Tag Archives: army

The Military as a Mission Field

A US Army article from Afghanistan covers the “Teach-Love-Care” aspect of the military chaplaincy.  Several chaplains are quoted discussing unique and interesting aspects of the chaplain field:

On exposure to varying religious beliefs in the military:

“As a civilian minister, I was very church oriented, always surrounded by Christians. There wasn’t much chance to go out and meet people of other beliefs,” said U.S. Army chaplain Capt. Soojin Chang, a Southern Baptist chaplain…”But in the Army, I don’t have to go out and search for these people. They come to me and we discuss about our belief. There is a mutual respect with each other.”

On troops openness to faith:  Read more

Congress Demands Army Answer for Calling Christians Extremists

The US Army has received a string of criticism in the days since it was revealed a Reserve Army EO officer included evangelical Christians and Catholics (as well as all of Sunni Islam) in “religious extremism.”

FoxNews reports 12 members of Congress have called on the Army to apologize and “provide a balanced briefing on religious extremism.”  (See Congressman Lamborn’s letter to the Secretary of the Army.)

Similarly, another Army email released to FoxNews included copied text from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “anti-gay intelligence file” mocking the “Christian Right” and its “opposition to equal rights for gays and lesbians.”  The author, an Army LtCol, said

just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values.

“Some of the groups” in the SPLC list included the Family Research Council (which has cited ChristianFighterPilot.com) and the American Family Association — two Christian groups villified by the SPLC for their opposition to the social normalization of homosexuality.

The inclusion of Christians and Christian beliefs in an Army email saying they don’t “share our Army values” actually contradicts Army values.  The Department of Defense has Read more

The Story of Chaplain Kapaun, Medal of Honor Recipient

The DoD has published a lengthy, two-part (1, 2) story on Chaplain Emil Kapaun, who will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor tomorrow.  The articles contain many details of his private and military life, as well as many photographs.

Read Part 1 and Part 2.

Update: The well-covered story by the Associated Press.  In addition, an Army.mil article notes a memorial in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where military facilities are named in honor of Kapaun, including a Kapaun Chapel that still hosts services.

In 1955, four years after his death, the Army named Kapaun Barracks — now Kapaun Administration Annex in Kaiserslautern, Germany — after him.

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Military Chaplains Reach Out

A local article highlights US Army Chaplain (Maj) Douglas Ball and Chap (Capt) Rodney Gilliam, who visited an off-site training location to meet Soldiers’ spiritual needs:

The chaplains wanted to show Soldiers they care about them and are there if they need to talk, Ball said.

“For many of them, I provide a different avenue,” he said. “One of the advantages of the chaplains is our confidentiality…

The quoted troops responded positively:  Read more

Army Disavows Presentation Supporting Weinstein Ideology

The news of a US Army briefing seemingly supporting a doctrine of Michael Weinstein — and the firm decision by the Army to disavow the presentation — made surprisingly wide press this weekend.

At issue was a briefing given by a US Army Reservist on “Extremism and Extremist Organizations” (PDF, with notes) which listed “evangelical Christians,” “Ultra-Orthodox Judaism,” “Sunni Muslims” and “Catholicism” alongside “al Quaeda [sic]” as “religious extremism.”  (In fact, evangelical Christianity was at the top of the list.)  The briefer was apparently a Military Equal Opportunity officer, ironically enough.

An attendee of the briefing — who describes himself as an evangelical Christian — took issue, obtained a copy of the briefing, and provided it to the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty (CARL) and the military Catholic Archdiocese:

“Men and women of faith who have served the Army faithfully for centuries shouldn’t be likened to those who have regularly threatened the peace and security of the United States,” retired Col. Ron Crews, Read more

Chaplain Kapaun to Receive Medal of Honor

As previously revealed, the White House officially announced Chaplain (Capt) Emil Kapaun will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor:

Kapaun will receive the award posthumously for his extraordinary heroism while serving with 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, during combat operations in Unsan, Korea, and as a prisoner of war, according to the White House announcement…

The commanding General of the unit in which Chaplain Kapaun served Read more

Sergeants Major Become US Army Chaplains

An official Army article documents the unique stories of Chaplain (Maj) James Freitag and Chaplain (1Lt) Cecil Edwards — two men who rose to high enlisted ranks before being commissioned as chaplains:

With a combined total of 60 years of service, two former reserve component sergeants major are currently serving as chaplains and both are deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Of the soldiers who enlist in the Army, very few reach the rank of sergeant major. In the history of the Army only two sergeants major have become chaplains.

It has long been said that, in general, former enlisted troops can Read more

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