Tag Archives: Chaplain

Chaplains Teach Leaders the Value of Faith

Chaplains at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing — at an “undisclosed location” — kicked off their first Faith Works leadership forum in the form of a luncheon attended by commanders, chiefs, and senior NCOs. Their goal? Help these senior leaders

gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for how faith can improve the everyday lives of Airmen, increase resiliency and contribute to mission effectiveness.

The mission is admirable and notable because the military so infrequently notes the virtues of the faith of its troops — something this program explicitly does [emphasis added]:  Read more

Air Force Chaplain, Mikey Weinstein Attack National Guard Strong Bonds

An unnamed Air Force chaplain sent a formally formatted complaint to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein in early May, claiming the National Guard Bureau had established “Protestant Christianity” as the “official religion” of the Guard’s Strong Bonds program.

As if to reinforce the fact the letter was written specifically for public consumption, just a few hours after receiving it Weinstein sent off his “demand” letter to General Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau. Weinstein made no new allegations but asserted those of the chaplain, who had complained about a line from a National Guard MOI on Strong Bonds.  Regarding Strong Bonds events, the official Memorandum of Instruction said

One voluntary worship service will be conducted at all overnight training sessions, serving to the extent possible, the largest religious demographic represented in accordance with the Constitutional mandate to provide for the “free exercise of religion”. (See “DODI 1300.17”; “AFI 52-101”).

Military regulations can sometimes be ambiguous, vague, and even self-contradictory, so it is understandable that even well-meaning or intelligent members of the military might misunderstand them.

But even graciously speaking, that’s not what happened Read more

Mikey Weinstein Throws Tantrum at Tobyhanna. No One Notices.

In early May an aggrieved civilian working at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania contacted Michael “Mikey” Weinstein with a religious complaint so horrible, so egregious, so dangerous that it is amazing it had not already caused massive loss of life.

Someone was wearing a hat.

Quoth Weinstein [emphasis added]:

Dear Col. Peterson,

Sir, one of your armed, DOD, Army, civilian gate guards at the Tobyhanna Army Depot Main or “Scranton” gate is wearing a baseball hat with the biblical citation from the New Testament Book of John “3:16” on it…

MRFF demands that you immediately order that offending gate guard to expeditiously remove that Christian-proselytizing baseball hat and appropriately, aggressively and visibly punish that individual as well as all others in his chain of command who are either directly or indirectly responsible…

It just takes a hat to convert people?  Missionaries have been doing it wrong all these years.

Turns out Weinstein was pretty far off the mark. First, it seems  Read more

Mikey Weinstein Attacks Muslim US Troops over Religion. Almost.

In an act that almost amounted to a display of principle, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF finally spoke out against US Air Force MSgts Laura and Mark Magee — both Muslim service members. The Magees were the focus of a “Through Airmen’s Eyes” article put out by the Air Force early last week which highlighted their faith. The article was entitled “Nevada ANG chaplain [sic]: ‘I want people to know Islam is not evil’“. (The title should have said “…chaplain’s assistant,” not “chaplain”.)

Weinstein’s group put out a statement saying [emphasis added]:

MRFF objects to it just as strongly as it has to the many articles published by the Air Force highlighting the faith of Christian airmen [sic]…

The MRFF complaint gives only a single example that it says violates Air Force regulations, citing the article which quoted MSgt Mark Magee saying: Read more

Ed Brayton’s Cluelessness on Religious Tests for Office

Ed Brayton, a long-time secularist blogger and ally of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and Chris Rodda, recently wrote a post entitled “Klingenschmitt’s Cluelessness on Religious Tests for Office.”

One of Brayton’s pastimes is keeping up with former Navy Chaplain and former Colorado state legislator Gordon Klingenschmitt, himself a prolific public speaker and writer.

Brayton quoted Klingenschmitt from a LifeSite news article in which Klingenschmitt was commenting on the decision by Tennessee state legislator Mark Green to withdraw from nomination as Secretary of the Army.  Klingenschmitt said

The bully left is now openly creating an unconstitutional religious litmus test for public office. If you believe the Bible, or quote the Bible in public, they claim you are unfit for office and apply their political labels until you quit.

Brayton mocked Klingenschmitt’s statement as “absurd,” and then followed it with his own absurdity:  Read more

Reconciling Morality: Misunderstanding Respect and the Military

US Army SFC Timothy Seppala is a Religious Affairs Specialist, otherwise known as a chaplain’s assistant. He recently wrote a few articles about the chaplaincy and one on “Reconciling your Morality: Finding the Common Ground.”

The article begins with a fairly reassuring statement that morality is “highly objective”, but it soon becomes clear SFC Seppala meant the other word [emphasis added]:

The truth is that morality can come from almost anywhere and is something that is unique to each individual.

As you can imagine, having so many sources of morality leads to many different views on what is right and wrong.

In other words, Seppala mean to say morality is subjective, not objective.  That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the article on morality.

Seppala goes on to note that social issues divide society — and the US military reflects the society from which it is drawn, even on issues of morality [emphasis added]: Read more

Help for Moral Injury Requires Moral Authority

US Army Alaska chaplain recently participated in a “Holistic Healthcare Conference” that included discussions on PTSD and moral injury.

In a panel discussion, Chaplain (Maj) James Hall made a fascinating statement:

When asked about where service members could seek out help, Hall replied, “it usually takes a moral authority to help someone with a moral injury.”

At first it almost sounds arrogant — but, in fact, it’s true. Consider Read more

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