Posted on 03/16/2013 9:15:32 AM PDT by bayouranger
A chaplain who was awarded the Bronze Star has spoken out about the tour – and what appears to have been misleading media coverage. In an interview with TheBlaze.com, Lt. Col. Jon Trainer, USAF, discussed the award and the PowerPoint presentation that has generated controversy.
The presentation, which was titled, “Proper Handling and Disposal of Islamic Religious Material,” was written in the wake of the accidental burning of defaced Korans by American troops. The resulting riots when the news broke lead to 30 deaths, including two U.S. troops.
Initial coverage of the medal in conservative media outlets lead former Congressman Allen West to post a message from a fellow chaplain on Facebook, “The National Review Online is running an article about CH (LTC) Jon Trainer implying that he received the Bronze Star for creating a PowerPoint presentation. This is false! I served with Jon Trainer in Kabul, Afghanistan and he is one of the finest men and chaplains I have ever worked with in almost 22 years. He received the Bronze Star for his cumulative meritorious service during his overall deployment to the combat zone.”
Trainer told TheBlaze.com, “It was simply informing our troops, ‘You’re in a different culture. They have a different set of values than you do.’”
“We were simply trying to help soldiers identify Islamic religious material and then know how to approach it and…dispose of it,” he explained to the news site founded by talk-show host Glenn Beck. “Our bottom line was — if you encounter any kind of material that you think could be religious material, we [wanted] Afghan mullahs to deal with that material…so that our actions [couldn't] be misinterpreted as being disrespectful of their holy scriptures.”
In one small bit of irony, the chaplain, an evangelical Christian, wrote his thesis for his master’s degree on undermining radical Islam by using various “instruments of power.”
I hand painted Mohammed’s ugly face on the bottom of my toilet bowl with his mouth wide open! Bombs away!
I believe the good Chaplin is a member here @ FR and has replied to a few articles in the past week giving us the full story - I would believe him before the MSM (stating the obvious, I know)
Meanwhile, Obamacare forces companies to fund abortions, religious sensibilities be damned. Maybe force does work to make your case.
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Yeah, he’s a member. The BSM he received was an end-of-tour award, not an impact award for a “We Love Islam” slideshow.
I don’t think I’ve posted on the earlier threads about this, because I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I’m glad to see this correction, that the Bronze Star was for completing a tour of duty in a dangerous area—which Afghanistan certainly has been.
Also, I think the chaplain deserves credit, not for defending the Koran, but for explaining to the troops how to handle Muslim materials so more of our guys don’t get murdered by crazed Muzzies doing their usual thing in the name of their evil religion.
Yeah, I hate it but when in a muslim country there are some things that need to be done.
All well and good, but on the flip side, Muslims need to understand that the US is a Christian, not a Muslim country, and that they are not going to be accommodated here, like in the Muslim countries.
Switching back-in the appropriate tagline...
Our last two presidents have said this is a Muslim country and not a Christian one.
Doesn’t make it so.
Thanks for posting the Chaplain Bronze Star refutation. I am that chaplain. Here is the most thorough refutation of this little piece of journalistic malpractice on the right: http://patriotpost.us/alexander/17211
Chap T
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