Articles Defend, Attack Camp Pendleton Cross

Competing opinion pieces at the UT San Diego debate the appropriateness of the Camp Pendleton crosses, memorials that have stood on a remote hill on a US Marine base for years until an atheist found out they were there.

Ever-sensitive atheist Jason Torpy, the original complainant who found out about the crosses on the internet, reminds people the crosses “violate religious neutrality,” since the presence of religious symbols on government land is apparently totally forbidden:

Two 13-foot Christian crosses stand on restricted federal land as a result of unauthorized actions by private individuals…All of this speaks to a Marine-led Christianization of the military Read more

Homosexual Ceremony Conducted in Military Chapel Despite Law

A chaplain at Fort Polk, Louisiana, has reportedly conducted a same-sex ceremony within the military chapel despite Louisiana’s ban on homosexual marriage:

U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-La., said in a statement Wednesday that the “marriage-like” ceremony performed for two women by an Army chaplain shouldn’t have been allowed because Louisiana law doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage or civil union. U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., claims the ceremony violates Defense Department policy.

Congressman Todd Akin called it a clear violation of state law and military policies, while the participants (and the chaplain) got around that little problem Read more

General Carver Says DADT Repeal Produced Tension in Military

Former US Army Chief of Chaplains, MajGen Douglas Carver, recently told a conference sponsored by the American Religious Freedom Program that the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has caused tension and questions over morality in the US military:

“I can assure you that a tension exists in this area,” Carver [said]. “For example, the Department of Defense no longer considers homosexuality a moral issue. [To the department,] it is an amoral issue. To them, it’s a concern of human dignity, respect, discipline and professionalism. However, a number of our chaplains and troops believe that homosexuality is a moral issue.”

Chaplain Carver also said there was an apparent increasing “intolerance Read more

Air Force Academy Announces Cheating Incident

The US Air Force Academy has issued a release indicating as many as 78 cadets may have been involved in a cheating scandal. 

Up to 78 Air Force Academy cadets cheated on an online calculus test by getting help during the exam from a website, the academy said Wednesday.

Most of the cadets took responsibility for their actions and have begun a six-month remediation program, a type of academic probation, said Lt. Col. John Bryan, an academy spokesman.

The circumstances seem somewhat unique compared Read more

Atheists Demand Jesus Come Down from Montana Mountain

The aptly named Freedom From Religion Foundation has demanded that the “Big Mountain Jesus” be torn down, because it resides on (leased) US government land.  Interestingly, it has a military connection: It was raised by the local Knights of Columbus in honor of the 10th Mountain Division:

They call him Big Mountain Jesus: a six-foot statue of Christ, draped in a baby blue robe and gazing out over the majestic Flathead Valley from his perch along a ski run at the Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana.

He has been there for more than 50 years, erected by the local Knights of Columbus chapter in honor of the soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division who told of seeing similar shrines in the mountains of Italy during World War II.

The Knights of Columbus have asked, naturally, to intervene in the case between the FFRF and the Forest Service.  Even the local resort manager saw the historical value of the statue beyond religion:  Read more

Chaplains Serve Faithful, Faithless in War

A Memorial Day article at the Washington Post covers the service of a group of chaplains at Arlington National Cemetery.  The chaplains recall their sacred service and their combat duty, to all members of the military.

Chaplain (LtCol) Keith Croom, the senior Army chaplain at Arlington, has seen the two extremes of that service:

He has been sworn at by dying soldiers and steeped in calamity and sorrow. He ministers to service members of all faiths, and to those of none at all.
 
“We have to understand that people don’t have to agree with any faith. They have a right not to practice, and I need to be OK with that,” he said. “I’ve had a guy say, ‘I don’t believe in your God,’ and he died right in front of me.”

On the other hand, the opposite occurred in Iraq in 2004:  Read more

AWOL, Military Christians Protest NATO Summit

An interesting, if somewhat odd, article at the ChristianPost documents the story of Jacob and Jordon George, two men who grew up in the church and have developed a pacifist view:

George grew up in a Southern Baptist church…but said it was his three tours in Afghanistan that opened him up a new interpretation of Christianity – one that does not misuse or misconstrue the words of Christ and war.

“I think those two things have absolutely nothing to do with each other,” he said…

“Jesus was an advocate for non-violence. He never Read more

Samaritan’s Purse to Support Military Marriages

As noted many times here before, the integrity of marriage is something the US military and some outside organizations attempt to strengthen.  Franklin Graham’s Samaritan Purse is starting Operation Heal Our Patriots to join the fight to defend military marriages, focusing specifically on the marriages of those who return wounded from combat.

The marriage enrichment program, featuring weeklong retreats to a remote, refurbished fishing camp in Alaska, begins next month Read more

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