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Friday, August 20, 2010

Huffington Post: U.S. Soldiers Punished for Not Attending Christian Concert

Chris Rodda:

But sarge, I'm a atheist! Clap that son of a bitch in irons!
On May 13, 2010, about eighty soldiers, stationed at Fort Eustis while attending a training course, were punished for opting out of attending a Christian concerts.

The headliner at this concert was a Christian rock band called BarlowGirl, a band that describes itself as taking "an aggressive, almost warrior-like stance when it comes to spreading the gospel and serving God."

Any doubt that this was an evangelical Christian event was cleared up by the Army post's newspaper, the Fort Eustis Wheel, which ran an article after the concert that began:

Following the Apostle Paul's message to the Ephesians in the Bible, Christian rock music's edgy, all-girl band BarlowGirl brought the armor of God to the warriors and families of Fort Eustis during another installment of the Commanding General's Spiritual Fitness Concert Series May 13 at Jacobs Theater.

A few days later, some of the soldiers punished for choosing not to attend this concert contacted the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). The following is from the account sent by one of those soldiers to MRFF, detailing what transpired that night.

The week prior to the event the [unit name and NCO's name withheld] informed us of a Christian rock event that was about to take place on Thursday the 13th.

"On Thursday 13th at 1730 we were informed that instead of being dismissed for the day, the entire company (about 250 soldiers) would march as a whole to the event. Not only that, but to make sure that everyone is present we were prohibited from going back to the barracks (to eliminate the off chance that some might "hide" in their rooms and not come back down).

We were marched as a whole to chow and were instructed to reform outside the dining facility. A number of soldiers were disappointed and restless. Several of us were of different faith or belief. A couple were particularly offended (being of Muslim faith) and started considering to disobey the order.

From the dining facility we were marched back to the company area. There was a rumor circulating that we may be given a choice later on to fall out or attend. Though it was only a rumor it was also a small hope enough to allow us to follow along a little longer before choosing to become disobedient. We were marched back to the company area. To our dismay there was still no sign of us having a choice.

We started marching to the theater. At that point two Muslim soldiers fell out of formation on their own. Student leadership tried to convince them to fall back in and that a choice will be presented to us once we reach the theater.

At the theater we were instructed to split in two groups; those that want to attend versus those that don't. At that point what crossed my mind is the fact that being given an option so late in the game implies that the leadership is attempting to make a point about its intention. The "body language" was suggesting that "we marched you here as a group to give you a clue that we really want you to attend (we tilt the table and expect you to roll in our direction), now we give you the choice to either satisfy us or disappoint us." A number of soldiers seemed to notice these clues and sullenly volunteered for the concert in fear of possible consequences.

Those of us that chose not to attend (about 80, or a little less that half) were marched back to the company area. At that point the NCO issued us a punishment. We were to be on lock-down in the company (not released from duty), could not go anywhere on post (no PX, no library, etc). We were to go to strictly to the barracks and contact maintenance. If we were caught sitting in our rooms, in our beds, or having/handling electronics (cell phones, laptops, games) and doing anything other than maintenance, we would further have our weekend passes revoked and continue barracks maintenance for the entirety of the weekend. At that point the implied message was clear in my mind "we gave you a choice to either satisfy us or disappoint us. Since you chose to disappoint us you will now have your freedoms suspended and contact chores while the rest of your buddies are enjoying a concert."

At that evening, nine of us chose to pursue an EO complaint. I was surprised to find out that a couple of the most offended soldiers were actually Christian themselves (Catholic). One of them was grown as a child in Cuba and this incident enraged him particularly as it brought memories of oppression.
 


You might think this is an isolated incident. It isn't. This has been going on in the Armed Services since the mid-1980s. There is an active evangelical conspiracy to Christianize the Armed Services. There are even beltway groups involved such as Doug Coe's the Family and his C Street politicians.

First, instead of weekly invocation at staff meetings, the chaplain starts showing daily. The the officers and NCOs are invited to religious events. Then a commanding general tells you that only armed forces who believe in God have been successful on the battlefield.

The commander's statement is false. The Japanese Imperial Navy defeated the Russians during th Russo-Japanese war in 1905. The Japanese practice Shinto and do not worship a specific deity. The Russian army defeated the Nazis and the Russian government and army  was atheist. The Red Chinese Army also defeated the Nationalist Chinese.

The Air Force has a special problem because it is located in Colorado Springs, an Evangelical hotbed. Many of the local girls  the academy cadets will marry will be evangelical. 


Remember Ted Haggard. He had one of the biggest evangelical mega-churches in Colorado Springs.

The academy cadets will be the future commanders of the Air Force and you can be certain that their wife will drag them to church each week. This is the end game of the evangelicals: a base, wing or higher echelon evangelical commander. These people has a great deal of power and they can imply that an subordinate officer's career depends on church attendance.

An Evangelical commander can also suggest that more wholesome entertainment is needed on base like a Christin rock group. What is a commander to do if no one shows for the rock concert?

Apparently the Ft. Eustis commander thought he could violate the First Amendment of the US constitution to get his troops to attend.


source: Huffington Post


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