Category Archives: Chaplain

Buddhist Chaplain Evangelizes Around the World

US Army Chaplain (Capt) Somya Malasri is currently in Australia with his unit, where he is leading Buddhist services for both American servicemembers and their Australian hosts.

An Army article notes Chaplain Malasri is “evangelizing” in his travels around the world:

A chaplain for 10 months now, Malasri is spreading the teachings and philosophies of Buddha to soldiers on multiple continents.

In an interesting perspective, Chaplain Malasri says “it’s not necessarily Read more

US Military Chaplains Meet with Tanzanian Religious Leaders

US Navy Chaplain (CAPT) Jon Cutler is the director of Religious Affairs for CJTF – Horn of Africa.  In late July, he met with religious leaders in Tanzania to communicate the US military’s religious freedom and coordinate for future cooperation.

Cutler highlighted the US military’s religious plurality and freedom to his hosts in East Africa:

“My close friend and Muslim Imam, Shakur Ali, Africa command chaplain [U.S. Air Force Colonel] Jerry Lewis, and I are visiting Dar es Salaam from August 10 to 15 [during Ramadan],” Cutler told the religious leaders. “It’s unheard of for a Jew, Christian and Muslim to be friends Read more

National Guard Chaplain Preaches at 0245

US Army Chaplain (1Lt) Daryl Thul has been supporting the National Guard Soldiers who have been working 24/7 on flood duty in Minot, North Dakota.  He’s made a special effort to meet the spiritual needs of the night shift, which is often sleeping during traditional religious service times.

So he preaches a Protestant service 0245.

Attendance is good because Thul, and his assistant, Pfc. Matthew O’Brien, take the service to the troops.

“I go to the soldiers Read more

Chaplains Consider DADT Repeal, Loss of DOMA

FoxNews notes a gathering of Chaplains and endorsers who are forming a “coalition” to

provide legal and other support for chaplains and soldiers who might be disciplined over conflicts concerning their views on homosexuality.

According to the article, the Chaplains and their endorsers are concerned about how the integration of openly homosexual military members will actually play out — not just how the DoD says it will.

The article explains the disconnect, when the military responded to the questions with a standard refrain:

“We’re working under the assumption that DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) is the law of the land and we haven’t been working in anticipation of anything else right now,” said [Chaplain Carleton Birch, spokesperson for the Army Chief of Chaplains].

Retired Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews has helped found the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, and says that’s precisely Read more

Brigade Chaplain Supports Every Soldiers’ Needs

US Army Chaplain (Maj) Francisco Stodola highlights Chaplains’ duties to support the needs of all troops:

For chaplains serving in the United States Army, service and faith reinforce each other and guide the invaluable duty they perform as counselors and mentors…

“This is one of the major jobs of every chaplain,” said Stodola, “to see that every soldier’s needs are met. Every chaplain is expected to take care of all the troops under his care.”

As often noted here, while Chaplains are, by definition, religious figures, they do far more than see to only personal religious needs in the military; they directly support Read more

US Military Chapels Protect Weapons Systems

Articles from Iraq and Afghanistan highlight the importance of the military Chaplaincy and Chapels for US servicemembers deployed to war.

First, an Air Force article from Joint Base Balad, Iraq, notes the goals military members set in the deployed environment:

Many people on a deployment create goals such as getting in better physical shape or taking educational classes, but there is another area that is sometimes forgotten…spiritual fitness.

and the military’s remedy to the comprehensive fitness servicemembers need:

The mission of the…Wing Chapel is to ensure the free exercise of religion and promote spiritual fitness for the human weapon systems.

Chaplain (Col) George Meister explained the importance of the Chapel’s contribution to the getting the mission done:  Read more

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