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Afghanistan
A Chaplain and an Atheist Go to War
2010-09-04
A Wall Street Journal article, so you'll need to register to read it, but it's not behind the subscription wall. It's another good article from Michael M. Phillips, who embedded with the Marines during the 2003 invasion. He then took a leave of absence to write The Gift of Valor, about one of the men in his unit. A taste:
SANGIN, Afghanistan -- They say there are no atheists in foxholes. There's one on the front lines here, though, and the chaplain isn't thrilled about it.

Navy Chaplain Terry Moran is steeped in the Bible and believes all of it. His assistant, Religious Programs Specialist 2nd Class Philip Chute, is steeped in the Bible and having none of it.

Together they roam this town in Taliban country, comforting the grunts while crossing swords with each other over everything from the power of angels to the wisdom of standing in clear view of enemy snipers. Lt. Moran, 48 years old, preaches about divine protection while 25-year-old RP2 Chute covers the chaplain's back and wishes he were more attentive to the dangers of the here and now.

It's a match made in, well, the Pentagon.

"He trusts God to keep him safe," says RP2 Chute. "And I'm here just in case that doesn't work out."

The 460 Army, Navy and Air Force chaplains deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are prohibited from carrying weapons, counting on their assistants and the troops around them for protection. It can be a perilous calling. On Monday, Chaplain Dale Goetz, 43, of White, S.D., and four other soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb near Kandahar. Capt. Goetz is the first Army chaplain killed in action since the Vietnam War.

Army chaplains represent 130 religions and denominations, including Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. The military says it's common for assistants to be of different faiths from the chaplains they support, or of no faith at all.

"They don't have to be religious," says retired Navy Capt. Randy Cash, who served 30 years in the Chaplain Corps and now is its historian. "They have to be able to shoot straight."
Posted by:Penguin

#5  Well Glenmore, it's okay as long as the Chaplain in question doesn't say God or pray. He can say Allah though.
Posted by: miscellaneous   2010-09-04 20:37  

#4  I'm actually kind of surprised we are even allowed to HAVE chaplains in today's military.
Posted by: Glenmore   2010-09-04 20:02  

#3  It's actually a pretty good article. See the taste I added, above.
Posted by: trailing wife   2010-09-04 17:20  

#2  Expect nothing less from Pagans. That is democrats and moslems.
Posted by: newc   2010-09-04 15:10  

#1  "Religious Programs Specialist"
"NSDAP"
"политру́к"
"政治委员, 政委"

Can't have anyone believing in a 'higher power' than the government.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2010-09-04 13:16  

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