Tag Archives: dondi costin

FRC: Protect Your Military Chaplains from a Bully

Chris Gacek of the Family Research Council recently urged readers to voice their support for military chaplains in a blog entitled “Protect Your Military Chaplains from a Bully.” The context of his call was the most recent “histrionics” of a bully — Michael “Mikey” Weinstein — as he attacked Chaplain (MajGen) Dondi Costin and others for attending the CALL awards event:

What is of particular note is Weinstein’s complete and utter lack of perspective. Does he honestly believe that a retirement-type event honoring a member of Congress who has supported the needs of chaplains would not be attended by appreciative members of the military chaplaincy? Is he really so misguided as to think that the DOD IG is going to state that military chaplains attending a retirement event for a member of the House in the company of other House members and a U.S. Senator is a punishable offense? Sadly, he appears to be.

That’s true, with nuance. Weinstein wouldn’t have Read more

Bible-Believing, Military Chaplains: Avoid the Wrong Endorsing Agency

You need to do your research, so you can avoid Bible-censuring, homosexual-friendly, ecclesiastical endorsing agencies.

by Sonny Hernandez

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11)

I. Exercise Discernment

Representing Christ in the US military requires doctrinal integrity and an implacable commitment to herald His Gospel. If a Bible-believing chaplain is going to represent Christ, then he must also be biblically qualified (1 Timothy 3:1-8), maintain doctrinal integrity, and acquiesce to a Department of Defense (DOD)-approved ecclesiastical endorsing agency that has a robust statement of faith and policies implemented to provide the indemnity for their chaplains to promulgate the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to the service members they serve.

Representing Christ in the Armed Forces also requires chaplains to encounter false teachers who are wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15-20), who profess to believe (Titus 1:16), and masquerade Read more

Chris Rodda, MRFF Attack Military Chaplains — For Being Christian

Executive Summary: In their personal complaints about military chaplains, Mikey Weinstein and his MRFF clearly demonstrate their antagonism toward religious beliefs — particularly, Christian beliefs — they don’t like. This again supports the position that correspondence from the MRFF should be viewed with the skeptical eye that such complaints are motivated by an intolerant and discriminatory viewpoint inconsistent with the military’s support of diversity and religious freedom.

roddaprofChris Rodda, the research assistant for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF, is nothing if not predictable. Yesterday she posted an extraordinarily long essay railing against US military chaplains, largely centered around Mikey Weinstein’s attack on chaplains and endorsers at the end of July, an attack that was roundly rebutted by the ACLJ.  (While it’s not worth the read, Rodda’s novella can be found here.)

However, part way through Rodda digressed from her presumed thesis, as she often does, to personally attack another Air Force officer unrelated to that event: Chaplain Sonny Hernandez.

Rodda revealed the MRFF has for months been harassing Air Force Chief of Chaplains (MajGen) Dondi Costin, complaining about Chaplain Hernandez. The MRFF has claimed [emphasis added]  Read more

Mikey Weinstein Attacks Air Force Chaplains, Endorsers

Former Air Force Captain Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and retired Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews are friends, sort of. They’ve spoken in the past about having dinner together at Weinstein’s house. This is despite the fact Weinstein’s MRFF is (almost) universally ideologically opposed to Crews’ CALL.  Weinstein attacks religious liberty in the US military, and Crews defends against him.

Chaplain Crews recently honored outgoing Congressman Randy Forbes as the recipient of their annual Torchbearer Award. The ceremony at which the award was presented was well attended by several members of Congress — as well as uniformed Air Force and Army chaplains.

The event has Weinstein seething and demanding the chaplains be court-martialed. It remains to be seen if the personal relationship between Crews and Weinstein can withstand Weinstein’s bigoted diatribe in the MRFF “demand” letter addressed to the Department of Defense Inspector General:  Read more

The 2016 AFRC Chaplain Corps Conference Disaster

conferencev2by Sonny Hernandez

On April 18-21, 2016, the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) Chaplain Corps Conference commenced in Chicago, IL. The theme of this aforementioned conference was “soul care” and “moral injury.” The keynote civilian speakers for this event were: Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock and Dr. Jonathan Shay, who were publicized as being world renowned experts in the field of moral injury. Unfortunately, there were Air Force chaplains that left the conference who experienced “moral injury” after being forced to listen to Read more

USAFA NCLS: Transgenders, Medals of Honor, and Chick-fil-A

The US Air Force Academy National Character and Leadership Symposium has become an annual Who’s Who of military and national celebrities — and rarely does it shy away from controversy.

Last week, attendees were able to hear from, among others:

  • Aaron Belkin, homosexual advocate, speak on repealing the transgender ban
  • Chaplain (MajGen) Dondi Costin, Air Force Chief of Chaplains, on “Go Pro or Go Home”
  • US Army SSgt Salvatore Giunta, Medal of Read more

MajGen Dondi Costin Becomes Newest AF Chief of Chaplains

Chaplain (Col) Dondi Costin was promoted two steps to Major General and installed as the Air Force Chief of Chaplains in a ceremony on August 28th.

In a statement quoted in the Air Force Times, Chaplain Costin responded to the stories of his “memorable” invocations, which may give some insight into his opinion on “ceremonial prayer”:

Costin told Air Force Times that he spends a lot of time understanding each ceremony’s purpose and those being honored.

“Invocations aren’t just ceremonial placeholders lingering from a bygone era,” he said. “Rather, Read more

President Obama Nominates New Air Force Chief of Chaplains

Update: The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, repeated at Military.com and the Stars and Stripes, tells a bit of Col Costin’s story, including his “unique” invocations…

“I hope not to change at all,” Costin said. “I hope I just stay who I am.”

In an official DoD release, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that President Obama had nominated US Air Force Col Dondi E. Costin to be the next Air Force Chief of Chaplains. As with some other headquarters staff jobs, the move merits a two-step promotion to Major General.

Chaplain Costin would be replacing Chaplain (MajGen) Howard Stendahl, who has served in the position since 2012.

Chaplain Costin is currently the Command Chaplain for PACAF. He is a frequent speaker at National Day of Prayer events, a participant in religious respect events Read more

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