Chaplains Serve and Struggle in Face of War

CNN recently featured a frontpage story about US Army Chaplain Darren Turner, who served in Iraq.  Upon his return, he suffered from the very things about which he counseled his Soldiers.  His family fell apart.

When his 15-month tour was over, Turner returned home to face all the problems he had counseled his soldiers about: anger, depression, stress and – most important for him – preserving relationships with loved ones.

With God’s help, Chaplain Turner saw what was going on, and he Read more

Buddhists Celebrate Vesak at Fort Lewis

As has become a local tradition, military Buddhists at Fort Lewis recently came together to celebrate Vesak, which coincides with Buddha’s birthday.  They were led by US Army Chaplain (Capt) Somya Malasri.

[Chaplain Malasri] said that Buddhist should try to reach harmony with society by abstaining from killing or harming, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from sexual misconduct, abstaining from telling lies and abstaining from toxins such as alcohol or drugs.

“Buddha will show us the path, but we have to walk it ourself,” Malasri said.

While it is somewhat easier for these troops because their local chaplain Read more

Military Uniform can Defend Homosexuality, but not Breastfeeding

Two members of the Washington state National Guard were recently photographed while breastfeeding their children.  Just as the Time cover recently did, Senior Airman Terran Echegoyen-McCabe and Staff Sgt. Christina Luna also caused controversy, but not for the same reason.  Other moms were also photographed, but it was their presence in uniform that caused the consternation.

While there were some variations of criticism (they didn’t have their hats on outside!), the response from the Washington Air National Guard, which oversees their unit based at Fairchild AFB, WA, was the one that mattered:  Read more

Chaplains Host Alaskan Marriage Retreat

Chaplain (Capt) R. Scott Savell recently highlighted an Air Force Chaplain Corps’ MarriageCare retreat, which Joint Base Elmendorf hosted at an Alyeska Resort.

Twenty-three couples gathered at the beautiful Alyeska Resort for a three-day MarriageCare retreat April 27 hosted by the JBER chaplain corps.

This retreat was an all-inclusive weekend provided at no cost.

The only thing we asked couples to commit to was Read more

US Military Chaplains Sponsor Social Fitness

The Comprehensive Airman Fitness program is modeled after the Army’s CSF.  While it makes sense that chaplains would support the spiritual resiliency portion of the program, it turns out they play a part in the social pillar as well:

The base chapel also offers a variety of groups and activities for people with a variety of beliefs and interests including Protestant programs, Catholic programs, groups for young adults, a single parents group, Mothers of Pre-schoolers, a monthly spaghetti dinner, and different retreats Read more

Navy Chaplain Supports Spirituality, Morale in Afghanistan

US Navy Chaplain (Cmdr) Francis Foley is a Catholic chaplain serving the spiritual needs of members of the military in Afghanistan:

“It is such a great feeling when the chaplain comes out here to visit us,” said Marine Corps 1st Lt. Rick Chapman…Chapman said the visits not only increase morale, but also allow service members to seek spiritual guidance.

The chaplain serves as both a spiritual leader and a morale booster for the troops he serves:

Chapman said Marines go to the services to Read more

Pilots Eject from T-45C

The US Navy reported that both pilots had ejected from the Navy trainer T-45C Goshawk they were flying in Texas.

Navy Lt. John Supple says the aircraft from Training Squadron 22 at Naval Air Station Kingsville was on a routine training flight when it went down. He said the flight instructor and student have been recovered and taken to a hospital for examination, where both appear to be well.

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