William Christopher, the actor who played Father Mulcahy on the 1970s/80s TV show MASH, visited with wounded Soldiers at the Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, along with a couple of actual Army Chaplains:
Lt. Col. Ron Leininger and retired Lt. Col. Micheas Langston. Both expressed admiration for their television counterpart.
“Father Mulcahy represented some of the very best qualities of the Vietnam-era and present-day Army chaplains’ values,” Read more
US military Chaplains are deployed in the Horn of Africa
to establish lines of communication with local religious leaders.
Chaplain (CAPT) Jon Cutler and Chaplain (LtCol) David Terrinoni met with religious leaders and visited a Catholic orphanage. While their main goal was to interact with the locals, the Chaplains also ministered to the needs of their own team:
“There is religious diversity here, but no synagogues, which make me glad Chaplain Cutler could visit,” said Chief Petty Officer Richard Anthonissen…
Cutler was able to serve Anthonissen in a way that only a rabbi can.
“During my last [CTFJ-HOA] tour, there were only Jewish lay-leaders available,” said Anthonissen. “While they meet your faith needs, a rabbi is much more – a rabbi is a teacher who makes you think and challenge your assumptions in a good way.”
Elsewhere, Chaplain (MajGen) Cecil Richardson, Read more
Chabad.org updates the case of Rabbi Menachem M. Stern, previously mentioned, who is suing the US Army over its policy prohibiting his service due to his beard. The Army gave him a commission and then rescinded it the next day, citing an administrative error.
Stern’s case cites the fact the military has allowed three Sikhs and one Muslim to have grooming waivers even as his application Read more
USAFA economics instructor R. David Mullin released a letter through the MRFF criticizing the most recent religious climate assessment. Pam Zubeck of the Colorado Springs Independent tried to get the Air Force to corraborate the MRFF ally’s description of the Religious Climate Review Team led by USAF General (Ret) Patrick Gamble:
In the statement, Mullin notes, “To my knowledge, none (of those in contact with the MRFF) will come forward with their stories of victimization by the establishmentarianists. Why? Because of what the Religious Climate Review Team is not. You are a former USAFA Commandant, another member is a former USAFA Dean of Faculty, and another was a USAFA Permanent Professor for over 30 years. Therefore, you cannot credibly claim that the team is disinterested.”
(Oddly, despite his criticism, it seems Mullin did “come forward” and speak to Gamble’s group.)
According to the CSIndy, the Air Force declined: Read more
The Independent (UK) carries an interesting story about Michael Lyons, a member of the British Navy who has apparently applied for status as a conscientious objector:
Lyons became disillusioned with the Afghanistan war after attending a training session where he was told that saving military lives would take priority over those of civilians. His view strengthened after revelations about high losses of civilian lives reported on the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.
The article seems to imply the UK military hasn’t seen as many CO applications as the US military has: Read more
Despite Fort Bragg bearing a brunt of repeated criticisms over its handling of the atheist “Rock Beyond Belief” — including being painted as liars, predators and bigots — the US Army command has maintained the high ground. Even as it was accused of unConstitutional conduct, its Garrison commander, Col Stephen Sicinski, continued to say he supported the right of the atheists to hold their event, should the event-holders decide to un-cancel it (as they are hinting, while still highlighting the cancellation).
In a related vein, a recent news article notes the Fort Bragg atheists’ attempt to form a “distinct faith group” under the Army’s fairly unique recognition system. The Army has been helping them along the way, in more ways than one: Read more
Linked below:
The organizers of Rock Beyond Belief at Fort Bragg have abandoned their plans for a lawsuit and are looking forward to having their event this fall. (Michael Weinstein’s “tell it to the judge” was apparently just for effect, as his threats so often are.) Coincidentally, it seems their very-public decision to cancel their event — and point fingers at the US Army as the cause — has actually benefited their plans (emphasis added): Read more