It is a major concern, WM
and you expressed it more succinctly than I.
Much as I dislike matrices and metrics, I have to agree with you on that probability.
More importantly, you ably characterized my shorthand using the word 'personality' applied to the Chaplain(s) with the far better
Quote:
"...Even though he is an MD, you wouldn't go to a dermatologist for triple bypass surgery, would you? "
Just as some Commanders are better at certain things than are others, all Chaplains are not created equal and we should avoid embedding any process that may work well with some people at a point in time as THE way to do business.
Thank you...;)
No. I insist. Thank you...
Okay, I'll quit now...:D
Quote:
There is no physical, logical, or moral necessity to use chaplains in this role.
True. I'd suggest there are several reasons in all categories to avoid so using them. When it is done, it should be very carefully thought out and applied.
We probably need to chill a bit. This is an important
topic and we should be able to disagree without being disagreeable.
I do not think I've seen anyone say that the process is not working. You can say that concerns about Chaplain involvement are abstractions / theoreticals yet you personally acknowledged up thread that some Chaplains had concerns with the process.
Why don't we sort of cool it until tomorrow; I see no sense in any of us getting hostile.
In the words of Bill the Cat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
wm
Let's also not confuse chaplains/anesthesiologists with civil affairs officers/neurosurgeons--the one enables treatment by sedating the nervous system; the other treats problems with that nervous system.
Ack!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_the_Cat
Style suggestions. Providing a link to an article or item
is good, saves pixels. If one is going to do that a very brief extract, a good sized paragraph should suffice. The more length one provides in the post, the less likely others are to pursue the link.
The use of red type to highlight passages deemed important is a method but generally, unless one has a particular purpose, just repeating the article or linked text without annotation is better. The use of alternate colors or text styles is a valid technique, however it works best, they say, when used minimally. That's particularly true of alternate colors which can be distracting.
Merely suggestions.
Thanks, BTW, for the link and article.
Chaplains as Liaisons with Indigenous Religious Leaders Update
An Inside Perspective on Religious Peacemaking in Iraq
"After a slow and painful learning process, U.S. government civil and military authorities in Iraq came to the conclusion that they must engage with religion. Since then, they have been very supportive and began funding the process from the beginning of 2007. What is unique about this reconciliation initiative is that the U.S. military has participated directly in the entire process by working through the religious dynamic. By using the Office of the Command Chaplain, the engagement has military involvement and reports directly back to Commanding General David Petraeus. Relying on a shared identity as religious leaders, the Command Chaplain is able to work with Canon White's FRRME and the senior Iraqi religious leaders to help advise the process in support of U.S. military campaign objectives in Iraq. "
Chaplains and Religious Support Teams can be a part of the peacemaking solutions in counterinsurgency operations without violations of military regulations or denominational requirements. This conference may not have grabbed the headlines, but this council is the heart, arteries and veins of the new Iraq and its best hope for reconciliation.
Amazing ventures of faith and service
The articles and comments displayed here are truly impressive...this is my first time so try to be gentle with me! I will speak critically and offer a few original thoughts on the subjects emerging here, but I begin by registering a note of thanks for the effort and time given to these thread discussions. It is my view that we must continue to orient the Joint Force Chaplaincy toward any kind of peace building engagements if those engagements prove productive and help prevent an eschalation of conflict. If Chaplaincy engagements with any kind of religious leader saves American lives, then keep engaging. From what I read in the references, published papers and interviews of this forum, religious leader engagements saves lives and builds meaningful relationships with indigenous people through their religious leaders. The practice to use our Chaplain units as Liaisons for the Command will continue if the the ends justifies the means. The Army tends to follow Consequentialism.
Short History of Religious Leader Engagements in Operation Iraqi Freedom PDF
Its been a while since this thread was active, but since then I was asked to compile a Short History of Religious Leader Engagements in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The FOUO version is here (AKO/DKO password required.
The open source version is being published in the Old Crows Association's IO Journal and the FOUO is published on the Center for Army Lessons Learned website. I'll add the link when it becomes available.
John
operationalizing religion
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MSG Proctor
In fragile states circles there is a lot of talk about disaggregating the state...pulling apart all the different functions, practices and belief that make up a sovereignty. This seems to be part of the understanding all the bits of humpty-dumpty so that we can figure out how to put him (back) together again. The discussion is very useful because it has produced a whole bunch of language to talk about the bits and pieces that we find lying around in the places we work..fragments of the state. Second, it is really useful because it stops transfer of cognitive similarity. That is, it used to be when I said state and a guy from Congo said state, I would assume that we were talking about the same thing. We may not be...so our attempts to make things better may be mutually incompatible. The term state, here, is actually an obstacle to communication.
I'm having the same itch with religion. So, I would like to know what, if any, work has been done to pull apart the term 'religion' when we are talking about this stuff.
second
and I want the doc on AKO that Marc wants...(twiddling thumbs waiting patiently)
third
the entire development business is Catholic (http://www.answers.com/topic/catholic) about its secularism. This is dangerous when it isn't short sighted or just plain ignorant. It is very interesting for me to see how the military is trying to recognize this domain. I suppose it is predictable from an institutional perspective that padres would be tagged for the role. In this the military is in some ways fortunate. Padres are believers trained to care for a diverse flock under dire circumstances who are recognized by their institution as having a legitimate domain of competence. In the development business we tend to have a lot of covert missionaries frustrated by their secular workplaces and atheists who think that religion is quaint who work in a language whose express purpose is to render ideological challenges on technical terms that are amenable to the sorts of intervention strategies that donors find convenient.
finally
I have found this thread enormously rich.
thanks to all of those who contributed.