During a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer a few weeks ago, President Obama spoke once again of his family’s position regarding attending church regularly, or “joining” a particular church.  In one of the more underreported comments, he singled out a military Chaplain for strong praise:

We love the chapel up in Camp David. It’s probably our favorite place to worship because it’s just family up at Camp David. There’s a wonderful chaplain up there who does just a great job.

It is rare enough for a military officer to get such stark praise from his Commander-in-Chief; when one’s job is primarily spiritual care in the military–sometimes a politically controversial topic–it would seem to be rarer still.  The last reported Chaplain at Camp David was Chaplain (Lt Cmdr) Carey Cash, who was unsuccessfully targeted for elimination from the military by a group opposing religious freedom in the military.

President Obama gave high praise to a military Chaplain and subsequently gave a supportive citation of a fighter pilot Easter.  These incidents seem to indicate the Commander-in-Chief is supportive of religious expression in the military in these regards, despite fringe conspiracy theorists sometimes criticizing those same religious freedoms.

Via the Religion News Service.