Secular Monks In The USAF

After a car accident three years ago, God used the recovery period to hone my old skills and birth new. Over the course of the process, He repositioned me for a different journey. The new path led to a transition from a secular K-12 setting to Christian higher education; yet, still within the context of supporting a diverse student population. My purpose became preparing and teaching ministerial leadership in a

On 1 February 2015 I received an email that was filled with both excitement and fear; I remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting in my office at Fort Knox, Kentucky after a long day addressing all the issues that Chaplain Recruiting faced with my SGM, MSG Jose Canales. It was around 1900 and we were discussing the way ahead with getting back on track with the 2015 mission facing Chaplain Recruiting. In FY14, the Chaplaincy would fail to achieve its recruiting mission for the first time ever. I was selected to take over as the Chief of Army Chaplain recruiting to get the mission back on track even though I had a stabilization packet for my oldest daughter to finish her senior year of high school. I noticed an email in my inbox with a

McPherson cites a British Army doctor who specialized in psychiatric casualties during World War II saying “Since History undoubtedly proves that sound religious faith is a strong component in high morale…it is clearly the duty of every officer, whatever his private beliefs, to be seen as a Christian, even if he can only be what I call an’ Army Christian” . This is what really peaked my interest in this chapter. Myself, being on the ROTC path to commission into the U.S. Army as an officer, I take that quote from the British Army doctor to heart, and I can see exactly what he means. Officers are often the ones that most soldiers look up to, especially in times of distress, confusion and fear. So when an officer has sound religious faith, and his soldiers witness it, the morale and faith in the troops increases dramatically.

For the entirety of the United States’ existence, freedom of religion has been a guiding principle for the nation. Despite, or perhaps because of, the deep, varied religious heritage of many Americans, America was the first country in history to abolish religious qualifications for civic engagement. However, paradoxically, the United States also has a history of discrimination based on religion, as seen in historical bigotry towards Catholics, some Protestant sects, Jews, Atheists, Mormons, Muslims, and other marginalized groups. Indeed, a common theme in American history, continuing to this day, is the conflict between America’s secular ideal and its often faith-dominated reality. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, religious

The TVC opposed the repeal of DADT on the grounds that it would encroach upon the rights of military chaplains, claiming a repeal could “ultimately ruin the careers of these military chaplains, up to and including dishonorable discharge -- all because [the] chaplains refuse to compromise their consciences!” in regards to their attitudes towards condoning homosexuality (“Defend America’s Military…”). The TVC instead promoted the Military Religious Freedom Protection Act, which would allow chaplains to refuse any and all required acknowledgement of homosexual service members (“H.R.914 – Military…”). The third main interest group to oppose a DADT repeal was the FRC, a group whose main mission is to “advance faith, family and freedom in public policy and the culture from a Christian worldview” (“About FRC”). Founded by Gerald P. Regier in the 1980s, the FRC “believes that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed. It is by definition unnatural” (“Homosexuality”). The acting president of the FRC, Tony Perkins, claims that the wasy to solve the recruitment issues the military is having would be to end any striving towards homosexual rights and instead focus on morality,

“We respect all faiths and beliefs, including atheism,” says Tiji Murphy, Bailey-Boushay chaplain. “Many folks here have been hurt by spiritual and religious people and traditions. I remind people that I am here for spiritual, religious, and emotional support.” Read More

A study by the Palm Center, a research branch from the University of California Los Angeles Law School, conducted a study a year after the repeal of DADT. The research group wanted to discover what impacts the repeal has done to the military and according to their findings they concluded: (1) The repeal of DADT has had no overall negative impact on military readiness or its component dimensions, including cohesion, recruitment, retention, assaults, harassment or morale. (2) A comparison of 2011 pre-repeal and 2012 post-repeal survey data shows that service members reported the same level of military readiness after DADT repeal as before it. (3) Even in those units that included openly LGB service members, and that consequently should have been the most likely to experience a drop in cohesion as a result of repeal, cohesion did not decline after the new policy of open service was put into place. In fact, greater openness and honesty resulting from repeal seem to have promoted increased understanding, respect and acceptance. (4) Recruitment was unaffected by the repeal of DADT. In an era when enlistment standards are tightening, service-wide recruitment has remained robust. (5) Retention was unaffected by the repeal of DADT. There was no mass exodus of military members as a result of repeal, and there were only two verifiable resignations linked to the policy change, both military chaplains. Service members were as likely to say that they plan to re-enlist after DADT repeal as

Pastor Renfro, as he is known by those who have had the pleasure to meet him, defines servant leadership as “one of the many models of ministry, each of which describes how a particular minister understands his/her role and approach to ministry as a vocation, and a way of life.” Dr. John Renfro is currently senior chaplain at Conway Medical Center in Conway, South Carolina. He grew up in simple, rural South Carolina in Spartanburg County, and he benefitted from a family who had a personal deep connection with God. His simplistic beginning provides the anchor of stability in a turbulent world for his family and those whom he offers ministry. Pastor Renfro has felt that “ministry grows out of life, the life of an

This paper is the final results of my internship ministry practicum II experiences reflection in my church organization work settings and training. My experiences from different areas of exposure sharpened my skills for my professional role of the Doctor of Ministry Program in the theological field of counseling and teaching. My ministry practicum consists of direct involvements with hands-on, real-life interactions under the supervision of my Supervisor, Chaplain Andrea Fletcher. This Comprehensive Written Review analyzes the full spectrum of my observation and participation in tasks from my Ministry Learning Agreement Form. The opportunity allowed me to view other leaders in ministry exercising their gift and in turns

The SAV provided valuable information, we were able to ask questions and share specific concerns and identify any support/requirement needs. CH Melvin provided coaching and mentoring with each chaplain individualy and SGM Montealegre also met with each chaplain assistant. Another import part of the

Naval War College, the issue of religious tolerance in the service comes not from religious freedom, but rather from a misconception about the freedom of religious speech. The military does a great job of ensuring that service members have the right and availability of religious worship. However, service members are trying to be too politically correct when talking about religion beliefs. Professor Cook believes that there is too much reliance on chaplains to explain the boundaries of religious speech, when they are actually a matter of law. “I’ve always said one of the mistakes we make is that we assume that chaplains are the subject matter experts about this issue and they’re not,” he said. “I’ve never heard a JAG give what I thought was a wrong opinion about this, but I have heard a lot of chaplains go off the reservation.” Professor Cook goes on the say, “The reality is that when members of the military swear an oath to the Constitution, they give up autonomy about a lot of things, and not just religion.” He also believes there is a solution to helping correct this problem that is plaguing the Air Force. Officers should have a better understanding of the historical aspect of the Constitution, and boundaries concerning religious speech should be made more easily available outside of the chaplain corp.

This paper begins by examines the Religious Accommodations currently addressed within the ranks of the United States Army. Jewish Orthodox Jews and Sikhs are chosen to illustrate the bounds being made to accommodate Soldiers in the armed forces nevertheless maintaining standards, structure and discipline. The paper concludes with the process administered to afford anyone desiring accommodation for grooming standards the opportunity to have their needs met.

Chaplain Maloney’s (Maloney) article, Ethics Theory for the Military Professional, identifies three predominant ethical problems or challenges faced by members of the military. We are all attempting to change our career path from NCO to Officer; that is why two of the challenges he identified piqued my interest. Future situations tied to the Army Values of selfless service and integrity will test our ethics. I found little irony two of the challenges Chaplain Maloney identified relate heavily to the Army Values.

I do agree with you that we need to not let our faith interfere with our duty. However, our faith can still guide us in our decision making abilities. We must not disregard our faith in the moment, rather keep a professional façade. I have found in the most destitute of situations that some people respond positively to seeing an officer secure in their faith.

Among the challenge of understanding the people that you are ministering to or with is the challenge of being able to maintain high standards of moral behavior in a challenging environment (Martin.n.d). There is also the challenge of ever changing volunteers and the lack of volunteers (Martin.,n.d). As a Christian leader, we tend to believe that there will always be an abundance of volunteers to serve God but that is not always the case as I have witnessed personally.