humanism as Religious Option

US Army Major Ray Bradley wants military records to be altered so he can express his religion as “humanist,” which is not currently an option.

[Bradley] can’t be designated as a humanist on his official records or dog tags, although he can be classified as an atheist.

The distinction may not seem like a large one to those unfamiliar with humanism, but the Fort Bragg-based officer says it’s the equivalent of being told that “Christian” is an acceptable designation, but not “Catholic.”

“Humanism is a philosophy that guides a person,” Bradley said. “It’s more than just a stamp of what you’re not.”

As to the confusion about whether atheists are humanists, or vice versa:  Read more

US Soldier Worked “as for the Lord”

The Killeen Daily Herald, local to Fort Hood, notes the July death of US Army CPL Frank Gross, who was killed in Afghanistan one month into his deployment. CPL Gross had a consistent motivation:

Cpl. Frank Gross wrote the same Bible verse, Colossians 3:23, inside his baseball caps throughout his high school and college pitching career: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

“Basically, whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability,” his mother, Toni Gross, said…”That was his life verse.”

Notably, Gross had not only a Bachelors degree but also Read more