An Army article entitled “For God and country, chaplains provide soldiers peace-of-mind, place to worship,” details the service of Chaplain (1Lt) Julio Vargas and his assistant Spc. Justinet Oquendo as they serve the soldiers training in exercises in California: Read more
The US Army has been celebrating the 237th Anniversary of the Army Chaplaincy, as defined by July 29, 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized (or authorized pay for, to be more accurate) chaplains in the Continental Army, whose Commander in Chief was General George Washington.
The celebrations have taken many forms, including a mass parachute jump of chaplains and senior leaders at Fort Bragg to a cake-cutting at Redstone Arsenal.
Some military atheist will probably stamp his feet in “me, too” fashion and threaten to sue over the fact his religion wasn’t included on the cake. Icing demands “equality” and is a “limited public forum,” you know.
An article at Defense.gov highlights the service of Air Force Chaplain (LtCol) Brian Bohlman, who has served at the theater hospital at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan for six months:
The chaplain gave the cross he brought from home to the young injured Marine from Florida.
The Marine had been hurt in a roadside bomb explosion and had lost the cross that was on his body armor. When the chaplain presented the cross to the young Marine, both men cried…
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
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
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
The Christian Post notes the value of a stable marriage for members of the military, and the efforts the US military takes to support the marriages of its members:
“In order to have a strong army, we also need to have strong families,” Lt. Col. Carleton Birch, a Strong Bonds chaplain and spokesperson, told CP.
The article specifically discusses CREDO and Strong Bonds: Read more
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