“They truly serve God and country…”
Despite some military atheists’ assertions that Chaplains aren’t permitted on the frontlines, CNN covers the US Army’s training of Chaplains at Fort Jackson for their service…on the frontlines.
In an article entitled “Preparing clergy for war: army chaplains train by the hundred for the combat zone,” CNN highlights the hundreds of Chaplains preparing Read more
Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, a former Navy Chaplain who once acted as a special advisor to the Air Force on religious issues and remains engaged in current events, has a guest column in the Washington Post suggesting it is time for a new Chaplain’s insignia in the US military.
Today’s chaplains wear one of four separate insignias: Read more
As previously noted, US Army Chaplain (Capt) Pratima Dharm has reportedly become the US military’s first Hindu Chaplain. One point of curiosity was the Chaplain’s badge; she had reportedly worn the Christian cross “until this year.”
In an article at the Huffington Post, US Air Force LtCol Ravi Chaudhary explains his role in helping Dharm represent Hinduism as opposed to Christianity (which, incidentally, she doesn’t reject under the “inclusive” Hindu spirituality). (Chaudhary, a Hindu US Air Force C-17 pilot, was highlighted here just a few months ago; he currently serves in the Pentagon.) He notes the discussion of the “religious identifier” Dharm was to wear — a particularly interesting endeavor, since Hinduism doesn’t really have exclusive religious symbology: Read more
A Stars and Stripes article indicates US Army Chaplain (Capt) Pratima Dharm has become the first US military Hindu Chaplain. Dharm is a Chaplain at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Dharm did not enter as a Hindu Chaplain — she has simply changed endorsers. She was originally endorsed by the Pentecostal Church of God, but is now sent by Chinmaya Mission West. (In 2007 an Army Chaplain previously tried to convert to Wicca, but was discharged after he lost his endorsement and was unable to find an approved Wiccan endorsing agency.)
The article is unofficial, and doesn’t indicate what insignia Dharm now wears (only that she wore the Christian cross “until this year”). There is no official Hindu Chaplain emblem (at least not publicly), and public images still show Dharm wearing the cross.
Think someone will spin this as evidence of a Christian takeover of the military?