I am that chaplain; member of FR since 2000.
It would have been kind of Patrick Brennan to at least drop me or my commander a line before posting an article on The Corner is a manner that is demeaning of my service to this great nation.
Unless Mr. Brennan or someone else at The Corner (which I frequent almost daily) has read my Bronze Star citation in full, or has talked to my commander, or others with whom I have served, or even myself, it seems journalistic malpractice at the very best to just post-away.
And here is what I posted at NRO:
“This is an end of tour award. Standard fair for the rank, position, and responsibility I held during this tour—Training Chaplain for all the of the chaplains in Afghanistan and Garrison Chaplain at New Kabul Compound in Kabul. Events of serious consequence occurred while in theater; the article highlights those. The way the original article is written implies the BSM was given for writing a PPT presentation. This does not represent the facts nor the bullet points in the BSM write-up.”
This just highlights to me the dangers of our new media where a journo feels free to run with a blog post or posters feel free to demean someone’s character without making an ounce of effort to get the facts.
The guy who wrote the original story was an old fashioned journalist who came to my office at the request of my commander. He came with a pen and paper and took notes—just like the good old days.
Thanks!
Chap T
Thanks for that post. You’ve been here long enough I hope you can understand how and why people were skeptical about this. The other post with details does help clear that up.
Thank you, Chaplain!
Chap ...
Thanks for your service. When I first read the NRO post, there is the distinct impression in the story that this was a simple PowerPoint course to sanitize the religion of Islam.
It too served (USN in the 1980s) and I experienced a great deal of the muslim world having been deployed to the Persian Gulf three times. As a regular FR poster, I have frequently posted topics critical of Islam and I make no apologies for that.
I agree with the Admin Moderator that you should consider posting a new FR thread to better describe this course you developed and the circumstances in which you were awarded the Bronze Star.
I think that the initial reading of the story just rubbed me wrong ... similar to how military drone operators are now being awarded medals that are higher than Purple Hearts and other medals awarded in dangerous combat situations.
Forgive my intial negative reaction ... but the NRO report does play to my sketicism of the Pentagon brass and the politically correct civilians running the DOD.
Best Regards,
Rick
Well this post makes me feel better in the case you do become the next Secretary Of State, and the sooner the better...
NR’s implication of ‘political correctness’ rings hollow after their firing of John Derbyshire. It hasn’t been the same since Buckley died.
Hang in there.
It is my wish that the enemy would approach the atrocious behavior of their own in the same way that the Military Leadership of our country handles bad behavior by our soldiers. God Bless you for your service to our Nation and, especially, our troops.
Good work Chap!
AIRBORNE!