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While Ukraine fights to defend itself from one of the world’s largest armies, the US Army is training its officers on gender identity


Reported by SARAH TAYLOR | March 01, 2022

Read more at https://www.theblaze.com/news/us-army-is-training-its-officers-on-gender-identity\

While much of Ukraine fights for its continued freedom, some U.S. soldiers are being made to learn about gender identity and preferred pronouns, the Washington Free Beacon reported Tuesday. An official Army presentation on the subject, purportedly obtained by the outlet through a military whistleblower, was titled “Policy on the Military Service of Transgender Persons and Persons with Gender Dysphoria” and aimed to help train officers on how to teach subordinates materials related to gender dysphoria and transgenderism in the U.S. Army.

The unnamed whistleblower, the outlet reported, was a “high-ranking officer in the Army Special Forces.”

The outlet reported the mandatory program “offers several hypothetical scenarios for how soldiers should be treated if they are transgender or in some stage of transitioning to another gender.” Under one scenario contained in the training guide, a “soldier who was assigned male at birth says he identifies as a female,” “lives as a female in his off-duty hours,” and “is not requesting to be treated as a female while on duty.”

In such a case, according to the slides, the outlet reports that the soldier ought to be “treated with dignity and respect and no further action is required.”

If the soldier in question, however, requests at any point to be identified as female during duty hours or appears to be experiencing “increased distress” relating to gender dysphoria, the commanding officer is required to “inform [the] soldier of the Army’s transgender policy and recommend that he sees a military medical provider.”

“Gender transition in the Army,” the presentation added, “begins when a soldier receives a diagnosis from a military medical provider indicating that gender transition is medically necessary.”

Another scenario addresses a female service member who tells her first sergeant that she identifies as male and would prefer to be treated as such. The soldier in the scenario has not yet seen a military medical provider for the condition. At that point, Army leaders are required to inform the soldier that the U.S. military “recognizes a soldier’s gender by the soldier’s gender marking in DEERs,” or the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, a massive database that tracks military members.

“The soldier, according to the presentation, will be expected to meet the uniform, grooming, and physical readiness standards associated with their recognized gender,” the outlet added, and noted that the soldier in question would then be sent to a military medical provider who is able to determine whether “gender transition is medically necessary” at that point.

A spokesperson for the Army told the outlet that the slides in question are part of a required training and are taken from a program “used to train Army personnel on the recent changes to the DoD and Army transgender service policy.”

The spokesperson added that all Army personnel are required to participate in the training by Sept. 30, 2022.

“We remain committed to treating all soldiers with dignity and respect while ensuring good order and discipline,” the spokesperson added. “Soldiers who meet those standards can serve openly in their self-identified gender.”

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Former Army Ranger Is Only Pittsburgh Steeler To Appear For Anthem


Reported By Jack Davis | on September 25, 2017 at 7:10am

URL of the original posting site: https://www.westernjournalism.com/former-army-ranger-pittsburgh-steeler-appear-anthem-1/?

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin wanted to play football, not politics. Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva felt he had a higher duty. Thus, the former Army Ranger was the only Steeler visible on Sunday during the playing of the national anthem before the Steelers took on the Chicago Bears.

Tomlin admitted that two days after President Donald Trump tweeted out his condemnation of anthem protests, sparking a fierce negative reaction among NFL players, he wanted unity. Tomlin had said before the game that the team would not be on the field for the anthem, citing the players’ decision. Afterward, he said he wanted to respected what his players felt was best.

“Like I said, I was looking for 100 percent participation, we were gonna be respectful of our football team,” Tomlin said.

He said he let the players decide, with one condition.

“Many of them felt like something needed to be done. I asked those guys to discuss it and whatever they discussed that we have 100 percent participation or we do nothing,” Tomlin said.

“They discussed it for an appropriate length of time and they couldn’t come to an understanding, so they chose to remove themselves from it. They were not going to be disrespectful in the anthem so they chose not to participate, but at the same time many of them were not going to accept the words of the president,” he added, saying the team decided to remain out of view.

Tomlin said his focus was the game, not the anthem.

“We’re not politicians. We’re coaches and professional athletes,” Tomlin said Sunday. “If those of us or individuals choose to participate in politics in some way I’m going to be supportive of that. But when we come out of locker rooms, we come out of locker rooms to play football games.”

Offensive tackle Chris Hubbard said the players, by a slim majority, voted in favor of staying off the field instead of standing on the sideline holding hands, but that players knew Villanueva was going to do what he wanted.

“Al was cool with it, with whatever we went through. He was on board. That’s Al, man,” Hubbard told Penn Live. “He’s a good guy.”

“We thought we were all in attention with the same agreement, obviously,” said linebacker James Harrison. “But, I guess we weren’t.”

Villanueva, A Bronze Star recipient who three tours of duty in Afghanistan, has said there is a difference between changing society and protesting during the anthem.

“I agree that America is not perfect, I agree there are lot of issues with minorities in this country, I agree we should do something about it,” Villanueva in August 2016, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But I don’t know if the most effective way is to sit down when the national anthem of the country that is providing you freedom and providing you $16 million a year is the best way to do it when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan and protecting our freedom for less than $20,000 a year.”

“I just know I’m very thankful to be an American,” Villanueva said.

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Media Asks 6 Soldiers About Trump Trans Ban, Get 5 Answers They Hate


Reported By Ben Marquis | July 26, 2017 at 5:11pm

URL of the original posting site: http://conservativetribune.com/6-soldiers-trump-trans-ban-answers/

Much to the consternation of LGBT advocates and the liberal media, President Donald Trump did away with a rather progressive rule regarding transgenderism imposed on the military by former President Barack Obama, and Trump did it, of course, via Twitter. In the Twitter post, Trump announced that, henceforth, transgender individuals would no longer be permitted to serve in the U.S. military “in any capacity,” which of course sparked massive outrage among his ideological opponents.

But the Independent Journal Review figured that, since this ban on transgender people in the military will pretty much only affect the military, maybe we should see what actual members of the military think about it instead of asking political advocates and talking heads in the liberal media. It was an eye-opening move. 

“Only two things matter: Survivability and lethality,” stated Army Sgt. Darian Browning, who served in the 82nd Airborne. “Anything other than that is a distraction. We have budget problems, also, already.

“The stated purpose of the Army is to ‘fight and win the Nation’s land wars,’” added Browning. “Any decisions or budget fixes should be centered around that and that alone.”

“The military is a machine that doesn’t breakdown for politics,” said Marine Sgt. Sean Conner, Iraq veteran and MARSOC Raider. “I can assure you that the reasoning for this decision is for the benefit of the whole system.” 

“Considering less than 1 percent identify as transgender in the military, it would be a major burden, and the cost benefit analysis would be in the favor of not allowing this policy to go through,” Conner continued. “The amount of change, cost and redirection would not outweigh the very small pros, if any.”

“The military had it right before with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, or else things get complicated real quick,” he added. “The rules were there before Trump came around and for good reason. I empathize if they want to serve, but just do it without having to announce your sexual orientation — it’s pretty simple.”

Connor also noted that service members undergoing hormone therapy or sex-change operations are not permitted to work full duty or be deployed, sometimes up to two years, essentially rendering them a waste of time, training, resources and taxpayer money. 

Marine Staff Sgt. Josh Ghering, a veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq and a former drill instructor, seemed to agree with that last bit pointed out by Conner about transitioning troops being removed from the routine all others must endure.

“We need to be focused on how to improve our warfighting ability, period,” he said.

“If transgendered individuals are being taken out for these procedures and treatments, they are not being trained properly,” he continued. “Before we go to war, we train for over a year on ranges and with regimen after regimen. So then we take these individuals out of training to get their surgery. But what good are they if we are over in a war zone and they aren’t able to contribute to the fight because they’re going through therapy or recovering from said surgery?” 

He added that “the military is not a social experiment. Its objective is to fight wars. That’s where its sole focus should be.”

“I believe that the infantry and combat arms should stay male. (male: being born with male genitalia),” stated wounded Iraq veteran and Army Sgt. Jay Strobino. “In the military, your roles, positions and tasks are very clear and outlined. And I have nothing against transgendered people or homosexuals, but it’ll start confusing those roles.”

“It’s not the ability so much of the individual, because yes there are plenty of females that can out lift me, out run me and so on,” explained Strobino. “But it’s a lower average as a whole, just due to body limitations. And you can’t have two sets of standards for the same group. It just won’t work.”

Strobino asserted that lowering standards to accommodate those with lesser abilities would be worse than having two sets of standards.

“If you’re under the standard then you either train and improve, or you’re not in combat arms,” he said. “There’s no middle ground.”

However, while most of those questioned by the Independent Journal Review supported the policy change in principle, there was at least one who disagreed with it and another who generally supported the idea, but questioned the manner in which it was rolled out.

“I don’t like that he just ran with it. He should have had a policy ready to go and Mattis should have rolled it out,” stated Army sniper Gregory Diacogiannis, an Iraq War veteran.

“The military is here to destroy the enemy. It’s not a social experiment. We shouldn’t be using the military as a petri dish to push progressive ideas,” he continued. “They are a killing machine. People are denied service for all kinds of reasons. Why should we treat people with gender dysphoria differently?”

Diacogiannis maintained that such individuals are in need of help and the military is not the place for them to receive such help, nor would it help the military, and noted that treating people differently or having differing sets of standards would be detrimental to overall morale.

“You will ‘other’ them because they will become a protected class. In combat everyone is equal, it doesn’t matter if you are black, white, gay, straight, man, or woman,” he explained. “But if you let other people live by a different standard you crush morale. Also, we are talking about 0.1 percent of the population not being able to serve.”

Finally, the lone voice of disagreement found by IJR was Afghanistan veteran and Army Ranger Zac Oja, who stated, “I’m curious to see how this will be implemented. Will the openly transgendered individuals currently serving be forced out of the military? Will they be forced to ‘identify’ with what their birth certificate says for gender?

“This, in my opinion, is going to do nothing markedly positive but will open the flood gate to the left for open dissent against this new policy,” he added.

Oja suggested that more time should have been given for further study of the costs/benefits of transgender service members openly serving in the military, in order to gain a better overall understanding of the matter.

“I will say that I have heard nothing but good things from dear friends that have served with openly transgender soldiers,” added Oja.

The media most likely want nothing more than a division’s worth of soldiers vehemently castigating the president and calling this latest policy shift nothing short of horrible, but that is not what they are going to find, at least not with this batch of troops.

To be sure, there will be a handful like Oja who may disagree with the premise, or others, like Diacogiannis who disliked the manner in which it was introduced, but by and large, most members of the military are sure to be at least quietly supportive of the change. They know that the military is not the realm for progressive social engineering and tinkering, but instead is supposed to be a finely tuned killing machine that wastes no time or energy on anything else.

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US And South Korea Fire Missiles Into Sea As A ‘Show Of Force’ To North Korea


Reported By Andrew Kerr | July 5, 2017 at 12:20pm

URL of the original posting site: http://www.westernjournalism.com/u-s-south-korea-fire-missiles-sea-show-force-north-korea/

The U.S. Army and South Korean military fired at least two surface-to-surface precision missiles into South Korean waters Wednesday, local time, as a joint demonstration of their attack capabilities in response to North Korea’s latest missile test.

North Korea announced Tuesday it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, which state media claims reached an altitude of 1,741 miles, supposedly giving the regime the capability to strike Alaska with a nuclear warhead.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un celebrated the launch, calling it a “package of gifts” for “American bastards.”

The U.S. Army said its joint exercise with the South Korean military was a direct response to “North Korea’s destabilizing and unlawful actions on July 4.”

Officials released footage Tuesday evening of the simultaneous launches of Army’s Tactical Missile System and South Korea’s Hyunmoo Missile II system. The ATACMS is a mobile launch system capable of firing land-based missiles up to 185 miles away.

“The [South Korea]-U.S. alliance remains committed to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. commitment to the defense of [South Korea] in the face of threats is ironclad,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana W. White said the U.S. is prepared to defend itself and its allies.

“We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies and to use the full range of capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat from North Korea,” White said in a statement. “The United States seeks only the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson strongly condemned North Korea’s ICBM launch, calling it “a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world.”

“Global action is required to stop a global threat,” Tillerson said Tuesday. “Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime.”

“The United States seeks only the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the end of threatening actions by North Korea. As we, along with others, have made clear, we will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea,” Tillerson said.

President Donald Trump called on China to put pressure on North Korea to “end this nonsense once and for all” in a series of tweets Monday evening.

“North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?” Trump tweeted in reference to Kim Jong-un. “Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”

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UNDER THE HEADING, “WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?”: Army puts Muslim Chaplain in Charge of the Spiritual Needs of 14,000 Mostly Christian Soldiers


waving flag disclaimerAuthored By Onan Coca March 2, 2017

URL of the original posting site: http://constitution.com/army-puts-muslim-chaplain-charge-spiritual-needs-14000-mostly-christian-soldiers/

Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz

In one of the most head-scratching turn of events in recent military history, the Army has decided that the man most capable of handling the spiritual needs of 14,000 mostly Christian soldiers is Muslim chaplain Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz.

Sure, there are about 1,400 other chaplains (only 10 of whom are Muslim), but Shabazz has apparently done something that gives his Army superiors confidence that he’s the best man for the job.

Army Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz, a Muslim chaplain, has accepted the job of handling the spiritual affairs of 14,000 mostly Christian soldiers.

Shabazz recounted to McClatchy the offer he received to lead the 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“I’m on the phone saying, ‘Thank you, I appreciate it. I’ll serve honorably,’ and then I hang up the phone and I’m jumping all around like a little kid,” Shabazz said. “I was running around the office saying, al hamdulillah, al hamdulillah, praise be to God!”

Out of 1,400 chaplains in the Army, only five are Muslim. And across all the services, there are only ten Muslim chaplains total.

“When you get the call saying you have been bestowed a division, the news is kind of like, unearthly,” Shabazz added. “The list is so small and it’s such a tough cut.”

For those concerned about the odd juxtaposition of a Muslim being in charge of the spiritual care of Christian soliders, Shabazz reminds everyone that he used to be a Christian and so he can speak to their problems using Christian language and Scripture without violating his own faith. He also recounts the story of his Christian mentor who made him promise to be a fair-minded chaplain.picture3

When he was commissioned, Shabazz said, his mentor pulled him aside for a talk.

“He said, ‘Promise me you will be an advocate for our corps no matter what the faith or the background of the person is,’ ” Shabazz recalled. “It moved me to the very essence of my core. Here you have a devout Christian who’s taken the time to care for a young Muslim soldier and make sure I got to be a chaplain. I don’t want to help just Muslims. I don’t want to help just Christians. I want to help people who are in distress.”

Shabazz has also gone a long way to reassure everyone that he has no interest in converting the soldiers who come to him for counsel, even if they may be sharing their deepest most intimate feelings and fears.

“My job is not to convert anybody to Islam. God guides people. My only goal is to have people leave my office stronger than when they came in.”

Sometimes, though, soldiers do convert and turn to Shabazz for guidance as they enter Islam. One of the most unusual conversions came just three months ago, Shabazz said. A master sergeant in the Special Forces – a man who’d come to no Friday prayers or study groups – showed up, crying, to meet with Shabazz. He told the imam he was ready to take shahada, the modest ritual to officially accept Islam.

“He said, ‘I heard you’re a good chaplain. I’ve been thinking about Islam for about three years,’ ” Shabazz recalled. “I took him down to the mosque, he took shahada and I’ve never seen him again.”culture of deceit and lies

 While this may seem like simply another step in the integration of Islam into Western culture, it’s just not so. As we’ve seen time and time again, Islam as an ideology is incompatible with Western culture. The beliefs, philosophies, and ideals of Islam are contrary to the beliefs, philosophies, and ideals of Western and American culture. On another level, the decision to give a Muslim chaplain charge of the spiritual affairs of an entire division is simply irresponsible. Instead, Chaplain Shabazz should have simply been given charge of the Muslim soldiers in the division, and one of the many qualified Christian candidates should have been given the duty to care for the mostly Christian division.

Bowing to political correctness in a matter as serious as the spiritual care of our soldiers is not simply foolish, but it is immoral and unethical. Our soldiers deserve better.picture4 Islam is NOT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Onan Coca

Onan is the Editor-in-Chief at Liberty Alliance media group. He’s also the managing editor at Eaglerising.com, Constitution.com and the managing partner at iPatriot.com. Onan is a graduate of Liberty University (2003) and earned his M.Ed. at Western Governors University in 2012. Onan lives in Atlanta with his wife and their three wonderful children. You can find his writing all over the web.

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U.S. Army Builds Replica City to Practice Invasion


http://clashdaily.com/2014/02/u-s-army-builds-replica-city-practice-invasion/#dVcv72X03X3pIdO1.99

By / 17 February 2014

Screen Shot 2014-02-17 at 10.01.08 AM

Friday was Valentine’s Day. It is somewhat paradoxical that The Telegraph reported a news item that had an emotional impact but didn’t inspire love: “The U.S. Army has built a 300 acre ‘fake city’…in order to train for unspecified future combat scenarios.”

Constructed at a cost of $96 million the site, located in Virginia, was completed in less than two years. Early critics of such expenditure cite Virginia’s plethora of abandoned properties which could have provided ample opportunities for practicing occupation as well as bringing money into those areas. Britain’s Daily Telegraph provided additional details:

The 300 acre “town” includes a five story embassy, a bank, a school, an underground subway and train station, a mosque, a football stadium, and a helicopter landing zone…the realistic subway station comes complete with subway (cars) and the train station has real train (cars). The subway (cars) even carry the same logo as the (cars) in Washington DC…

All of the streets and businesses sport signage written in English and the town is American in every aspect. What is causing skepticism are the somewhat muddled justifications offered up by the Army for such a “city.”

Colonel John P. Petkosek is the commander of the U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group. The Telegraph offered his reasoning:

This is the place where we can be creative, where we can come up with solutions for problems that we don’t even know we have yet…This is where we’ll look at solutions for the future–material solutions and non-material solutions…The things that we do here at this facility will have a direct and lasting impact on our entire army.

It is the last part of that statement that is of concern. Certainly the United States military’s ability to perfect techniques against the possibility of terrorist incursion into America is something no one would complain about. Questions arise, however, regarding exactly who the U.S. military considers “terrorists.”

Not so long ago, the news carried reports that the United States military was instructed to add what are largely considered Conservative groups to their definition of “domestic terrorists.” According to Infowars.com:

The increasing demonization of domestic political groups as extremists has prompted numerous scenarios where commentators have suggested that U.S. Army and National Guard personnel could be needed to quell civil unrest. In 2012, an academic study about the future use of the military as a peacekeeping force within the United States written by a retired Army Colonel depicted a shocking scenario in which the U.S. Army is used to restore order to a town that has been seized by Tea Party ”insurrectionists”. The study…revealed plans for the military to carry out “Civil Disturbance Operations” during which troops would be used domestically to quell riots, confiscate firearms and even kill Americans on U.S. soil during mass civil unrest.

Soldiers at Fort Hood were being indoctrinated, by their superior officers, that Christians, second amendment supporters, Tea Party advocates and anti-abortion activists presented a “radical terror threat.” There is no word that this order has ever been withdrawn. Infowars.com points out that this is language endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security added “liberty lovers” to the list of domestic extremists, turning domestic terrorism into a rather broad endeavor.

Just a year ago, former Navy SEAL Ben Smith warned that The Lyin’ King’s regime was interrogating top military brass, questioning whether or not they would be willing to disarm and fire on American citizens. This past week the Ohio National Guard conducted training exercises against “second amendment supporters” and the Department of Homeland Security placed its largest order to date for ammunition. Executive orders have significantly broadened and relaxed the laws governing martial law. Now The Lyin’ King’s regime will unleash the military “to be creative,” to make blueprints for “solutions” that “will have a direct and lasting impact on our entire army.”

Didn’t similar “solutions” transpire in WWII Germany?

See the video below:

City

Image: Courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unc-cfc-usfk/3346544556/

About the author: Marilyn Assenheim

Marilyn Assenheim was born and raised in New York City. She spent a career in healthcare management although she probably should have been a casting director. Or a cowboy. A serious devotee of history and politics, Marilyn currently lives in the NYC metropolitan area.

Read more at http://clashdaily.com/2014/02/u-s-army-builds-replica-city-practice-invasion/#dVcv72X03X3pIdO1.99

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WHY?????????????????????????


The following article is very disturbing to me and has me wondering WHY.

  • Why would the United State Army deliberately order rounds that have proven less effectively than present issue?
  • Why would you deliberately put Army fighting forces in jeopardy by supplying them with inadequate stopping power?
  • Do they want our military to lose?
  • DOES OBAMA WANT OUR ARMED FORCES WEAKENED SO THEY CANNOT STOP ????????????
  • How far are we going to go with this ridiculous GREEN business?

Nothing but questions. Read the following and you decide.

Jerry Broussard

Army Giving Up Stopping Power for ‘Green’ Bullets

            by AWR Hawkins 25 Jul 2013

The Army is switching from lead bullets in many small caliber arms to “environmentally friendly” rounds in 2014, even through the lead bullets are tried and true while the stopping power of the “green” bullets is already being questioned.

The Daily Caller reports that the Army switched to a “green” round for its 5.56 mm ammo in 2010–these are the bullets used in an MP4 or an AR-15.

This ammo is referred to as an “Enhanced Performance Round,” even though a Fox News report raises suspicions over just how enhanced the new round will be. They quote “ballistics experts” who say “the new rounds won’t be substantially more deadly” than the old ones. Nevertheless, the Army is pressing on and making the 7.62 mm bullet “environmentally friendly” by 2014 as well.

The Army predicts “the use of green 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm ammunition could eliminate the purchase of 3,683 metric tons of lead between 2013 and 2018.”

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.

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US Army defines Christian ministry as ‘domestic hate group’


http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/10/14/us-army-defines-christian-ministry-as-domestic-hate-group/

By Todd Starnes

Published October 14, 2013

FoxNews.com
  • 660-Starnes-AFA-briefing.jpg
    SPECIAL TO FOX NEWS

Several dozen U.S. Army active duty and reserve troops were told last week that the American Family Association, a well-respected Christian ministry, should be classified as a domestic hate group because the group advocates for traditional family values.

The briefing was held at Camp Shelby in Mississippi and listed the AFA alongside domestic hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, the Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam.

A soldier who attended the briefing contacted me and sent me a photograph of a slide show presentation that listed AFA as a domestic hate group. Under the AFA headline is a photograph of Westboro Baptist Church preacher Fred Phelps holding a sign reading “No special law for f***.”

American Family Association has absolutely no affiliation with the controversial church group known for picketing the funerals of American servicemembers.

 

It looks like the Obama administration is separating the military from the American people.

 

“I had to show Americans what our soldiers are now being taught,” said the soldier who asked not to be identified. “I couldn’t just let this one pass.”

The soldier said a chaplain interrupted the briefing and challenged the instructor’s assertion that AFA is a hate group.

“The instructor said AFA could be considered a hate group because they don’t like gays,” the soldier told me. “The slide was talking about how AFA refers to gays as sinners and heathens and derogatory terms.”

The soldier, who is an evangelical Christian, said the chaplain defended the Christian ministry.

“He kept asking the instructor, ‘Are you sure about that, son? Are you sure about that?’” he said, recalling the back and forth.

Later in the briefing, the soldiers were reportedly told that they could face punishment for participating in organizations that are considered hate groups.

That considered, the soldier contacted me because he is a financial contributor to the AFA ministry.

“I donate to AFA as often as I can,” he said. “Am I going to be punished? I listen to American Family Radio all day. If they hear it on my radio, will I be faced with a Uniformed Code of Military Justice charge?”

The soldier said he was “completely taken back by this blatant attack not only on the AFA but Christians and our beliefs.”

It’s not the first time the Army has accused conservative Christian groups of being domestic hate groups.

Earlier this year, I exposed Army briefings that classified evangelical Christians and Catholics as examples of religious extremism.

Another briefing told officers to pay close attention to troops who supported groups like AFA and the Family Research Council.

One officer said the two Christian ministries did not “share our Army Values.”

“When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army Values – don’t just walk by – do the right thing and address the concern before it becomes a problem,” the officer wrote in an email to his subordinates.

At the time the military assured me those briefings were isolated incidents and did not reflect official Army policy.

If that’s true, how do they explain what happened at Camp Shelby?

I contacted the Pentagon for an answer but they referred me to Army public affairs. And so far – they haven’t returned my calls.

And their claim that the classifications are “isolated” is not washing with AFA.

“The American Family Association has received numerous accounts of military installations as well as law enforcement agencies using a list compiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which wrongfully identifies and defames AFA,” reads a statement they sent me.

Bryan Fischer hosts a talk show on American Family Radio. He called the Army’s allegations “libelous, slanderous and blatantly false.”

“This mischaracterization of AFA is reprehensible and inexcusable,” he told me. “We have many military members who are a part of the AFA network who know these accusations are a tissue of lies.”

Fischer said their views on gay marriage and homosexuality are not hate – it’s simply a disagreement.

“If our military wasn’t headed by a commander-in-chief who is hostile to Christian faith, these allegations would be laughed off every military base in the world,” he said.

Hiram Sasser, of the Liberty Institute, told me the Army’s briefing is a smear.

He recalled what President Obama said last year when Muslim extremists attacked our diplomatic outpost in Libya.

“Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths,” President Obama said. “We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.”

Sasser said he wished the president and the Army would treat the American Family Association with the same deference and respect they show those who mean to harm us.

“Why must the Army under this administration continue to attack Americans of faith and smear them?” Sasser wondered.

I fear the answer to that question.

Because it appears the Obama administration is separating the military from the American people – and planting seeds of doubt about Christians and some of our nation’s most prominent Christian ministries.

 

Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary heard on hundreds of radio stations and in his weekly podcast. Sign up for hisAmerican Dispatch newsletter and be sure to join his Facebook page.

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