Tag Archives: Chaplain

US Navy Chaplains: Character Matters

At the behest of the Chief of Naval Operations, the US Navy Chaplaincy has begun a summer campaign hashtagged “#CharacterMatters.” According to the Chaplaincy’s release on the subject, CNO Adm John Richardson

challenged us to “actively strengthen our shipmates’ integrity,” so that the entire Navy team, as an institution, behaves in a way that is “consistent with the values that we profess.”

It’s a fascinating opportunity — and one that could be easily missed. For example, it Read more

Transgender Airmen Describes departure from Christian Upbringing

A Nellis Air Force Base Air Traffic Controller, SrA Irene Nelson, recently posted an official personal interest article about his “transition” to a woman. He made the important note that he was raised in a conservative Christian household:

I grew up in a very conservative Christian household…

My parents had issues with my sexual orientation (surprise), and they took me to a gay conversion seminar when I was about 15 years old…

I spent endless hours studying the Bible and praying for God to give me clarity as to why I had these temptations or feelings. Why couldn’t he take them away? Nothing is as hard as your whole world telling you that you are wrong. Your existence is wrong.

Lost in Nelson’s religious and philosophical musings is an important point. What if the “whole world [is] telling you that you are wrong” because you are wrong? More to the point, “right” and “wrong” aren’t Read more

Symposium Seeks to Correct Record on Operation Kiddy Car

An interesting panel was recently held in Korea that commemorated — and attempted to correct the history on — Operation Kiddy Car, the US military’s evacuation of thousands of Korean orphans during the Korean War.

The operation and the autobiography by Dean Hess have been previously discussed, again when Hess died in 2015. The recent panel was held to try to re-emphasize the role of Chaplain (Col) Russell Blaisdell, whose role some feel has been unfairly ignored:

Blaisdell, his assistant Staff Sgt. Merle (Mike) Strang and South Korean social workers collected children from the streets and “saved many orphans from near-certain death,” according to an Air Force account of the operation…

Blaisdell…persuaded Col. T.C. Rogers — the unit’s director of operations and Read more

Chaplain Chosen for US Army Ranger Hall of Fame

Update: The ceremony was covered here.

Each year a select few are chosen to be elevated to the Ranger Hall of Fame, and this year a local Georgia pastor has made the cut.

That pastor is Jeff Struecker (website) of Calvary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia. He is also former Sgt Struecker, Army Ranger during the fight in Somalia immortalized in Black Hawk Down, who eventually became US Army Chaplain (Maj) Struecker. Struecker, then, is probably a rare theologian inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame.

A recent interview Struecker gave Read more

US Army General Hosts Islamic Iftar

US Army BGen Miguel Castellanos, the CJTF-HOA deputy commanding general, recently hosted an Islamic iftar to celebrate the breaking of the fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The event began with US Navy Chaplain (Cmdr) Abuhena Saifulislam leading some foreign troops in Islamic prayers. (Saifulislam had recently performed the same ritual for the State Department in Djibouti.)

BGen Castellanos made an interesting statement Read more

Military Color Guard to Lead DC Gay Pride Parade

This Saturday, a parade through Washington, DC celebrating homosexuality will be led off by a US military color guard. The “tradition” started in 2014, and even then homosexual advocates recognized the significance of having the military ‘sanction’ their event by participating in it.

Notably, at about that same time churches had local military color guards suddenly banned from their traditional patriotic celebrations — even though those military units weren’t participating in the church’s event, but merely posting the colors and then leaving. As recently as last December a military band was restricted from participating in a Christmas radio show, yet it seems parading down the streets of gay pride is kosher.  There were hopes expressed even then that the new Commander in Chief might bring about a change to that conflict.

The tragedy, of course, is Read more

Islamic Army Chaplain Shabazz Dons Christian Stole

As previously announced, on May 23rd Chaplain (LtCol) Khallid Shabazz took over as the Division Chaplain for the 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis McChord:

Shabazz…became the Army’s first Islamic chaplain at the division level at a Change of Stole ceremony…officiated by Maj. Gen. Thomas James Jr., 7th Infantry Division commanding general.

The “changing of the stole” appears to be strictly a US Army chaplaincy tradition, as Read more

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