Tag Archives: Religion

Hanscom AFB Cites Military Atheists in Chaplain Article

Army Specialist Samuel Keenan of the Massachusetts National Guard recently wrote an article out of Hanscom AFB entitled “Getting in the foxhole: how chaplains serve nonreligious service members” — apparently a subtle play on the “no atheists in a foxhole” phrase.

In short, the article uses the example of Guard Air Force Chaplain (Capt) Derek White to show that chaplains serve everyone, even those without a religious faith:

“It doesn’t matter if they’re religious or if they have no religious preference,” said White. “The fact that I am the person that they feel they can share their life with… that’s a really great feeling…”

“Regardless of religious preference, or non-preference, everybody hits a wall with human limits,” said White. “Chaplains provide hope that the wall is not an obstacle that cannot be overcome.”

That’s a valid discussion — even if the “non-religious” issue feels somewhat forced to the exclusion of everything else. Based on the article, it seems Keenan, more than Chaplain White, focused on the non-religious aspect. There’s no clear reason why.

Unfortunately, Keenan relied on an “interesting” source for part of his article: Read more

USAFA General Jay Silveria Gets Out in Front of President Trump

US Air Force Academy Superintendent LtGen Jay “Tonto” Silveria may have gotten a bit in front of his Commander-in-Chief when he re-entered the public debate over diversity last week (following his much-watched “get out” speech over a racist event that turned out to be a hoax).

Writing in an Op-Ed published at CNN entitled “Why Diversity?“, Gen Silveria said [emphasis added]

our real advantage is the intellect, innovation, creativity and courage of our troops. If any among us thinks these qualities are defined by race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or identity or any other factor of the human condition, then the Air Force Academy and our military is not the place for them…

To put it in the terms of a military leader: Diversity is a force multiplier. We must do this together — all ranks and ages, races and religions, sexual orientations and identities — all of us.

The problem is Gen Silveria’s boss, President Trump, has indicated the opposite — he’s said Read more

David Barton Speaks at Military Prayer Breakfast, and Chris Rodda Doesn’t Notice

After Michael “Mikey” Weinstein recently decried the National Prayer Breakfasts at both Fort Jackson and Whiteman AFB, one might have thought US troops were stumbling over each other to beg for his help in the face of religious oppression and pancakes.

In actuality, National Prayer Breakfasts are happening at military facilities around the country — entirely without incident. Even the ones Weinstein complained about so boisterously occurred without so much as a ripple.

Why the disconnect? Aside from the obvious answer that Weinstein doesn’t always tell the truth, the simple fact is US service members aren’t coming to Weinstein in droves to complain about these events — or anything else, for that matter — despite Weinstein’s claims to the contrary.

Rather, Mikey Weinstein finds out about an event — even if just from a simple internet news alert — socializes it among his followers to create “complainants”, and then tries to ride the complaints about the event for publicity (and his personal benefit, of course).

In other words, the “complaints” are essentially manufactured. But for Mikey Read more

Column Defends Religious Freedom in the US Military

Writing in the Stars and Stripes, First Liberty attorney Mike Berry rebutted recent calls to restrict religious freedom in the US military.

Referring to last month’s appeal by the Freedom from Religion Foundation and American Atheists for Secretary of Defense James Mattis to end military prayers, Berry pointed out the errors of the groups’ demands and then said [emphasis added]

Were the DOD to give in to the groups’ demands, the harm our military would suffer would be catastrophic. Religious freedom in the military is not a luxury; it is every bit a necessity as bullets, beans and bandages. Religious freedom is a force multiplier that enables all troops — regardless of their faith, or no faith — to prepare themselves for what may be required of them in military service.

The taking of a life — or indeed, the ultimate sacrifice of one’s own life — while Read more

Airman’s Religion a Personality Disorder?

Joshua Kors, an attorney and investigative reporter who focuses on military issues, recently highlighted the story of Senior Airman Nicole Dawson, who said she was discharged for what amounted to a made-up diagnosis of a personality disorder. (Kors has previously discussed allegations the military is using personality disorder discharges intentionally to disqualify troops for veteran’s services.)

The relevant portion of SrA Dawson’s story, as told in the first person [emphasis added]:

On March 11, 2014, I departed for basic training…

That all changed in March 2016. By that point, my cousin had committed suicide and all four of my grandparents had died, including my maternal grandfather…He was the only father figure that I had ever known…

His death was devastating. I needed someone to talk to…

I hesitated. But eventually I made an appointment with a psychologist…I spoke about the challenges I’ve faced, the stress I was under, and the devastating loss Read more

Military Chaplains Study Ministry to Nones

An interesting article about Navy chaplains noted a recent annual training event whose topic was “A Strategy for the Delivery of Religious Ministry to None, Dones, and Millennials.”

The [course] is designed to provide chaplains and [chaplain assistants] with the knowledge, skills and abilities to deliver meaningful religious ministry to millennials who are religious, have no religious preference, or who have disaffiliated from religion.

Some militant atheists have said the only Read more

Christians, Commanders Lead Prayer Breakfast Around Military

US military commanders and motivational Christian speakers are leading prayer breakfasts throughout the military this year.

At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Chad Robichaux spoke of his journey from Force Recon Marine to MMA fighter — by way of PTSD:

Robichaux addressed an audience of active duty Service Members and their families, during the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Feb. 2…

“I sat in the closet with a pistol, on and off, for two weeks trying to work up the courage,” he said. “Knowing the kids might find me. Wondering if I could make it look like an accident.”

Robichaux even Read more

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