Complaint filed over religious event near post

Complaint filed over religious event near post

By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 23, 2008 21:10:48 EDT

TOPEKA, Kan. — A national group alleged Wednesday that Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., is forcing soldiers to participate in a weekly religious event, a program that has been mentioned in a federal lawsuit in Kansas.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent a letter to the Department of Defense’s inspector general, asking for an investigation into the Sunday evening event, whose name was recently changed from “Free Day Away” to “Tabernacle Baptist Church Retreat Program.” The Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lebanon, Mo., has hosted the event for soldiers from the Missouri post since 1971.

A Fort Leonard Wood spokesman said the program is voluntary, and the church’s pastor said it has taken steps to ensure that soldiers know they will hear a religious message if they attend.

But Americans United’s executive director, the Rev. Barry Lynn, said soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood must either attend the program or stay on post.

“That’s not the kind of choice that ought be to be given to soldiers,” said Lynn, who described the practice as “coercive evangelism.”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/ap_freeday_072308/

Army Enforces Christianity?

Army Enforces Christianity? Soldier Sues Army After Recieving Threats for His Atheism
Neela Banerjee


The New York Times

Apr 28, 2008

April 26, 2008 - Fort Riley, Kan -- When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.

But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.

Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement.

Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers.

Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Defense Department, declined to comment on the case, saying, “The department does not discuss pending litigation.”
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9950

"This inter-faith shrine...will stand through long generations to teach Americans that as men can die heroically as brothers, so they should live together in mutual faith and good will."
President Harry S Truman

Rabbi Alexander Goode
Reverend George L. Fox
Reverend Clark V. Polling
Father John P. Washington
During World War II some 8,000 Army chaplains dedicated their lives and service to the fighting men of The Greatest Generation. Though these chaplains earned 2,453 high military awards for their valor, none received the Medal of Honor. Four of the seventy-seven who gave their lives in service received one of the most unusual and distinct medals in history. Ordered by special Congressional action, its intent was to carry the same weight and prestige as the Medal of Honor.
It is known simply as The Four Chaplains Medal, and calls to memory four men of God, one Jewish, one Catholic, and two Protestant, who overcame the boundaries of denomination to become brothers serving the same Father.

Today they would have to add a Muslim Chaplain to the picture of those serving.

This whole thing is very troubling. I am working on a new video for Point Man Ministries and rediscovered some history of Chaplains in the military. They came from every faith in every war. The role of the Chaplains was to take care of the spiritual needs of people, not just the ones who practiced the same faith or people they wanted to covert.

I am a Christian and I am a Chaplain. I will help no one if I ask them to show me their baptism certificate before I help them. I will help no one if I only take care of Christians or if I only take care of people of faith. Christ didn't pick and choose people out of a crowd and He didn't tell any of His followers to do it either. He said to take care of them all.

Admittedly I don't understand atheists, but they still have a spirit and they still have needs as any other human does. To do this to a soldier who does not believe in God under any banner of faith is an assault against the soldiers who have no faith but have lives, hearts, minds and risk their lives serving in the military. What is happening in the military by a handful of people is appalling.

If I drive down the road and come up on an accident, I am required to help if I can do it without getting in the way. If I do my job correctly, the victims will feel calmer and know someone cares about them as a human. The same must be done in times of war as well.

Chaplain Kathie Costos