Category Archives: Chaplain

Afghan, American Chaplains Discuss Evolving Partnership

A DoD news release describes visits between US military chaplains and what are apparently their Afghan equivalents: “religious and cultural advisors” in the Afghan Army.

The article chose an interesting contrast in highlighting the roles each nation’s “chaplains” filled.

From the Americans:

To demonstrate how the chaplains nurture the living, [Chaplain (Maj) Brian] Curry and his team showed the Afghan RCAs a coffee shop that was built and is operated by the religious support teams…It provides a place for Soldiers to take a break from their work, watch movies, read books, play games, or use computers or phones to talk to their families in the United States.

From the Afghans:  Read more

Chaplain to General Petraeus on His Ultimate Hero

US Army Chaplain (Col) Brent Causey was recently a lead chaplain in Afghanistan, responsible not only for other chaplains, but also “religious leader engagement” in the region:

[Chaplain] Causey was as the top chaplain to Petraeus as well as the chaplains’ supervisor throughout the Afghanistan war theater. He also was Petraeus’ “point man” for diversity, responsible for religious leader engagement in the Islamic nation.

Chaplain Causey spoke highly of the importance of the role of the “chaplains on the front lines:”

“It’s amazing to see the impact our evangelical Christian chaplains –- especially the Southern Baptist chaplains -– are having Read more

Newest Jewish Chaplain Sports Beard

Rabbi Menachem Stern officially became Chaplain (1LT) Stern after being sworn in last week.

Stern is a member of the Chabad Lubavitch movement of Judaism, whose rabbis are prohibited from shaving their beards.

The Army’s decision was commended by Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty:

This decision by the Army chief of chaplains is an example of protecting religious liberty by providing for the religious support of a significant number of Jewish troops.

Mayor, Jewish Chaplain, Deploys for Holidays

Menashe Miller is the Mayor of Lakewood Township in New Jersey.  He is also a US Air Force Chaplain.  A local news report covers his temporary displacement as Mayor so he can deploy over the Jewish holidays to support Jewish servicemembers in the war zone:

A farewell ceremony was held for the unsuspecting mayor at his final committee meeting for the year on Thursday. Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein organized a performance of the “Star Spangled Banner” as well as a Jewish Read more

DADT Repeal a Chance to “Counter” Evangelical Chaplains

An article from the homosexual advocacy magazine Dallas Voice indicated the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” presented an opportunity to “rebalance” the chaplaincy.

The article relied largely on an interview with Chaplain Candidate (1Lt) Chris Antal, a Unitarian Universalist.  Interestingly, Antal gives some credence to the “change” that occurred in the military after most chaplains (and the rest of the military, frankly) enlisted:

Antal said that chaplains who enlisted knew what they were getting into — to some extent. But none of them really expected the repeal of the military’s anti-gay “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. And for many, that repeal was a game changer.

To date, the position of the military leadership has been members of the military signed up to serve, regardless of any change in the moral culture.  For that reason, applications for dismissal due to moral opposition to the policy change were not permitted.  (Only chaplains could do so, by virtue of having their sending body rescind their endorsement.)  The rest of the article references the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, a group of active and retired chaplains and others who advocated for repeal of DADT.  (A member of that group previously called religious opposition to the homosexual lifestyle “bigotry.”)  The group was reportedly started by those Read more

Jewish Chaplain Gets Waiver for Beard

Rabbi Menachem Stern previously sued the US Army for accepting him as a chaplain candidate — and then unaccepting him when they realized he intended to keep his beard.

The Aleph Institute, a Chabad-Lubavitch organization that assists Jewish military personnel, Jewish inmates and their families, and Sens. Charles E. Schumer, Kristen Gillibrand and Joseph Lieberman sought to persuade top brass that the rabbi should be able to keep his beard.

As have many others, they cited Chaplain Goldstein Read more

1 … 30 31 32 33 34 … 74