Update: The US Army has responded by explicitly stating that Chaplain McDougall’s infraction was an “oversight” that was easily corrected. This appears to be (yet another) a direct rebuttal to Mikey Weinstein’s call for court-martial. Via TheBlaze:
Amy spokesman LTC Ben Garrett sent TheBlaze the following response on Monday afternoon:
“U.S. Army Chaplain Capt. John McDougall has been made aware of military regulations that prohibit him from wearing a military uniform while promoting his book. His publishing company promptly removed the video from their website last week when the U.S. Army brought the oversight to their attention. A simple ‘on the spot correction’ and an explanation of the regulations was all that was need[ed] to resolve the issue and keep it from happening in the future. We are pleased with their compliance and understanding of Army regulations and requirements.”
Original story follows:
The US Army says Chaplain John McDougall violated regulations when he appeared in a video, in uniform, promoting his recently published book, Jesus was an Airborne Ranger. From the appropriately named Army spokeswoman, Tatjana Christian:
McDougall’s appearance in uniform endorsing a commercial or political venture violates military rules, said Tatjana Christian, an Army spokeswoman.
After they were contacted about the video by USA TODAY, the Army reached out to McDougall’s commanders to inform them about the rule, Christian said.
His comments were not part of his official duty, she said.
“Chaplains are authorized Read more
As previously discussed, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter officially announced that “sexual orientation” was being added to the DoD’s equal opportunity protected classes, a list that includes race and religion:
I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense has completed the process for updating its Military Equal Opportunity policy to include sexual orientation – ensuring that the department, like the rest of the federal government, treats sexual-orientation-based discrimination the same way it treats discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, age, and national origin.
The video of his speech is available here.
In short, this means that if a person faces discrimination Read more
There is probably no fighter pilot tradition that carries as much peer pressure as the Naming. It is the very means by which a fighter pilot “receives” his callsign. Some Christians have participated in Namings (on both the receiving and giving sides) and others have also refused to do so. There is no simple, single answer. For insight, see the Naming section of the article on Fighter Pilot Traditions and one pilot’s naming experience.
“Namings” are ceremonies in which fighter pilots are “given” the callsigns they will be known by. See the section on Namings from the article on Fighter Pilot Traditions. Also read about one pilot’s naming experience.
There does not appear to be a Biblical command for totally abstaining from alcohol. Some might successfully argue that the New Testament actually explicitly allows it. Personally, partaking in alcohol does not appear to be morally wrong.
However, fighter pilots have a tendency to drink excessively, almost as if alcohol is either “on” or “off.” If your behavior is unChristian when you drink, or worse, if you can’t remember what your behavior was, then you are participating in drunkenness, which is listed as a sin (1Cor 5:19-21). Additionally, even though drinking in and of itself is not morally wrong, if it is a stumbling block to another Christian then it is wrong for you to partake.
See the article on Christian Fighter Participation on the topic of the Christian witness.
Being a Christian and also being a firefighter, CEO, or grade school teacher all have challenges because Christians live “in” the world as strangers in a foreign land. The fighter pilot community is unique, however, because it has virtually institutionalized the very worldly vices Christians have been told to forsake. Profanity, sexuality, and immorality pervade the fighter pilot culture like few other “honorable” professions (thus the anonymous quote that being a fighter pilot is like being in a motorcycle gang, except that your mother is still proud of you).