Tag Archives: Chaplain

Chaplains Support Troops in Presidential Inauguration

Many people were aware of some of the roles US servicemembers played in supporting the inauguration — from logistics (like role-playing the rehearsal) to protection.

There was another, lower-key support element as well:  Chaplains deployed to support the troops, too:

The chaplains’ mission is to provide emotional and spiritual support for [6,000] Guardsmen so soldiers and airmen may focus their attention on accomplishing their assigned mission during the ceremony.

The US military generally does an admirable job of supporting religious freedom, and chaplains deploy around the world — and to Washington, DC — to help make that happen.

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Military Spouse of the Year: Devout Christian, Homosexual

Ashley Broadway, the homosexual who complained about being denied membership in a Fort Bragg spouses’ group, has been named the “spouse of the year” for Fort Bragg in a popular vote called the Spouse of the Year program.

In the online election held Tuesday, Ashley Broadway captured the Fort Bragg vote “by a country mile,” said Babette Maxwell, founder of Military Spouse magazine and the Military Spouse of the Year award. Ballot totals were not revealed. As one of the 154 base-level winners, Broadway now is eligible to be nominated for Army “spouse of the year.”

As the “spouse of the year program” is a private operation, Read more

Crusader Crosses Removed from US Afghan Chapel

NBC reports the US military chapel at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E was improperly displaying Christian crosses, and the Army has ordered them removed and covered over:

U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan on Thursday ordered the removal of a steeple and crucifix erected over a remote American base in the Muslim country after a soldier deployed there noted that the symbols violated Army regulations…

Doors with cross-shaped windows were reportedly boarded up until they can be replaced.

This has happened before, and, as noted previously, it is not really a significant event.  The article accurately notes Army regulations (not DoD regulations) dictate Read more

Marines to Try Out Buddhist Mindfulness, Critics Stay Silent

Update:  Former Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt says the Marines should be considering Christianity, not Buddhism:

“I think getting rid of anxiety is important. We need to decrease the suicide rate among our Marines,” he agrees. “But Buddhism is not the way to do that. I think Christianity is intellectually a better way to promote healthy mental awareness.”

Like Chaplain Lee, Klingenschmitt wonders where the normally vociferous critic Michael Weinstein is right now [emphasis added]: Read more

Yongsan Chapel Preschool to Close after Complaint

The Mustard Seed preschool operated at an Army base in South Korea will be closed after military leaders received a complaint it was operating illegally.  After commanders reviewed the program’s status, they determined there were no regulations governing the operation — thus, it had to be closed.

A long-running Christian preschool at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan will close at the end of the school year due to Read more

Homosexual Advocates Lament Lack of Military Benefits

A veritable plethora of articles were published over the weekend highlighting the fact “spouses” of homosexual service members don’t have access to the benefits of heterosexual married families.

  • On January 19th, multiple media sites noted homosexual Ashley Broadway had declined the invitation of the Fort Bragg spouse’s group to be a “special guest.”  Broadway doesn’t meet the group’s criteria for membership as she isn’t a military spouse.
  • The same day, the New York Times told the story of US Army Lt Nakisha Hardy, who was awkwardly asked to leave a chaplain-run marriage retreat because she was a homosexual.
  • The next day, the Associated Press highlighted US Army Sgt Karen Alexander’s financial struggles, as she doesn’t get family pay rates that married troops do.
  • On the same day, the Stars and Stripes republished a local paper’s article noting homosexual National Guard member SSgt Tracy Dice is “not considered war widow,” though her “wife” was killed in Afghanistan.

This lack of “fairness” was, of course, always known Read more

Anti-Religious Groups Harass West Point over Prayer

Since former cadet (and current MRFF “client”) Blake Page made his awkward public departure from West Point over “criminal” Christianity, there has been a simmering of the issue of prayer at the US Military Academy.  For the most part, the only loud voices were critics who want to see West Point end public prayers.

The Alliance Defending Freedom just recently weighed in, encouraging West Point to stand firm in the face of criticism and honor both its legacy and religious freedom.  The ADF’s David Hacker said

“The First Amendment allows public officials to acknowledge our nation’s religious heritage,” he notes. “Anti-religious groups with misguided ideas about the First Amendment should not be allowed to destroy a time-honored, perfectly constitutional American custom.”

The ADF sent a letter to West Point on behalf of the Chaplain Alliance Read more

Chaplains, Church Ministries Team to Aid Troops

The Fort Campbell Religious Support Office recently sponsored a “ministry fair” attended by

nearly 200 ministry leaders, mental health professionals and volunteers

for the purpose of helping the faith and military communities work together to support troops.

Fort Campbell’s Religious Support Office hosted the ministry fair to familiarize the faith community with the 571 support programs the military base offers to help soldiers and military families in crisis, encompassing 40 different areas of need, including soldier and family assistance, chaplaincy, medical support and prevention programs.

The effort is similar to one by the Southern Baptist Convention, led by retired Read more

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