Tag Archives: Chaplain

Atheist Chaplains and Independent Ideology, or Lack Thereof

Christianity Today re-covered the prior discussion on “atheist Chaplains,” asking the same question others had previously:

All religious groups make absolutist claims of one kind or another. But how can a belief system — or is it a lack of belief system? — championed by figures like Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens support Christian soldiers in any meaningful sense? When considering chaplains who support Hitchens’s rather broad contention that “religion poisons everything,” how can such leaders “provide the means for others to observe their own faith”? If Christians are indeed suffering from a “God delusion,” as Dawkins has suggested, how can a chaplain who promotes Dawkins’s ideas offer belief-respecting encouragement to a Christian soldier?

The author acknowledges a similar accusation can be made against exclusive religions, but there is a positive response in the Christian faith and historical precedent (something Chaplains are already doing):

One might counter by suggesting that Christians themselves Read more

Army Chaplain Receives 2011 Hoeing Memorial Award

US Army Chaplain (Col) Nosson Sachs received the 2011 Chaplain Joseph I. Hoeing Memorial award in May from the Rabbinical Council of America.

The award, according to the RCA, recognizes an individual chaplain who, “through his unselfish concern for the spiritual needs and welfare of all military personnel, embodies the dignity of Judaism and brings honor to the Torah and glory to his people.”

According to the article, Sachs was specifically honored Read more

Jewish Arlington Memorial Sees Movement

The plan to raise a memorial to Jewish US military Chaplains killed in combat — to accompany the memorials already in place for Protestant and Catholic Chaplains — received a boost when the US Senate passed a resolution honoring their service.

The US House was poised to pass the necessary legislation to approve the memorial last week.  The legislation would also eliminate the currently required Congressional approval that has delayed the Jewish memorial for several years.

Via ArmyChaplaincy.com and also at ReligionClause.

Chaplains Call for Troop Protections over DADT

The recent controversy over the Navy’s apparent acceptance of homosexual marriages in base chapels (quickly reversed after Congressional disapproval) spurred a response by Chaplain endorsing agencies representing “over a thousand military chaplains.”  The groups wrote a letter calling for conscience protections not only for Chaplains — but also for every servicemember:

When guidance…is forthcoming from senior leadership that implies protected status for those who engage in homosexual behavior and normalizes same-sex unions in base chapels, any outside observer would conclude that both homosexuality and homosexual unions officiated as marriages in base chapels are normative.

This creates an environment that is increasingly hostile to the many chaplains — and the service members they serve — whose faith groups and personal consciences recognize homosexual behavior as immoral and unsafe and do not permit same-sex unions.

For this reason, and particularly in light of the growing confusion regarding how DADT repeal will play out — indeed, we were told that issues like same-sex weddings were not a concern because of DOMA just months ago — we strongly encourage the adoption of broad, clear, and strong protections Read more

Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, from General Marshall

Chaplain (Maj) Bill Scritchfield, currently serving in Afghanistan, has an interesting perspective on the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, reaching all the way back to General Marshall:

Scritchfield…believes Gen. George Marshall explained the significance of Soldier spirituality best, “The Soldier’s heart, the Soldier’s spirit, the Soldier’s soul are everything. Unless the Soldier’s soul sustains him, he cannot be relied on and will fail himself and his country in the end.”

The context of the article is US Army SPC Turquoise Dawson, who volunteers as an usher at Bagram’s chapel services.  Her conscious decision to usher with a happy heart

illustrate[s] some of the behaviors and strategies that help one adapt and cope with challenges – behaviors and strategies Army officials hope to pass on to other soldiers.

Critics continue to imply an impending lawsuit over some portions of the Army’s CSF program.

Chaplain Works for Religious Unity in Army

US Army Chaplain (Col) Mike Lembke, having returned from his third tour in Iraq, recently spoke to the 19th annual Four Chaplains Prayer Breakfast in York, Pennsylvania.  The local article notes Chaplain Lembke has “emphasized religious unity throughout his career.”

Throughout his career he’s found his main emphasis is to create religious acceptance within units. Lembke said he’s work alongside Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist chaplains – each caring for soldiers’ needs and working together for unity.  Read more

Buddhist Chaplain Celebrates Vesak

As noted previously, Chaplain (Capt) Somya Malasri recently celebrated the Buddhist Vesak at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  Chaplain Malasri is reportedly the only active duty Buddhist Chaplain in the US Army.  (Buddhist Chaplain (Lt) Thomas Dyer is in the Army National Guard.)

Like Chaplains of other faiths, Malasri’s presence provides a unique support for members in the military of his faith:

Part of [Chaplain’s Malasri’s] service to others includes providing weekly Buddhist services on base. Spc. Lawrence Ross…attends regularly.
 
“(It gives me) a sense of belonging, where a group can connect without any animosity of judging,” he said.
 
Ross, who became a Buddhist in 2008, says that it has helped him become a better Soldier and that having a Buddhist presence on base helps people see another side of the Army.
 
“It’s not all about kicking down doors and killing people,” he said. “It’s all about helping people. Bottom line.”

Malasri has an interesting take on the apparent contradiction of a Buddhist Chaplain/Soldier — a religion stereotypically “peaceful.”  Read more

The Controversy over “Moral Injury”

The Stars and Stripes covered the “Navy and Marine Corps’ annual conference on combat and operational stress,” and indicates new “buzzwords” — “moral injury” — are causing some consternation:

One Marine commander roped into a panel discussion at the last minute bluntly took issue with the phrase: “As a Marine, I’m insulted.”

Lt. Col. James “Hall” Bain…said he thought the term implied that Marines were stressed as a result of immorality.

The Corps trains Marines to have “the skill and the will to kill,” he said. “It’s based on an ethical standard.”

In his defense, LtCol Bain seems to take issue with the terminology, not the concept.  In other places, the term “moral injury” has been used to describe the dissonance that occurs when one man kills another:  Read more

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