Tag Archives: Chaplain

Camp Marmal Marines Baptized in Afghanistan

Just one day after their cross was pulled down from their chapel, five US Marines were baptized in Camp Marmal in a public affirmation of their faith:

[A] congregation of worshipers…witnessed the five service members publicly proclaim their belief in a higher power.

At the conclusion of the service, each service member was baptized individually, taking a backward plunge into a tub of water that was placed inside the chapel.

“This [the baptism] is only the beginning of their spiritual journey,” said Maj. Xuan Tran, chaplain…

The symbolic gesture of Read more

Atheist Complains of Military Pre-Mission Prayers

Jason Torpy of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers was recently interviewed by NPR on the topic of atheist chaplains.  At one point he said he felt “excluded…because of his beliefs” while he was in the Army.  His unit was preparing for a convoy:

Going on a military mission, for example, we were getting ready to roll out…So as the commander of this convoy (said), ‘Everybody come in and we’re going to do a prayer first together.’ We’re not going to talk about communications, we’re not going to talk about route planning, we’re not going to talk about first aid, we’re not going to talk about maintenance.
 
So I had to opt myself out of that situation, to ‘out’ myself because this commander took it upon himself to have a personal religious activity in the midst of a military mission.

CNS News caught that, and later asked Torpy to clarify.  Torpy ultimately admitted the unit had prepared for the mission, despite his implication Read more

Jewish Chaplain Gets Waiver for Beard

Rabbi Menachem Stern previously sued the US Army for accepting him as a chaplain candidate — and then unaccepting him when they realized he intended to keep his beard.

The Aleph Institute, a Chabad-Lubavitch organization that assists Jewish military personnel, Jewish inmates and their families, and Sens. Charles E. Schumer, Kristen Gillibrand and Joseph Lieberman sought to persuade top brass that the rabbi should be able to keep his beard.

As have many others, they cited Chaplain Goldstein Read more

Senate Defense Bill Adds Marriage, Removes Sodomy Rules

Update: The Pentagon has said bestiality would still be impermissible.  Aides in Congress are saying the repeal may not stand anyway.

US Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) successfully submitted an amendment to the 2012 Defense Authorization Act that would explicitly protect US military chaplains in regard to homosexual marriage:

The Wicker legislation would prevent military chaplains from being forced to perform a marriage ceremony if the chaplain objects for reasons of conscience…

“This amendment will allow the chaplains of our Armed Forces to maintain the freedom of conscience necessary to serve both their Nation and their religion without conflict,” Wicker said.

Nothing officially requires chaplains to perform Read more

Military Atheists Rally Around the Crossbuster

As noted before, some atheists, like many political or social activists, can sometimes become so engrossed in their presumed persecution they see offense where none exists.

Military atheists, for example, took a General officer to task when she made the fairly benign statement that military service requires you to believe in things “bigger than yourself.”  They derided a US military Chaplain for describing his duties as required by regulation.  In both cases, statements were attributed to the officers they didn’t actually say — it was just what the atheists thought they heard — a perception apparently skewed by an assumption of persecution.  Most recently, atheists brought up an old story about a Navy atheist who was “forced to permanently cover” a tattoo.  CTR2 Michael Wheeler had the logo of the band Bad Religion, the “crossbuster,” tattooed on his arm where it was visible, even in uniform:

Naturally, there was much consternation and implication of persecution on the part of the atheists.  In the end, a few who commented did correctly note a Read more

Despite Weinstein Threats, USAFA Supports Local Food Bank

Just days after Michael Weinstein claimed the US Air Force Academy was inappropriately asking USAFA cadets to donate toys to needy children, a news article was published indicating what Weinstein describes as a “cancer” is, indeed, widespread:

The cadets are even making donations to a local food bank.

Air Force Academy chaplains and the Cadet Interfaith Council [presented] a $1,200 check along with 125 cans of food to the Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado at the food bank’s site in Colorado Springs, Colo.

By its nature the Cadet Interfaith Council obviously had a connection to the chaplains, but the food drive was a cadet-initiated, cadet-run event:  Read more

Atheists Find Drama in Military Reenlistment

US Army Sgt Justin Griffith recently posted a video of his last reenlistment.  In presenting it, he repeatedly emphasized the facts the officer was a chaplain (a “high ranking” one, at that), the “so help me God” was left out (by a chaplain!), and this confluence of events is “unheard of.”  Writing in the third person, Griffith said:

This moment is potentially historic. The military’s long-standing climate of hostility towards atheists is beginning to change. Foxhole atheists like Griffith are slamming the ‘atheist closet’ door shut behind them.

There are plenty of evangelical Christians inside and outside of the chaplaincy that are vocally opposed to equal treatment for atheists. But this video demonstrates the silent majority of Chaplains who really do ‘get it’.

While Griffith is to be congratulated on his reenlistment, and continuing service is a significant event in its own right, his ceremony wasn’t quite as dramatic as he seems to Read more

Pagans Get “Warm Welcome” at Lackland AFB, USAFA

A “pagan newswire collective” article on the religious environment in the US Air Force painted a picture of a tolerant, accepting, and respectful military treatment of even the most minority religions.

Really.

The pagan report is only the most recent outside observer to highlight the positive religious environment in the US Air Force.  Starting at Lackland Air Force Base:

“Our airmen…should know that the Air Force has gone to great lengths to ensure their spirit was nurtured while in basic training,” says Rev. Tamie Rieth…, the Wicca Distinctive Faith Group Leader (DFGL) at Lackland for just over 6 years.  Rev. Rieth is one of 5 instructors who lead the weekly Wiccan services for BMT trainees.

The article says 150 to 300 trainees attend the Sunday Read more

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