May God help us

Much is said and written by secularists who "demand" removal of all things religious from the military.  Various extreme organizations with progressive inspired names, as well as the ACLU, complain about crosses erected by members of the Armed Forces to commemorate the loss of their brothers on foreign battlefields from World War I to World War II to Vietnam to OIF/OEF.  Most notably, these folks have never put on a uniform and served in our Armed Forces, let alone gone into harm's way.

I've got news for them, the men and women of our Armed Forces have deeply held religious beliefs, from all varieties of organized religions.  As a commanding officer, I've personally seen my assigned chaplains, Catholic and Southern Baptist, minister to the Marines and sailors in my command.  Likewise, I have watched my Marines and sailors gravitate to their chaplains, regardless of faith.  From prayers at changes of command and military funerals for the fallen, I have taken encouragement and solace.  From the kind words of a chaplain, I have been able to endure challenging and difficult times.

To those ignorant radicals who have never put their lives on the line, I offer the below picture, of a Marine Lance Corporal from Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.  He is reading his bible before heading out on a combat mission in Afghanistan.   The picture was recently published in the on-line version of the San Diego Union Tribune, complete with a description of how he reads the bible before every mission, like the one his unit was about to undertake to search for Taliban leaders.

May our nation NEVER reach a point where our warriors are denied access to chaplains, to a point where the chaplains can't go into combat with their Marines and sailors, to a point where the secularists rule, to a point where belief in and praying to God in the military are forbidden, to a point where I can't kneel and pray at the military funeral for a fallen comrade.  Sadly, angrily I can report that the nation is well on its way to such a point.

May God help us.