Pentagon: "Before we send you to kill brown folks for oil and pipelines.....

[JohnyCanuck]

we'd just like to make sure you have the proper spiritual attitude first"

US Army: Atheists Unfit To Serve


Did you know that the United States Army is concerned with the spiritual well-being of their soldiers? Did you know that if you choose not to believe in the supernatural that the United States Army can consider you unfit to serve? Allow me to enlighten you about an issue that was brought to my attention by my friend, Sgt. Justin Griffith, Fort Bragg, NC. The US Army distributes a mandatory survey called an SFT, which stands for “Soldier Fitness Tracker”. The purpose of this survey is to measure an individual soldier’s competency in four areas, Emotional, Social, Family and Spiritual. Justin is an atheist, as well as a highly dedicated soldier, but according to the SFT, he is “unfit” to serve specifically because he is a non-believer.

Justin informs me that soldiers are directed to answer, on a scale of 1-5, some awkwardly structured questions, such as “My life will have a lasting meaning”, “I feel connected to a being that is greater than me”, “I’m a very spiritual person”. Etc. Justin was “Red Barred” in the Spiritual Competency area. According to the US Army:

- A red bar means that you face some significant challenges in this area. This means that you should focus most of your attention on this area, though you should also note that placing too much emphasis here could result in other dimensions dropping. The key is to properly balance where you need the most development with the areas you are already doing well in.

Here is a direct “Cut & Paste” from his survey results, under the “Spiritual Fitness” category:

Spiritual fitness is an area of possible difficulty for you. You may lack a sense of meaning and purpose in your life. At times, it is hard for you to make sense of what is happening to you and others around you. You may not feel connected to something larger than yourself. You may question your beliefs, principles, and values. Nevertheless, who you are and what you do matter. There are things to do to provide more meaning and purpose in your life. Improving your spiritual fitness should be an important goal. Change is possible, and the relevant self-development training modules will be helpful. If you need further help, please do not hesitate to seek out help from the people you care about and trust – strong people always do. Be patient in your development as it will take time to improve in this area. Still, persistence is key and you will improve here if you make this area a priority.

The arrogance continues… The survey further advises Sgt. Griffith that he may question his beliefs, principles and values and offered suggestions for things to do to provide more meaning and purpose in his life and advised him that improving his spiritual fitness should be an important goal. To add insult to injury, a phone number is offered to connect with a counselor who is ready to assist with a problem that requires immediate attention. To make matters worse, the survey asks for permission to use the data in an anonymously aggregated manner, meaning the results may be used by the U.S. Government and/or the public.

http://alstefanelli.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/us-army-atheists-unfit-to-serve/

[patrice]

1. Maybe "athiests" are harder to break according to specs: "...it is hard for you

to make sense of what is happening to you and others around you ..."

[rfranklin]

2. I worship Ares, God of War....

Buy, is that one of them Mooslem gods? Drop and give me twenty Our Fathers!

[sarcasmo]

3. As an Atheist who served from 86-89 in the Army, the only trouble I encountered

was with the dog tags. I remember receiving some attitude when I was asked what religion I wanted on my dog tags. I said no religion and was promptly preached by someone who thought they need to preach.

[FiveGoodMen]

4. Reminds me of...

I went up to the Sargent and said, "You got a lotta damn gall to ask me if I've rehabilitated myself ... I mean ... I mean ... I mean I'm sittin' here on the bench ... I mean I'm sittin' here on the group W bench because you wanna know if I'm moral enough to join the army, burn women, kids, houses, and villages after being a litter bug?!"

[tularetom]

5. Thanks for reminding me I gotta haul some stuff to the dump

Hope it's open.

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Just don't dump an envelope with your name on it!

[raouldukelives]

7. It can be hard to see women & children blown apart

And coming to terms with the knowledge your helping. I think they must try to brainwash the soldiers into a Christian themed death cult to justify the killing of people who have never posed a threat to us. Make them think they are cleansing the world of sin one poor person at a time.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. I would think any seriously religious person would be unfit to serve.

Plus the atheists, and agnostics.

How can anyone who claims to believe in a power greater than themselves make a decision to take a life?

Tis illogical.

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" - Epicurus

[RC]

10. That is not the point.

The point being, if you believe in an after life you will be more likely to be a hero and risk sacrificing yourself for some overall gain. Anything from saving a buddy to fighting harder taking some ground. That is what religion is all about in the military.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. The Pentagon preaching morality is like a piranha preaching vegetarianism.

[Vickers]

11. My dogtags said "NRP"

no religious preference

[lunasun]

12. Easier to manipulate warriors for the Lord than soldiers of the United States I reckon