Chaplain (MajGen) Paul Hurley recently became the newest Army Chief of Chaplains, and pinned on two stars in the process:
The Army’s new chief of chaplains was promoted to the rank of major general and installed in his post during a ceremony May 22 at Memorial Chapel on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
Maj. Gen. Paul K. Hurley’s, chaplain, promotion Read more
In March the Senate confirmed Chaplain (COL) Paul Hurley for the position of Army Chief of Chaplains.
Hurley was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1995. He will replace Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Donald Rutherford, who plans to retire.
Chaplain Hurley will skip BG and be promoted to Major General. He recently spoke at the Fort Hood prayer breakfast, in which he quoted General George C. Marshall:
Hurley continued with a quote from former General of the Army George C. Marshall, commenting on the importance of the spirit.
“The Soldier’s heart, the Soldier’s spirit, the Soldier’s soul, are everything. Unless the Soldier’s soul sustains him, he cannot be relied on and will fail himself and his commander and his country in the end,” quoted Hurley.
Also at BostonCatholic.org. Read more
Last year Michael “Mikey” Weinstein threatened to sue the US Army because it exposed a group of Soldiers to a chaplain’s prayer, which the chaplain closed with
through Your holy name…
In response, Weinstein demanded the chaplain be disciplined and the Soldiers be given an apology. Weinstein threatened an “aggressive” Federal lawsuit (as opposed to a benign lawsuit, apparently) if the Army refused his demands.
To be clear, Weinstein was willing to sue because a chaplain said “through Your holy name” during a prayer to a group of Soldiers in an auditorium.
Based on events just this week, will Weinstein threaten to sue again?
On Monday, US Army Chief of Chaplains (MajGen) Donald Rutherford prayed in uniform and on national television — and, shockingly, closed with…”in Your holy name.” Just Read more
US Army Chief of Chaplains MajGen Donald Rutherford recently noted that “relationship problems are a leading cause of suicides,” something previously noted here. As a result:
As part of a push to prevent suicides, Army chaplains want 50,000 Soldiers and additional family members to attend their “Strong Bonds” retreats over the next three months.
Strong Bonds has traditionally been understood to be a marriage enrichment retreat, but it has been altered to include another demographic: Read more
Belying the freshly minted atheist proposition, US Army Chief of Chaplains (MajGen) Donald Rutherford says chaplains are serving on the frontlines with servicemember from the battlefields of Iraq to Afghanistan and beyond. They
are out there in the field with [soldiers] day in and day out…
Chaplain Rutherford was under fire himself once, and noted Read more
A few examples of the US military’s commitment to supporting its servicemembers through their religious celebrations:
At Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, a Christmas Eve candlelight service was the “culminating event over the month of celebration.”
US Army Chief of Chaplains MajGen Donald Rutherford presided over a Christmas Eve Catholic Mass at Camp Buehring, Kuwait.
Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Norton Schwartz Read more
As previously noted, Fort Hood has opened the first phase of a 7 year, $27 million dollar effort to support the spiritual and resilience needs of US Army Soldiers. The campus will provide the largest facility in the US Army with the ability to serve the largest Army population in the service.
Chief of Chaplains Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Don Rutherford joined III Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General Lt. Gen. Don Campbell Jr., III Corps and Fort Hood Command Sgt. Major Arthur L. Coleman Jr., Fort Hood chaplains and members from the community for the dedication ceremony, which officially opened The Spirit of Fort Hood Warrior and Family Chapel Campus.
Chaplain Rutherford praised the Army’s support of the Chaplaincy, which supports Army Soldiers.
“This campus is the latest Read more
The Army’s Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain (MajGen) Donald Rutherford, is scheduled to open the Fort Hood “Warrior and Family Chapel Campus” today. The huge multi-million dollar facility will serve the spiritual fitness needs of one of the largest military installations in the US.
The $28 million facility houses approximately 100,000 square-feet devoted to the spiritual fitness of the Fort Hood military community. The four buildings will serve as a multi-purpose activity center, a home for the installation’s Chaplain’s Family Life Training Center, a worship center and a religious education facility.
Fort Hood reportedly has a burgeoning faith community; for example, Catholic service attendance is more than 1,000 each Sunday.