Tag Archives: rhonda cornum

Army Atheists Get it Wrong on Chaplains. Again.

The “military director” of American Atheists and coordinator for “Rock Beyond Belief” at Fort Bragg, Justin Griffith, previously misstepped when he tried to ‘humorously’ make the point “there are no chaplains in foxholes.’  (Even some who support him have asked him not to demean the service of chaplains who died in the line of duty or received such accolades as the Medal of Honor.)

Griffith was also so offended by an answer BrigGen Rhonda Cornum gave in a media interview that he misquoted her and allowed another military atheist, Dustin Chalker, to rail on about her misquoted statement.

Now, he’s done it again.

This time Griffith targeted Read more

US Army General Rhonda Cornum Leads, Embodies Resilience

US Army BrigGen Rhonda Cornum is the director of the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program.  She also embodies the values of her own program:

The CSF program focuses on the ability to bounce back from stress or trauma, something she utilized after her experience in the Gulf War…

Cornum flew over the Iraqi desert with her crew in a Black Hawk helicopter Feb. 27, during the fourth day of the U.S. ground assault…

Her crew was responding to the downing of F-16 pilot Capt Bill Andrews, who was shot down over Iraq.  Their helicopter took fire before getting there and crashed.  Five of her crewmates were killed; she was wounded and taken Read more

Military Atheists and “Higher” Things…or Not

ABC News recently did a short segment on the US Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, or, more accurately, the spiritual fitness portion of it.

They interviewed Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum, a PhD, MD, Desert Storm POW, and current Director of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness in the Army.

They also interviewed US Army Sgt Dustin Chalker, an atheist Soldier whom Michael Weinstein used to sue the US Army.  (The lawsuit was dismissed.)

While military atheists have generally taken issue with the entire concept of “spiritual fitness,” the following portion of the interview was highlighted by Justin Griffith on his atheist “Rock Beyond Belief” website:

Sciutto (ABC News): Why is it that spiritual people make better soldiers?

Cornum: The ethos that we adhere to. Always place the mission first. Never accept defeat. Never leave a fallen comrade.  Those kinds of things require you to have belief in something higher than yourself.

To be accurate, the US Army did not say Read more

Millionth Soldier Takes Army GAT

In early February the US Army’s Global Assessment Tool was taken by its millionth Soldier.  Presumably that includes the total force, as the Army has approximately 1.1 million Soldiers total, including Guard and Reserve.

As noted in the Army article,

This effort began in 2008 under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Rhonda L. Cornum…The CSF program is not medical or psychological treatment…

The GAT is a 105-question survey that assesses a Soldier in emotional, social, spiritual and family fitness. The GAT is not a pass or fail test, Read more

Resilience, Fitness makes Soldiers “Army Strong”

A recent tour of the new Fort Riley resiliency campus by BrigGen Rhonda Cornum, Army Comprehensive Soldier Fitness director, provided a forum for the Army to communicate the purpose of its ‘total fitness’ concepts.

Comprehensive Soldier Fitness has “five pillars:”  social, emotional, physical, spiritual and Family.

“I look at resiliency training as a preparation for life. The skills you learn, whether it is stress management or communication, those are skills that are equally useful whether you are dealing with the problem of a medical diagnose or losing your job,” Cornum said. “It’s beautiful and I think it’s probably No. 1.”…

“Our vision is people who are physically fit, emotionally strong and mentally tough, and it is a commitment to doing that, not just waiting in some reactive mode until somebody has a crisis or problem,” she said.  Read more