Written by Don Byrd
Via Religion Clause, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense issued a report last week entitled “Rights of Conscience Protections for Armed Service Members and Their Chaplains.” The report was required by the 2014 Defense Authorization Act after investigating the compliance by the Armed Forces with regulations regarding rights of conscience.
The results? A few concerns were found, including a lack of available kosher and halal foods in defense facilities overseas, and a “failure to evaluate religious accommodation requests within established timeframes.”
The Report also uncovered “no instance in which a commander required a chaplain to perform a service contrary to his or her conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs.”
And then there is this:
During the time period we conducted our assessment, multiple instances of rights of conscience protection issues were broadcast in social and traditional media. Correcting the initial responses by commanders unnecessarily consumed command time and other resources. Coverage in social media allowed issues to become distorted regardless of the facts.
The U.S. military is surely capable of confronting all manner of challenges. But I doubt even they have whatever it takes to stop social media from allowing “issues to become distorted regardless of the facts.”
The timely responses to accommodation requests, and the kosher food issues, though? Now those sound doable, and worthwhile. You can read the report here.
