Tag Archives: Military

Hasan and the Military Evaluation System

The investigations into the Fort Hood massacre are increasingly highlighting the less-than-optimal military evaluation system.  They ask a simple question: how can a person with identified deficiencies be rated as satisfactory or outstanding rather than having those faults documented?  One reporter (at both the LA Times and Baltimore Sun) caught on to this indicator of a wide-spread problem with the military rating system (key points highlighted):

As widely practiced in Army culture, few performance reviews contain negative comments, and almost all seem outwardly positive. However, at senior levels and in competitive fields, where only a few officers are promoted, an evaluation that is less than effusive in its praise can derail an officer’s promotion.

In less competitive fields and at junior levels, the Army has promoted the vast majority of its officers.

As noted here in 2006 and in Christian Fighter Pilot is Not an Oxymoron, these criticisms of the evaluation system apply outside of the Army, and likely apply to the military as a whole.  Embellishment and overly positive reviews Read more

Military Chaplains “United Methodist of the Year”

The United Methodist Reporter has named “the military Chaplain” as the United Methodist of the Year:

For being the symbol of the courageous and steady support offered to members of the U.S. Armed Forces—in a year that saw a deadly assault at an Army base—the military chaplain is our 2009 United Methodist of the Year.

US military Chaplains serve a sacrificial and necessary role in preserving the religious freedom of military men and women called to duty by their nation.

Via Mitch Lewis.

Respect Healthy for Different Faiths, but Still Criticized

A few weeks ago, the Air Force Times solicited comments from its readers after noting the “improved religious climate” at the US Air Force Academy.  They asked:

What do you think?  Have you found the service and its members to be tolerant of Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Wiccans and others who are not Christians?

It would appear, based on the most recent Air Force Times article, that the responses were largely positive.  The article is entitled “Respect healthy for different faiths,” which seems to indicate a positive environment for “different faiths” within the Air Force.

Within the article, however, the author focuses on those who take issue with Christianity in the military, rather than the ‘healthy respect’ that is apparently evident.  The article begins with the presumption of truth in claims that the culture of the Air Force causes an ‘assumption’ of Christianity:

A predominance of Christians in the Air Force creates an atmosphere that assumes all airmen are Christians, allowing prayers and other religious displays at everything from football games and holiday parties to commander’s calls and change-of-command ceremonies, according to non-Christian airmen interviewed by Air Force Times.

While there is a “predominance of Christians” in the United States and in its military, the presence of prayer is not inherently a Christian endeavor, and Read more

Fort Hood Report Addresses Chaplains, Religious Accommodation

The Fort Hood report (pdf), authored at the request of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, is being widely circulated and read by a variety of pundits.  As previously noted, many have already taken note that it calls for action against the officers who appear to have not followed standards when Hasan’s evaluations did not match his reported performance.  Two other findings are also important to the relationship between religion and the military: a review of the policy on Chaplain endorsers, and a recommendation that the military define a “baseline” for religious conduct.

First, with regard to the officers who supervised US Army Maj HasanRead more

Senate to Military: Add Islamic Extremism to Banned Groups

A Senate committee is recommending that Islamic extremism be added to the list of groups that military members are prohibited from participating in or associating with.

The Defense Department’s existing policies for dealing with personnel that become involved in gangs and racist groups need to be expanded to cover new avenues of violence, [Sen. Joe] Lieberman [I-CT] and [Sen Susan] Collins [R-ME] say.

The two also encouraged the military to educate its members to be able to distinguish between “violent Islamist extremism” and “the practice of the Islamic faith.”

Unfortunately, the Senators’ well-intentioned recommendations are not nearly as simple as they seem to imply.  They present a labyrinth of logistical, political, and religious liberty issues, all of which the military must attempt to figure out on the fly.  It would appear most people agree that something needs to be done, but fulfilling that request without unnecessarily inhibiting religious liberty is another challenge altogether.

NATO Denies Desecrating Koran…Again

A protest in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan was inspired by a claim that international troops “destroyed copies of the Koran.”  NATO said one person was killed–a sniper targeted by coalition forces–while Afghan officials reported six deaths.

As reported on al Jazeera,

Residents in Garmsir district of Helmand province on Tuesday said that Nato-led forces raided a house in the area on Sunday and destroyed copies of the holy book in a local mosque…  Read more

Jewish Chaplain Candidate Awaits Waiver for Beard

Rabbi Menachem Stern answered a 2008 ad for military chaplains, “went through all the hoops,” and in July 2009 was told

that the Accession Board had approved him, and at one point “I actually got orders to appear. I received a letter saying that if I agreed to a commission, I should report for swearing-in.”

Subsequently, that invitation was revoked because Stern, who represents an Orthodox sect of Judaism, wears a beard.

“For me, my beard is part of my religious garb,” he explained. “…By not trimming my beard, I show that I represent the unadulterated view of the holy Torah. While there would be ways around it, and many of these ways are kosher, keeping to the original version of the Torah is the only way we as members of the Chabad Lubavitch community believe a person should live.”

According to the Aleph Institute, the Army Chaplaincy isn’t opposed Read more

Wedding Ring Returned to Hill AFB Widow

Air Force Captain George Bryan Houghton was killed in June of 2009 during a night training mission in his F-16.  An article from the Associated Press, as distributed by FoxNews, recounts the story of his widow’s liaison officer (the officer who becomes the family’s help in any way necessary) going an extra mile to help her obtain closure.

The article reports that Houghton’s widow, Josie, only asked for the investigators to return one thing to her: his wedding band.  Unfortunately, it was not recovered in the initial crash investigation.  The liaison, Maj. Robert Ungerman, took it upon himself to correct that failing, and a moving story results.

Read the full story.

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