Capt. Chad Zielinski, a Catholic Chaplain at the US Air Force Academy, was presented the Air Force Association’s 2011 Chaplain Corps Award for outstanding performance by a member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps. Chaplain Zielinski was recognized for his work both at USAFA and Afghanistan.
Contrary to some claims, Zielinski was one of many Chaplains on the front lines, serving the spiritual needs of US servicemembers: Read more
Jews in Green has a picture of the groundbreaking in Arlington for the upcoming installation of the Jewish memorial on Chaplain’s hill.
As previously noted, the 14 Jewish Chaplains who died in the service of their country were the only faith not represented on Arlington’s Chaplains’ Hill.
The bronze plaque that will eventually be mounted on the monument is apparently on a nationwide tour, stopping last week at Pensacola Naval Air Station. In Pensacola, local Jewish leader, Vietnam Vet, and retired Navy Captain Fred Levin noted the value of Chaplains, and the risk they assumed: Read more
The Killeen Daily Herald, local to Fort Hood, notes the July death of US Army CPL Frank Gross, who was killed in Afghanistan one month into his deployment. CPL Gross had a consistent motivation:
Cpl. Frank Gross wrote the same Bible verse, Colossians 3:23, inside his baseball caps throughout his high school and college pitching career: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
“Basically, whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability,” his mother, Toni Gross, said…”That was his life verse.”
Notably, Gross had not only a Bachelors degree but also Read more
The media has been awash with “where were you” stories in the run-up to the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Likewise, many military stories have come out from servicemembers recounting where they were or why they joined. Many were barely out of gradeschool on that day 10 years ago.
Repeated, too, have been the stories of those Read more
Jason Torpy of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers has complained over a poster in the halls of a Simi Valley government building.
The poster features a God Bless America / God Bless You prayer sandwich as well as a reference to Psalms 33 indicating Christian requirements for such a blessing. This display is primarily religious in nature, co-opting patriotism to promote their personal Christian beliefs. This is disrespectful to nontheistic military personnel…
Interesting, isn’t it, that atheists are so intent on framing an issue as “Christian” they continue to assign ‘exclusive Christian’ intent to things like passages from the Hebrew Bible — which is, of course, Jewish.
It’s also fascinating that Torpy is so hypersensitive Read more
ABC News recently did a short segment on the US Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, or, more accurately, the spiritual fitness portion of it.
They interviewed Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum, a PhD, MD, Desert Storm POW, and current Director of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness in the Army.
They also interviewed US Army Sgt Dustin Chalker, an atheist Soldier whom Michael Weinstein used to sue the US Army. (The lawsuit was dismissed.)
While military atheists have generally taken issue with the entire concept of “spiritual fitness,” the following portion of the interview was highlighted by Justin Griffith on his atheist “Rock Beyond Belief” website:
Sciutto (ABC News): Why is it that spiritual people make better soldiers?
Cornum: The ethos that we adhere to. Always place the mission first. Never accept defeat. Never leave a fallen comrade. Those kinds of things require you to have belief in something higher than yourself.
To be accurate, the US Army did not say Read more
Though it seems they’re most often the object of Michael Weinstein’s criticism, cadets who organize into faith groups recently made the news for the positive event of coming together to support a local food bank.
Council members and chaplains spent two hours at Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado packing and palletizing boxes for distribution to families in need of assistance.
Chaplain (Capt) Shawn Menchion received permission from Read more
What is reportedly NASA’s first “lunar Bible” is being auctioned in a “Space and Aviation Artifacts” event this month.
The tiny object, an intact microfilm of the King James Bible containing all 1,245 pages and measuring 1.5 x 1.5 inches, will be included in the auction by PR Auction on the company’s website beginning Sept. 15.
The miniscule Bible was reportedly a product of the Apollo Prayer League — a group of NASA employees from all fields — and it was created to fulfill Read more