Marine Corps Base Hawaii recently named its chapel for US Navy Chaplain (CAPT) Joseph Estabrook, a Catholic chaplain who had championed the creation of a chapel to house the “roving congregation” on the base: Read more
Update: A Navy Chaplain spoke at a Virginia church service noting
“These chaplains were united in their belief that with God all things are possible,” and they served as an enduring witness to “the power of God to transcend chaos and calamity and produce in us the strength to do all things.”
The story of the four chaplains inspired three Colorado Springs-area military chaplains.
February 3rd marked the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the US Army Transport Dorchester — a tragedy made famous as much by the act of four chaplains as the fact 627 of the 900 men aboard died.
The four chaplains were Protestants George Fox and Clark Poling; Catholic priest John Washington; and a Jewish rabbi, Alexander Goode. The chaplains famously gave up their own life vests and sank with the ship, arm in arm without regard to any person’s particular religious faith.
The Rev Robert Phillips of Peoria, IL, remembered the chaplains at the end of his service and remarked on the impact the chaplains had on the military as a whole: Read more
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
According to Buzzfeed, the Pentagon has supported Fort Bragg’s stance that an Army spouse group is not required to accept homosexuals:
Pentagon spokesman Nathan Christensen explained the current policy to BuzzFeed: “When [a private group] asks for authority to operate on a base, it must comply with all applicable DOD instructions and directives and laws, in this case [Department of Defense Instruction] 1000.15.”…
A Pentagon spokesman added late Tuesday that the Department of Defense “neither drafts, executes nor exercises control over the Club or its governing documents. Private organizations who adhere to the criteria outlined in applicable instructions are allowed base access.”
Technically, the Pentagon isn’t backing the group — they’re backing the law. Since neither federal law nor military regulations require special accommodation based on sexual preference, neither does the Army.
If that’s the official Pentagon interpretation, though, it may leave some Marine lawyers in an awkward position.
ADVERTISEMENT
If DADT repeal was such a benign ‘non-event,’ why are incidents like this erupting into scandals more than a year later?
The top lawyer in the US Marine Corps has reportedly told the Marine legal community that, to avoid “a stir” as seen at Fort Bragg, spouse groups operating on Marine installations must accept homosexuals:
The memo noted that spouses clubs and various other private institutions are allowed to operate on bases only if they adhere to a non-discrimination policy encompassing race, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin.
“We would interpret a spouses club’s decision to exclude a same-sex spouse as sexual discrimination because the exclusion was based upon the spouse’s sex,” the memo said.
This appears to be legal advice within the legal community and, as noted before, military lawyers do not make decisions about military policy (nor are they always right). However, the article does not cite a Marine policymaker Read more
Update: An official Defense.gov article notes the recent changes in Armed Services uniform policies and covers some of the highlights.
Just after the US Air Force abandoned “blues Mondays,” the US Marine Corps has announced that, as of tomorrow, Fridays require Marines to wear service uniforms instead of their utilities:
Beginning Jan. 4, 2013, all non-deployed Marines and sailors assigned to Marine units, regardless of component, active or Reserve, will be required to wear the appropriate seasonal service uniform each Friday.
The reasons given are the “form fitting” nature of the service uniform Read more
While the story seems more attributable to alcohol than religion, a veteran US Marine has admitted to setting fire to a Toledo mosque in response to attacks on the US military in Afghanistan:
Randy Linn pleaded guilty to hate crime charges, saying he’d become enraged after seeing images of wounded soldiers in the news.
“Every day you turn on the TV, you see Muslims trying to kill Read more
From around the world:
Operation Christmas Drop, the annual event in which C-130s drop packages to remote Pacific Islands, completed its 61st year.
Airmen from Yokota Air Base, Japan, were joined by the University of Guam, the local community and charitable organizations to provide more than 39,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies to islanders during Operation Christmas Drop Dec. 11 to 18.
A commenter on AF.mil site sarcastically noted it is only a matter of time before someone complains about the name of the operation hiding an attempt to conver the locals…
The Stars and Stripes had a few more details, including the Operation’s use of condemned Air Force parachutes, and the unfortunate consequences of using a chute that’s too small.
A San Antonio-based US Army Public Affairs Read more