Religious Freedom Day, 16 January 2013

Each year since 1993 the President has declared January 16th to be “Religious Freedom Day,” in order to remember the passage of Thomas Jefferson’s 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (see 2009). President Obama has not yet issued his proclamation this year but will likely do so today [Update: Now here].  CitizenLink, associated with Focus on the Family, noted an irony in the forthcoming Presidential proclamation while the Administration is being sued — for impinging upon religious freedom.

Jefferson’s statute continues to be a strong expression for the value of Read more

US Navy Ship Raises Christian Flag, Atheist Has Conniption

Two days ago, the USS Arlington posted a photo of two Seamen raising a church pennant above the American flag on its Facebook page:

Quartermasters Seaman Rashaun Plowden and 2nd Class Mary Carlton raise a church pennant above the American flag during worship services aboard USS Arlington (LPD 24) on Jan. 13, 2013.

An atheist (who is not in the military) took umbrage, unaware of his self-contradicting outrage.  First [ellipses original]:  Read more

Air Force Officer Ponders Moral Fabric as Cause of Military Ills

In a surprisingly frank assessment, LtCol W.E. Gene Mattingly wrote an article entitled “The Elephant in the Room” following the sexual assault scandal and General Welsh’s order for a health and welfare inspection.

LtCol Mattingly becomes one of the few who dares to try to drill down to the root of the problem, rather than settle on addressing symptoms:

I think the problem is related more to our moral fabric than anything else.

As an Air Force, we must remain alert to what is presented as societal norms, which our Airmen may embrace, but that our Air Force simply Read more

Chaplain Teams Trained on Caring for Themselves

An article at Army.mil notes some religious support teams spend so much time caring for others they may neglect their own well-being:

These RST’s work hard to provide moral, ethical and spiritual leadership to their units. On a weekly basis, they care for hundreds of Soldiers from diverse backgrounds and provide counseling for issues ranging from interpersonal relationships to combat stress…

“Compassion fatigue and burnout is a very real problem,” said Read more

Military to Provide Secular Counseling Option

Update: A broader official view of the Military Family Life Consultant (MFLC) can be seen at the official website.

In addition to providing chaplains and psychologists, the US military is also making contract civilian clinical counselors available to those who want confidential counseling.  From the Army National Guard site on the subject, the DoD provides Military Family Life Consultants (MFLCs) who

are licensed clinicians with a Masters Degree and at least five years of experience in social work, counseling, or a related clinical discipline.

While psychologists or visits to base Mental Health might generate attention, the MFLC program is specifically designed to be Read more

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