Saint Martin's Cloak

Writing in the January 2017 Military Review , Richard Adams provides an important caveat in relation to my recent post, Support and Defend the Constitution . I wrote that military officers operate within the constitutional chain of command and generally defer to constitutional authorities. When moral conflicts arise, they raise their complaints to the chain of command, take the issue to higher authorities if necessary, and ultimately resign if they cannot conscientiously execute missions or policies determined to be legal under the Constitution. In Against Bureaucracy , Adams points out the dangers of that approach. Adams writes, But while ideas of initiative and enterprise resonate in military lore, they have become essentially rhetorical since militaries have grown more centralized, less adaptable, more prescriptive, and more bureaucratic. Honeycombed by legalism, avoidance behavior, and inconclusive language, bureaucracy cultivates irresolution, and excuse. Bureaucracy suffoc...

Today is Inauguration Day. Just over 26 years, 5 presidents and 14 congresses ago, I raised my right hand and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. The martial aspects of “support and defend” are obvious. The Army is prepared to use military force at the direction of constitutional authorities to protect the nation. Soldiers, however, are not the only people who promise to support and defend the Constitution. Federal civilian employees take essentially the same oath as military officers. The oath for both is prescribed by 5 U.S.C. §3331. Apart from the use of armed force, what does “support and defend” mean? Here is how I interpret it in my setting.  I will, to the best of my ability, accomplish the missions given me by the chain of command headed by the lawfully elected President of the United States, the constitutional Commander in Chief of the Army, in a manner consistent with the orders, regulation...

Today is Purple Heart Day. George Washington established the medal "for military merit" on this day (August 7) in 1782. The Purple Heart became an award for those wounded in combat in 1917. Over 35,000 Purple Hearts have been awarded for wounds suffered in Iraq. Over 7,000 for wounds in Afghanistan. General Douglas MacArthur once said, "The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." Lift up those who still suffer from the wounds of war, and remember that some wounds are invisible to the eye. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? - Psalm 6:2-3

I prayed my written Veterans Day Prayer, but he spoke from his heart. The general began his keynote address by telling the largely Spanish-speaking crowd in the little community center how he grew up picking watermelons in the hot Texas summer. Somehow he managed to find a way to attend a small state college where a veteran officer inspired him to join the ROTC program. Now, three decades later, the general serves at the highest ranks of the Army. He credited the Army with giving him a way out of the poverty and enriching his life in many ways. His story resonated with the crowd from one of the city's poorer neighborhoods. Frequently breaking into his native Spanish, he went on to talk about the camaraderie that he has experienced within the ranks and among veterans of every generation. Every generation, he said, has the responsibility to build on the legacy of those who came before and to set the next generation up for success. He spoke in glowing terms about the character of t...

In the United States, Veterans Day fell on a Sunday this year. As they do every year, the citizens of the United States honored Veterans with parades and ceremonies and concerts and pats on the back. Restaurants offered free meals and stores offered discounts to those who have worn the nation's uniform. "Thank you for your service." I heard the words more than once today. Americans consistently (and rightfully) rank the military as one of the most trusted and respected institutions in the country. It's easy to get a big head. Everyone (well, most everyone) loves a man or woman in uniform. But Veterans Day fell on a Sunday this year, and those who belong to the people of God gather on this day to remember the one who died for their sins in accordance with the scriptures, who on the third day rose again from the dead and who will come again to judge the living and the dead. Even if you are surrounded (as we are in military chapels) with patriotic emblems and banners...

We have decreed that those who have once been enrolled among the clergy, or have been made monks, shall accept neither a military charge nor any secular dignity; and if they shall presume to do so and not repent in such wise as to turn again to that which they had first chosen for the love of God, they shall be anathematized. Council of Chalcedon, Canon VII, A.D. 451 I recently ran across this decision of the fourth ecumenical council and my thoughts soon went to the question of chaplains and the bearing of arms. While my denomination doesn't consider itself bound by the councils of the first millennium, it is worth reflecting on how our predecessors in the faith looked at the issue. The council met a little more than a century after Constantine legalized Christianity and began supporting the church with the power of the state. Even in this new political situation, clergy were not supposed to serve in the armed forces. While the council did not state why it opposed mi...

I am a warrior (albeit an unarmed one). I have lived and worked in the midst of warriors for two decades. I vigorously defend the validity of the profession of arms as a vocation for Christians. Yet I recognize that the purpose of armed conflict – in any form – is limited: to restrain evil and protect the innocent. The use or threat of force will not usher in the Kingdom of God. War always brings mixed results. It is at best a relative good and its positive effects are local and temporary. Warfare is certainly not for defending Christian prerogatives or for spreading the faith. Christians can never forget that they serve a crucified Lord. God’s supreme self-revelation is Jesus the crucified and risen messiah. The history of our salvation includes many who were warriors of a sort – Abraham and his kin, Moses, Joshua and the judges, Elijah and some of the other prophets, David and the kings of Israel and Judah – but in none of them did God fully reveal himself as he did in Jesus of Naza...

Luke-Acts contains a number of references to armed men, both Roman soldiers and local constabulary forces. The Roman forces themselves consisted of regular forces (consisting of Roman citizens) and auxiliary forces (legions raised in various regions of the empire and a possible route to Roman citizenship). Overall, the soldiers in Luke's writings get a mixed report card. They can be capable of misconduct, but they also can be capable of honorable deeds and great faith. God seems to like them since he chose one as his first Gentile convert to be baptized into the faith. Luke 3:14 We meet soldiers early in Luke's gospel. As John the Baptist calls people to repentance, the people ask him what they must do. He tells them all to share their food and clothing with those in need. He tells tax collectors not to cheat people, and he tells soldiers (presumably from the Jewish constabulary force), "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content wit...

The arrival of Holy Week reminds those of us in the profession of arms of a very sad fact: members of the armed forces were instruments in Jesus' arrest, torture and execution. It starts in the Garden of Gethsemane. Then Jesus said to the high priests, the temple police, and the elders, who had come for him, "Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?" Luke 22:52 That's not how it is supposed to be. Jesus' question to his arresters presupposes what we take for granted: armed forces exist to establish justice, not to harm the innocent. It is violent criminals who prey on the innocent who should fear the magistrate armed with swords and clubs, not the blameless in prayer. Represented in the officers of the temple guard and the soldiers of Rome we see a wide variety of modern “armed forces,” to include members of the military, state militias, security forces, police forces, law enforcement agencies and others. The common thread that binds them to...

Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, "Certainly this man was innocent!" (Luke 23:47) Lent is a season of repentance and forgiveness. It is a time for healing of the soul and making peace with God and one’s neighbor. Now, as we remember Jesus’ wounds that make us whole, I’d like to say a few words about forgiveness and the combat soldier. I’ll divide my remarks into three categories, and then draw some conclusions about guilt and forgiveness. Deliberately injuring the innocent Inadvertently injuring the innocent Injuring enemy combatants Even if you are not a combat soldier, perhaps you will find something here that applies to your life, as well.  Deliberately Injuring the Innocent A combat zone is like no other place on earth. It’s chaotic, frightening and deadly. It can seem like no law – human or divine – could exist in such an environment. That is a false perception. Deliberately injuring the innocent, abusing them, exploi...

Veterans Day is observed on November 11 each year on the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. Traditionally, a moment of silence is observed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. And while the nations of the British Commonwealth remember their war dead on November 11 ( Remembrance Day in the UK, Canada and Australia), we Americans do that on Memorial Day in May. In the United States, Veterans Day is an occasion to thank the living more than it is a day to remember the dead. Veterans Day is primarily a civic observance, not a Christian liturgical one. Churches should not turn the entire service into a celebration of military service. We worship God, not the Soldier and not the nation. I worship in a military congregation on a military installation, and our service on Veterans Day weekend is not "all veterans, all the time." The city of Leavenworth, Kansas where I used to live annually holds what it claims is the "largest Veterans Day parade...

Sixteen years ago, I raised my right hand at Fort McPherson, Georgia and said these words: I, [state your name], having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of First Lieutenant, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God. Since then, we have had national elections every two years. I have served under 3 presidents and 9 congresses (well, 8 plus a few days of a 9th). Today, we elect the 10th congress that will take its seat in January. As I write this, balloting is ongoing and I do not know which party will control the House or Senate. What I do know is that whoever wins, I and my...