Chuck Holton, a former Army Ranger and author of A More Elite Soldier, in a recent interview:
“The military is being turned into this great social experiment and they’re not being allowed to go out and accomplish their mission – which is to defeat the enemy,” he said.
“Now they’re being told, ‘You have to defeat the enemy, but you have to do it without actually offending them,'” he said.
More at CBN News.
“After organizing, planning, and coordinating a Strong Bonds retreat for his Battalion soldiers that was to begin Friday, 12 September 2014, the…chaplain was notified [on] 10 Sept. a same-sex couple had just signed up for the retreat. Chaplains [of this faith group] cannot participate in such events because their historical, orthodox Christian theology and beliefs do not recognize same-sex marriages. To participate in events that in any way legitimize such unions is a violation of [their] statement of faith and doctrine.
“The…chaplain reported the problem to his commanding officer and suggested the couple be asked if they would prefer to attend a Strong Bonds retreat conducted by a chaplain who could specifically minister to their specific same-sex needs, a practice used by other chaplains in similar situations. The commander agreed. But the brigade chaplain, after being briefed on the situation, told the…chaplain (a) he could not ask the same-sex couple if they would prefer an alternative and (b) another chaplain would replace the…chaplain.
“When the…chaplain informed his commanding officer another chaplain would be conducting the retreat because he would be unable to attend it, the commander’s initial reaction was he wanted his chaplain to conduct the retreat and told the chaplain he would be fired if he could not do that. That threat Read more
Update: Chaplain Lawhorn’s initial LOC is now available, and, as reported, it hinges entirely on (subsequently rescinded) violations of two regulations — and this interesting justification:
As a result, an individual in attendance wrote an article about the event on http://militaryatheists.org.
It would be interesting to see the Army cite a regulation that supports action against a Soldier because “a person wrote an accusation on the internet…”
Update: Now covered at the Army Times, the Christian Post, the Gospel Herald, the Daily Caller, and Opposing Views. Atheist Jason Torpy responded to the “evangelical backlash” over his accusations against the Army.
The Liberty Institute is now representing a chaplain who was punished by the US Army for mentioning his faith during a unit training day:
On November 20, 2014, Chaplain Lawhorn conducted suicide prevention training [in which he] discussed his own personal struggles and how he used the Bible to successfully combat his depression. One of the soldiers in attendance complained to an atheist group about Chaplain Lawhorn’s presentation. In response…Colonel David G. Fivecoat, issued Chaplain Lawhorn a Letter of Concern alleging that Chaplain Lawhorn “advocated for…Christianity and used Christian scripture and solutions” and therefore violated Army regulations.
The complaint was shepherded by atheist and former Army Captain Jason Torpy, who published the complaint online 24 hours after the event — meaning it was public even before the Army had a chance to respond. The Army may also have been influenced by the publication of the “scandal.”
In a seeming admission the commander might have gone too far, Col Fivecoat apparently called Army Chaplain (Capt) Joseph Lawhorn back Read more
The Commanders of the ships of the 13 United Colonies are to take care that divine services be performed twice a day on board and a sermon preached on Sundays, unless bad weather or other extraordinary accidents prevent.
That’s how the Navy chaplaincy began in 1775.
It seems times have changed a bit, haven’t they?
Read more
Wheaton College — an unabashedly Christian university — has had an ROTC program since a few years after the close of World War II. Wheaton requires its faculty to be of the Christian faith, a requirement also levied upon its ROTC instructor, as the instructor is considered to be a member of the Wheaton faculty (though they are paid by the US military, not the school).
When the position of ROTC instructor was recently advertised among Army officers, the “must be of Christian faith” requirement caught the attention of a Soldier who pointed it out to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF. Weinstein was typically unmoved [emphasis added]:
Wheaton and its fundamentalist Christian ROTC unit are to the United States Constitution what a dog with a full bladder Read more
Are there too few atheists buried at Normandy?
It’s an interesting way to phrase the complaints about crosses and Stars of David when they pertain to representations of the iconic cemeteries of American soldiers in Europe.
Quoted in a Washington Times article by Valerie Richardson entitled “Anti-religion group gripes about lack of atheists buried at Normandy,” Sam Grover of the Freedom from Religion Foundation had this to say:
“It is unfortunate that the iconic headstones at the Normandy cemetery do such a poor Read more
US Soldiers deployed in support of Operation United Assistance (deployment to Africa in response to the Ebola outbreak) have many of the same — if not more — logistical challenges as those deployed further downrange. Chaplain (LtCol) David Bowlus described conducting outdoor worship services in Monrovia, Liberia, as the chapel tent ended up being requisitioned to house other Soldiers.
The article on the chaplains in Africa noted they are Read more
As described in the Digital Journal:
Mikey Weinstein, an Air Force Academy graduate, is worried that radical Christians pose the same kind of threat ISIS does in the Middle East…
Weinstein routinely uses over-the-top language to describe Christians, partially to gain attention and partially to coat-tail the topic du jour, so associating US military Christians with ISIS is par for the course.
Further [emphasis added]:
Many in the military believe their No. 1 duty is destroy anyone who opposes Christianity, Weinstein says.
It’s a good thing conspiracy theories are, by definition, unprovable. It saves Weinstein the trouble of having to support his wild accusations with those pesky things called “facts.”