Tag Archives: lawyer

Admiral: A Storm is Coming for Religious Liberty in US Military

Update: Listen to Admiral Lee’s message to the 2013 National Day of Prayer.  Noted at Baptist Press and Fox News.

As has now been widely reported, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral William Lee spoke “from the heart” — rather than his prepared remarks — at the 2013 national observance of the National Day of Prayer:

He recounted a recent meeting with a 24-year-old soldier who had attempted suicide but survived…Lee said when he heard the man’s story, he knew the rules said he should send the man to a chaplain, but his heart said to give him a Bible.

“The lawyers tell me that if I do that, I’m crossing the line,” Lee said. “I’m so glad I’ve crossed that line so many times…”

Lee pledged not to back down from “my right under the Constitution to tell a young man that there is hope…”

“As one general so aptly put it – they expect us to check our religion in at the door – don’t bring that here,” Rear Admiral William Lee told a National Day of Prayer gathering. “Leaders like myself are feeling the constraints of rules and regulations and guidance issued by lawyers that put us in a tighter and tighter box regarding our constitutional right to express our religious faith.”

Funny that he’d mention lawyers.  Didn’t the Air Force’s highest ranking lawyer, the JAG of the Air Force LtGen Richard Harding, just Read more

Military Bibles: Chaplains and Lawyers are People, Too

Some people live under the false impression military officers are perfect.  While the nature of their profession often leaves little room for error, the men and women who make up the military officer corps are as fallible as the next person.

Military Chaplains, who often enter the military as 1LTs or Captains, have been known to give incorrect military guidance.  Despite their role as spiritual leaders, they’ve also been known to dispense incorrect theology.  Military lawyers, or “Judge Advocates General (JAGs),” are similar.  They, too, often enter the military as higher officers, or have accelerated promotions through the lower ranks.  Their advanced age, education, and rank often gives them credibility — even if it isn’t earned.  They, too, have been known to give military advice or guidance to commanders that is inconsistent with the law.

Which brings us to today.

Michael Weinstein, a former JAG himself, recently published a letter Read more