Pentagon to Rule on Camp Pendleton Cross

The issue of the legality of the Camp Pendleton cross was elevated to higher headquarters, according to a local article.

A group of reporters was allowed to make the trek to see the memorial upon which the controversy was based.  To his credit, Mark Walker of the North County Times accurately gave some depth to the content of the memorial:

The site is home to numerous mementos, as well as the crosses, neither of which is visible from nearby Interstate 5.

Each is surrounded by thousands of rocks carried up by Marines from sea level at Camp Horno as a homage to troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Many of those rocks have hand-scrawled messages of love and remembrance.

There are dozens of bottles of booze, Read more

PFC Bradley Manning’s Defense May Offend Homosexuals

A few articles have begun to take umbrage at the apparent planned defense of accused Wikileaker PFC Bradley Manning:  In essence, the nation’s worst release of classified information was the fault of the US military — not Manning.  The military was the one who allowed him to keep his clearance despite knowing he had ‘issues’ with his sexuality.

Manning’s lawyers argued his superiors failed to address his struggles with gender-identity disorder…

The defense team says Manning was nearly paralyzed Read more

Troops Talk Faith on the Frontlines

An interesting article by the US Marines asks troops what faith means to them, and to the mission:

For service members deployed to a combat zone, faith takes on a whole new meaning. For many Marines and sailors, the tragedies of war are apparent on a daily basis and often require a reserve of mental, moral, and physical strength that can only be found in a person’s faith.

This understanding of the importance of faith is one reason the US military takes such great steps to promote resilience within its ranks.  Whatever it is the Soldier, Marine, Airmen, or Sailor holds faith in, that faith will sustain Read more

Weinstein’s Attacks Don’t Dampen US Military Charity

Marines spread joy of Christmas, Soldiers donate to Catholic Charity, Toys for Tots teams with Christian non-profit…

Members of the US military continue to participate in traditional acts of charity and community service, even when such efforts are connected (however remotely) with religious organizations — despite Michael Weinstein’s efforts to quash such efforts last month.

The reason, of course, is that despite a somewhat unusual reaction from the US Air Force Academy last month, the US military has had no problem associating itself with religious organizations in their efforts to conduct humanitarian or charitable work.  In fact, it seems the majority of such work is conducted in concert with organizations that are in some way connected to a faith group, probably because so many humanitarian and charitable organizations are faith-based to begin with.

And that’s OK — because there is no military policy, regulation, or Read more

Chaplain Followed Unique Path from Africa to US Army

US Army Chaplain (Maj) David Waweru followed an unusual path to become a chaplain.  He grew up in Kenya, 20 miles west of Nairobi.  His interest in the United States came from his interaction with American ministries, specifically, Campus Crusade for Christ:

“The job that really stands out to me is when I worked for Campus Crusade for Christ,” Waweru said. “This job stands out to me because that is when I had a lot of time with American missionaries, and I believe that is where my interest in coming to the United States began.”

His work with Campus Crusade encouraged him to become Read more

Perkins, King Sound Warning on Hostility Toward Christianity

Joining the theme of Rick Perry’s statements that President Obama had a “war on religion,” Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council called the Obama administration “hostile to Christianity.”

“You can’t judge what’s in somebody’s heart or their administration, but you can judge them by the fruits of their labors,” Perkins said. “The fruit of this administration shows it is hostile to Christianity.”

He was referring to the Walter Reed policy banning religious items (specifically, Bibles) within the US military medical facility.  By contrast, the Washington Times noted the government goes the extra mile to make sure detainees at Guantanamo have access to the Koran.

We shouldn’t really be surprised when a bureaucrat tries to bar Bibles in a U.S. military stateside hospital while other bureaucrats make sure terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, get copies of the Koran.

You almost have to feel sorry Read more

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