In an apparent effort to prove just how tolerant they are, homosexual activists have redoubled their efforts to “#stopMarkGreen,” the Tennessee legislator nominated by President Trump to be the next Secretary of the Army.
The reason for their objection? Mark Green is a Christian.
In one invective-filled write-up (republished at Stars and Stripes), Read more
Military troops of faith — Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and others — have long served in the US military. They have done so with honor and distinction, earning the highest accolades and making the highest sacrifices.
And former Army officer Sue Fulton thinks they shouldn’t be allowed to serve in the military at all.
As discussed by Sonny Hernandez, in an interview with the New York Times Fulton was aghast that military chaplains have the gall to claim their God is greater than their government — and they should therefore not be in the military:
Some chaplains argue: ‘My first responsibility is to God.’ Well, if your responsibility is to God and not the Army, you need to get out of the Army.
Hernandez accurately summarized Fulton’s intolerant and ultimately unconstitutional advocacy:
[When] Fulton argues that chaplains should get out of the military if God is first in their lives, she is establishing a religion over theirs…She is [saying] the Constitution only works one way, and that the Defense Department’s policy on pluralism is extended only to those with convictions are agreeable to hers.
Fulton’s declaration is utterly ridiculous — and bigoted. Millions of troops before Read more
…they’re just the only ones criticized for doing so.
Given the way the American culture has drifted over the past few years and the impact that drift has had on religion, religious freedom, and the military, it might be forgivable that people would assume conservative Christians are the only ones publicizing their beliefs from within the military.
That’s an easy framing, but it is not an accurate one.
It turns out that other “liberal” religious beliefs — and even non-beliefs — have been just Read more
US Air Force Graphic
As it has in years past, the US military has given its troops guidance on how to act in Muslim countries during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. From the official CENTCOM.mil site [emphasis added]:
U.S. military members serving in countries that observe Ramadan are required to adhere to certain practices while outside U.S. installations…
When outside U.S. controlled areas, eating and drinking in public during daylight hours is against the law. Failure to obey could result in fines up to $685 or a sentence of up to two months in jail.
“The commander’s policy dictates that airmen will adhere to local law, which prohibits eating, drinking or tobacco use off base in public,” said Sickles.
It’s an interesting way to phrase it. The US military isn’t technically requiring troops Read more
In what was probably an attempt at clever semantics, Aviano Air Base advertised its homosexual “Pride Month” as “Celebrating ‘Pride,’ condemning prejudice.” Unfortunately, the inarticulate result is a title that implies the Air Force celebrates sexuality and “condemns” the opposing view of its religious Airmen as “prejudice.”
Interestingly, the spokesperson for Aviano’s event cited diversity not only in sexuality, but also in religion [emphasis added]: Read more
The American Military Partner Association recently published a press release (and submitted to the US Department of Defense) a list of “Top Needs of LGBT Military Spouses and their Families.” The AMPA took a significant pot shot at US military chaplains — and substantially avoided the truth to do so. At #5, the AMPA listed an LGBT need as “Military Chaplain and Counseling Support,” saying
The North American Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention announced that NAMB endorsed chaplains are prohibited from ministering to same-gender military couples.
The AMPA’s statement is flatly untrue, but, like Tom Carpenter and Jason Torpy’s portrayals of this same subject, mischaracterization is necessary to make a political point.
The truth is Read more
US Air Force Lt Zac Crippen has a unique perspective on Michael “Mikey” Weinstein — Weinstein published his name for all the Internet to see back when he was a cadet in 2011. Crippen recently talked about this at The Federalist in an article entitled The Sorry State Of Religious Freedom At The Air Force Academy:
When I was a senior at the Academy, I was an approval authority for emails disseminated to the student body. One of these emails — written by a fellow senior of mine — was collecting support for a charity campaign called Operation Christmas Child (OCC)…
MRFF filed an immediate complaint, and the next day I received an email from one of my superiors instructing me and my classmate to retract the email, which we did.
As he routinely does, Weinstein credited this Read more
In a Unitarian Universalist article entitled “End of DOMA brings new openness for military chaplains,” a chaplain and his endorser recently spoke about the ability to be “more open” now that DADT has been repealed:
[Unitarian Universalist] chaplains are now able to more easily support soldiers who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual and to help provide services for them and their families…
“The big difference is in my ability to be much more open myself about what my stance is,” said Chaplain (Captain) George Tyger, an active duty UU military chaplain. “As a UU minister, I represent the Unitarian Universalist Association in the military. Before DADT went down, I had to tiptoe around the issue, and now I don’t. I can say, ‘This is how I feel; I’m 100 percent affirming.’”
It’s an interesting highlight in an era in which most people seem to assume military chaplains universally have a problem with homosexuality.
By the same token, its no small irony that while a “100% affirming” military chaplain now has the confidence to boldly proclaim his support for homosexuality, non-affirming chaplains have reportedly had their confidence Read more