Tag Archives: army

Military Chaplain Conference Discusses Effects of DADT Repeal

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary‘s Institute for Faith and the Public Square recently hosted an aptly named conference on chaplains in the US military:

Chaplaincy: Ministering in Caesar’s House

“There is a growing negative atmosphere toward evangelical Christianity,” said Lloyd Harsch, church history professor and institute director. “Under the guise of tolerance, everyone who holds a religiously informed position is now viewed as suspect because they’re [considered] intolerant.”

A panel specifically on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal included retired Chaplain (MajGen) Douglas Carver, former Army Chief of Chaplains.  Carver specifically noted Read more

DoD: Corporal “Potentially” Violated Regulations

The Department of Defense put out an unusually rapid (and blunt) assessment of US Army Corporal Jesse Thorsen’s stint at the Ron Paul rally a few days ago.  In an article that covered the general restrictions of military service and political activities, the DoD said

A combat engineer assigned to the 416th Theater Engineer Company potentially violated these rules Jan. 3 when he stepped onto a stage at Ron Paul’s headquarters in Ankeny, Iowa, during the Iowa Caucus to offer a personal endorsement.

However, it also specifically noted Thorsen was not on active duty at the time, contrary to the CNN reports at the time:  Read more

Facebook Effect: Corporal May Face Sanction over Ron Paul Rally

Update: US Rep Mike Hoffman (R-CO) has said troops need to be reminded of the rules involving political participation.  As noted below, there were already some official military articles on the subject.

US Army Corporal Jesse Thorsen made a name for himself Tuesday night, for better or worse.  He appeared on CNN and onstage endorsing the political candidacy of Ron Paul while he was wearing his Army fatigues.

Unlike the mystical machinations of Chris Rodda, in which she says military officers violate regulations when they express their faith on the internet, there is actually an explicit Department of Defense Directive on this type of conduct (barring an unknown mitigating factor on the Corporal’s part).  From DoDD 1344.10 (Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces, found here), an active duty military member “shall not”  Read more

US Chaplains Train Burundi Military on Combat Stress

US military chaplains from US Army Africa helped train chaplains of the Burundi Army on combat-related stress.

The first such USARAF-led seminar of its kind conducted in Africa, U.S. Army Africa Command Chaplain Col. Jonathon McGraw said the seminar showed Burundi chaplains and medical personnel how to help their leaders identify signs and symptoms associated with combat stress.

The US Army has struggled through more than 10 years of war to Read more

Fort Hood Suspect Planned Execution at Fort Campbell

PFC Naser Abdo has a new lawyer after stating he disagreed with the defense strategy of his prior court-appointed counsel.

Attorney Keith Dorsett told U.S. District Judge Walter Smith during a brief hearing in Waco that his client had been uncooperative.

His trial is scheduled to begin at the end of January.

In a recent phone interview, Abdo also reportedly admitted to planning an attack on Fort Campbell, where he was originally stationed before Read more

Fort Bragg Chaplains Encourage Strong Bonds in Marriage

The Fort Bragg command chaplain’s office hosted the latest meeting of Strong Bonds, the chaplain-based marriage strengthening retreats intended to help troops on the homefront.

“It’s especially critical for military personnel in that it’s difficult enough being in a relationship with someone, but when you take the dynamics of the military, the Army, the separation, the work stress, the long hours from time to time, that puts additional stress on relationships,” said Chaplain (Maj.) Ralph Clark…

The chaplains host 8 such seminars every year, and are based on a variety of relationship models:  Read more

Study: Top Cause of PTSD is Moral Guilt

In an era in which society encourages each to do his own thing, and “right” is a relative term, a recent study seems to indicate many people do inherently have an understanding of morality at their core — and this may sometimes conflict with the actions required by military combat:

The conflicts that troops feel can range from survivor guilt from living through an attack where other troops died, to witnessing or participating in the unintentional killing of women or children, said researchers involved in the study.

The key quote comes near the end of the article:  Combat experienced US Marines were the subject group, and the study showed

Their condition [PTSD] was more closely linked to an inner conflict Read more

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