Tag Archives: Chaplain

US Troops Feel More Pity than Respect from the Public

Recent events have made a Washington Post article from November even more interesting, as it tries to put meat on the bones of the relationship between the American public and the American military.

While the relationship has avoided the animosity of the Vietnam era, some said a feeling of social “guilt” may be responsible for the change, rather than an actual respect or support of the troops and their mission:

“We, as a nation, no longer value military heroism in ways that were entirely common in World War II,” said retired Lt. Gen. David Barno, who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Instead, praise from politicians and the public focuses largely on the depth of a service member’s suffering. Troops are recognized for the number of tours they have endured, the number of friends they have lost or Read more

Liberty Protected: The Non-Persecution of Military Atheists

When the US Air Force Academy “Falcon Circle” chapel facility went through its various controversies over the past year, one group was oddly silent:  atheists.  There were no loud cries from atheists over the US military’s waste of money to create yet another religious facility, nor were there any over the fact military atheists can’t even use the facility.

Like many US military bases, USAFA restricts the use of chapel facilities to religious gatherings:

All services held at the Cadet Chapel must be religious in nature and be conducted by a clergyperson or led by a lay-leader approved by the Cadet Wing Chaplain or designee.

Thus, unless an atheist group can sincerely say it is “religious in nature,” it can’t use the Falcon Circle as a barbecue pit this summer, while every religious Read more

Military Wives Find Solace in Fellowship, Faith

In a significant but under-reported story, the Associated Press highlights the faith of the military family at home:

Faced with long periods of separation and worry over the next combat tour, a group of wives…are drawn together weekly to seek spiritual support to bolster the strength of their marriages…

“The military, because of the complexities of the deployment, can have more uncertainties,” she said. “The reason God is the answer is because scripture says that He has never changed. From the beginning of time to the end of time, He is unchanging.”

Mya Parker, wife of an Army aviator and a former Soldier herself, started the non-denominational “Lantern” Bible fellowship.  They meet in small Read more

Article: Religious Leadership Merges with Marine Corps Values

US Navy sailors with the religious ministry teams of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group were instructed in Marine Corps leadership traits and principles in a recent professional education course.  (The Marine Corps uses the Navy chaplaincy program.) 

One class was taught by Sgt. Maj. Herbert W. Wrench, the 2nd Marine Logistics Group sergeant major, one of the senior leaders within the group.

The training was primarily an overview of how the Marines work in comparison to the Navy, something the SgtMaj says few sailors take the time to understand.  By taking the time, the members of the religious support teams increased their ability to minister to the Marines they will serve.

Atheists: Remove “No Religious Preference” from Military

Update: Military.com notes:

a week after the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers submitted the petition on WhiteHouse.gov the effort has garnered just 25 of the 25,000 signatures it needs by Feb. 5 to get any kind of response from the White House.

Jason Torpy, a former Army captain and current atheist, has filed a petition on WhiteHouse.gov to have “no religious preference,” or “NO REL PREF,” removed from the options in troops’ military records. He also wants the question removed from the list of requirements during inprocessing, making it an optional “opt in” later.

The latter is probably extremely unlikely.  First, the military has been mandated by law to make a variety of things a “mandatory opt in,” based on the belief most servicemembers will never make the extra effort to do so otherwise. (For example, one congressman floated the idea of forcing members of the military to enroll in the pseudo-retirement “Thrift Savings Plan.”)  Torpy explicitly stated there was pressure to “choose Christianity” in basic training:  Read more

Soldiers, Chaplains Try to Keep Empathy and Humanity in War

An official Department of Defense article notes the importance of empathy in war and its relevance to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.  In virtually every war in history each side stereotypically demonizes or otherwise dehumanizes its enemy.  Unfortunately, militaries must move past that division after the war is complete — especially when one military is supporting the establishment of their ‘former enemy’s’ government.

In Afghanistan, one soldier had an epiphany that led him to think more deeply about the people he fights:  Read more

MRFF’s Chris Rodda Criticizes One Military Chapel, Defends Another

If one wasn’t aware of her history, it might have been surprising to see a recent pair of articles highlight the intellectually inconsistency of the MRFF’s Chris Rodda.

Rodda recently went on record defending the construction of the US Air Force Academy chapel facility called the “Falcon Circle” from those who claimed it was an inappropriate use of government money for three cadets (a separate issue discussed elsewhere).  She said:

Designating the stone circle as a chapel facility simply accommodates a religious group with a worship area that meets their needs, something taken for granted by other religious groups at the Academy. Whether the users of that worship space number in the hundreds or in single digits is completely irrelevant when it comes to providing a place for them to worship according to their beliefs.

Comically, four days later an article appeared in the Tennessean quoting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s 2009 criticism of the construction of a different chapel at Fort Campbell.

The [MRFF] felt it looked too much like a megachurch Read more

US Military Chaplain Reaches out in Faith Exchange

Chaplains protect the religious liberties of US military servicemembers, but as noted here often, they also support the strategic objectives of the US military mission.

A Chaplain at the transit center in Manas, Kyrgyzstan, did that very thing:

One of the four mission pillars of the Transit Center is to build relationships, and…Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Steven Thompson decided to reach out to his Kyrgyz Republic brethren.

He asked a few of the translators at the Transit Center if there was a Baptist church in town…So one Sunday, Thompson, Master Sgt. James Iaun, the superintendent of chapel operations, and a translator showed up for a service.

The pastor of the church in Bishkek, Anton Berdnikov, asked the chaplain to return Read more

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