{"id":87,"date":"2007-08-06T17:40:00","date_gmt":"2007-08-06T17:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/2007\/08\/report-says-pentagon-erred-in.php"},"modified":"2007-08-06T17:40:00","modified_gmt":"2007-08-06T17:40:00","slug":"report-says-pentagon-erred-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2007\/08\/report-says-pentagon-erred-in","title":{"rendered":"Report Says Pentagon Erred in Allowing Christian Video"},"content":{"rendered":"

RNS
\nBy Jennifer Koons
\nWashington – High-ranking Army and Air Force personnel violated
\nmilitary regulations when they participated in a promotional video for a
\nprivate evangelical organization, according to a report by the
\nPentagon’s Office of Inspector General.
\nA Pentagon spokesman said Monday (Aug. 6) it would be up to the Army
\nand Air Force whether to discipline the military brass involved, but
\nsaid no action is expected against top civilian employees.
\nThe 47-page report, which was released on July 27, found that Air
\nForce Maj. Gen. Jack Catton, Maj. Gen. Peter Sutton and a colonel whose
\nname was not disclosed, and three Army officers — Brig. Gen. Bob
\nCaslen, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks and a lieutenant colonel, also not
\nidentified — were wrong to take part in a fund-raising video for the
\nArlington, Va.-based Christian Embassy.
\nThe Christian Embassy is part of the conservative Campus Crusade for
\nChrist International, and sponsors prayer breakfasts and other religious
\nactivities for high-ranking federal employees and elected officials.
\nThe dispute over the video surfaced last December against a backdrop
\nof complaints that military officials frequently turn a blind eye to
\nimproper proselytizing and show preferential treatment toward
\nevangelicals.
\n“The officers were filmed during the duty day, in uniform with rank
\nclearly displayed, in official and often identifiable Pentagon
\nlocations,” the report said. “Their remarks conferred approval of and
\nsupport to Christian Embassy, and the remarks of some officers implied
\nthey spoke for a group of senior military leaders rather than just for
\nthemselves.”
\nAt one point during the 10-minute video, which was filmed inside the
\nPentagon in 2005, Caslen refers to the Christian Embassy’s special
\nefforts for high-ranking officers through Flag Fellowship groups. He
\nnotes that whenever he runs into another fellowship member, “I
\nimmediately feel like I am being held accountable because we are the
\naroma of Jesus Christ.”
\nCatton, from the Air Force, explains in the video that the Christian
\nEmbassy helped him become a “director on the joint staff.”
\n“As I meet the people that come into my directorate I tell them
\nright up front who Jack Catton is, and I start with the fact that I’m an
\nold-fashioned American, and my first priority is my faith in God, then
\nmy family and then country,” Catton says on the video. “I share my faith
\nbecause it describes who I am.”
\nCatton later told the inspector general’s office that he believed
\nthe Christian Embassy, which hosts a weekly prayer breakfast at the
\nPentagon, had become a “quasi-federal entity.”
\nThe Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an Albuquerque,
\nN.M.-based watchdog group founded by retired Air Force attorney Mikey
\nWeinstein, asked the Department of Defense to investigate the video last
\nDecember.
\nWeinstein expressed disappointment with the report’s findings, which
\nhe said didn’t go far enough to reprimand those involved.
\n“They suggested corrective action and we wanted to see courts
\nmartial,” he said, adding that his organization planned to file a
\nlawsuit against the Department of Defense.
\n
\nCopyright 2007 Religion News Service<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RNS By Jennifer Koons Washington – High-ranking Army and Air Force personnel violated military regulations when they participated in a promotional video for a private evangelical organization, according to a report by the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General. A Pentagon spokesman said Monday (Aug. 6) it would be up to the Army and Air Force…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nReport Says Pentagon Erred in Allowing Christian Video<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2007\/08\/report-says-pentagon-erred-in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Report Says Pentagon Erred in Allowing Christian Video\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RNS By Jennifer Koons Washington – High-ranking Army and Air Force personnel violated military regulations when they participated in a promotional video for a private evangelical organization, according to a report by the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General. 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