An insult to millions of service members and veterans...

[gridlore]

U.S. NAVY CHAPLAIN SMEARS ATHEISTS SERVING IN MILITARY, VETS DURING CNN INTERVIEW ON "AMERICAN MORNING"

A U.S. Navy Chaplain on official assignment with troops in Iraq insulted Atheists in the military, as well as those who have served with honor in the past during a Tuesday, November 9 CNN program.

During an appearance on "American Morning," Commander Kal McAlexander was interviewed by host Soledad O'Brien about his experiences with combat troops. At the end of the segment, O'Brien asked:

"It's long been said that there are no atheists in a foxhole. Have you found that to be true? You do battlefield baptisms, I understand. What exactly are those?"

Chaplain McAlexander replied: "That's true. There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole. We've had experience operating in mined waters, and the sailors experience the same thing..."

(Read the transcript)

OK, I'm an atheist veteran. I was an atheist servicemember. I have been a frigging atheist since I was old enough to figure out that the only difference between Zeus, Odin, and Jesus was where their stories got filed in the library. For this.. person to declare that combat makes everyone a theist is an insult to the atheists buried in our National Cemetaries as well to all those currently serving.

This kind of shit pisses me off no end. The assumption that atheists are really theists in denial, and that the least little thing will make us change.

CNN and the Chaplain Resource Branch will be hearing from me.

Comments

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

The questions are pretty lame as well. Killing people as the main goal of the military? Certainly not in Iraq. The less people killed there, the better it is for us, and the Iraqis.

[aurictech.livejournal.com]

Frankly*, I don't see anything offensive about the chaplain's comments. I suspect that, WRT the "atheists in foxholes" question, Chaplain McAlexander is relating his experiences truthfully, in that he has undoubtedly been approached by Marines and/or sailors who had been irreligious prior to their coming under fire. However, he does seem to fail to account for those irreligious servicemembers who did not seek his counsel post-combat. This is hardly surprising, as atheists and agnostics who chose not to approach Chaplain McAlexander would likely escape his notice, just as I probably escaped the notice of the various chaplains with whom I deployed during my career**.

*Full disclosure: I'm a militant agnostic ("I don't know, and you don't either!") who is a veteran of three armed conflicts and several other deployments into potentially-hostile regions. However, I do lack the actual hostility towards religion often found among agnostics and atheists.

**To use my most recent deployment as an example, when SCUD missiles were inbound, I placed my faith for my survival in the Patriot ADA units and the chemical protective gear issued to me, rather than in some sort of Supreme Being. While I would not be surprised to learn that some of my fellow soldiers (possibly including some who were previously-irreligious) sought comfort in religion, I can attest that I was never approached by the chaplain of the unit with which I deployed. I didn't seek his counsel; he didn't try to force his counsel on me. I doubt that he even remembers my existence....

[dandelion-diva.livejournal.com]

CNN and the Chaplain Resource Branch will be hearing from me.

*GOOD*. This is something that pisses me off too...thinking "Shit, I *REALLY* wish I wasn't here" is not akin to asking a "higher power" to get one out of the situation. Ugh.

Gessi