Navy Threatens to End Career of
Decorated Chaplain Who Served Navy Seals
FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS
TO FREE SPEECH ATTACKED
Chaplain Wes Modder, holding the ceremonial oar given to him
by Naval Special Warfare Command.
NAVY CHAPLAIN FACES CHARGES
FOR CHRISTIAN BELIEFS
EXCERPTS:
Chaplain Wes Modder is a decorated military hero with an exemplary nineteen-year service record. His past Marine and Navy SEAL commanders call Chaplain Modder a “national asset,” with “charismatic leadership,” “sound judgment,” and the “appropriate confidence and diplomacy to speak to the entire chain of command,” making him the “best of the best” of Navy chaplains. (View official letters of recommendations and fitness reports)
Just weeks after receiving the highest possible rating and accolades from the NNPTC commander, a few sailors complained that they disagreed with the biblical views Chaplain Modder expressed during counseling sessions, even though the views were in line with the teachings of his faith.
Despite laws, military regulations, and even court cases that protect chaplains when they discuss religious matters, the Navy has responded by removing Chaplain Modder from his unit and isolating him at the base chapel, cutting him off from his sailors and forbidding him to minister to their spiritual needs. The Navy has launched a three-pronged attack against Chaplain Modder, requesting that he be:
- Removed from the promotion list (where he is listed as “Early Promote,” the highest rating possible),
- “Detached for Cause,” which is the military equivalent of being terminated for cause, and removed from his unit.
- Brought before an official Board of Inquiry, where he could potentially be forced out of the Navy.
SEE: http://the-trumpet-online.com/ex-seals-chaplain-faces-ax-christian-beliefs/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
A chaplain who used to provide services to Navy SEALS, Lt. Commander Wes Modder, could be booted from the military for failing to “show tolerance and respect” on issues of faith – or, more specifically, for failing to water down his biblical views of homosexuality.
Modder’s troubles began in December, when his assistant came to his Naval Nuclear Power Training Command office in Goose Creek, S.C., with a couple of Equal Opportunity representatives bearing a five-page grievance against the chaplain, Fox News reported.
The officials said the complaints focused on Modder’s views of “same-sex relationships [and] marriages, homosexuality, different standards of respect for men and women, pre-marital sex and masturbation.” In it, he was accused of failing to show “tolerance and respect” and failing to “function in the diverse and pluralistic environment” of the base.
“On multiple occasions, he discriminated against students who were of different faiths and backgrounds,” wrote Modder’s commanding officer, Capt. John Fahs, in a memorandum Fox News obtained.
But Modder said his assistant had only worked with him about a month and during that time, had constantly questioned him about matters related to homosexuality. Turns out, the assistant was “gay,” and married to another man, Fox News said.
“His five-page letter of complaint was unconscionable,” Modder said. “He said I had a behavioral pattern of being anti-discriminatory of same-sex orientation.”
Modder was immediately removed from his chaplain duties and will face further military hearing in the coming weeks.
“It was insulting and it was devastating,” he said. “I felt discriminated against. How could something like this happen at this stage of my career?”
Modder – who is a highly-decorated military member described by colleagues as the “best of the best” – then hired an attorney, Michael Berry with the Liberty Institute. And Berry’s thoughts? That Modder was being set up and targeted because of his Christian faith.
“We are starting to see cases where chaplains have targets on their backs,” Berry said. “They have to ask themselves, ‘Do I stay true to my faith or do I keep my job?’ They want chaplains to be glorified summer camp counselors and not speak truth and love into people’s lives. There are some anti-religious elements in our military. Anytime somebody wants to live their faith out – there are people who say that is offensive.”
Berry also says that the complaining officer may have actually committed a crime by making “false statements, taking what the chaplain said and twisting or misconstruing it, in an attempt to get the chaplain punished.
“He abused the position he was placed in as a chaplain’s assistant,” Berry said.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/03/ex-seals-chaplain-faces-ax-for-christian-beliefs/#yw7gGL8S8D2HYdZy.99
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/03/ex-seals-chaplain-faces-ax-for-christian-beliefs/#yw7gGL8S8D2HYdZy.99
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TENS OF THOUSANDS RALLY FOR CHAPLAIN ACCUSED OF BEING ANTI-GAY
(Friday Church News Notes, March 20, 2015,www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -
The following is excerpted from Fox News, Mar. 12, 2015:
"Thousands of Americans, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and famed evangelist Franklin Graham, have come to the defense of a chaplain who could be thrown out of the Navy because of his Christian faith. Lt. Cmdr. Wes Modder has been accused of failing to show 'tolerance and respect' in private counseling sessions regarding issues pertaining to faith, marriage and sexuality--specifically homosexuality. Modder, who is endorsed by the Assemblies of God, has also been accused of being unable to 'function in the diverse and pluralistic environment' of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, S.C. The highly decorated, 19-year military veteran previously served in the Marine Corps and has had several high-profile assignments--including being named force chaplain of the Navy SEALs. Just a few months ago, Modder's commander called him 'the best of the best' and a 'consummate professional leader' worthy of an early promotion. But all that changed after Modder's assistant, a married gay officer at the base who was upset about the minister's views on same-sex relationships and homosexuality, filed a complaint against the chaplain. The young officer had been working for the chaplain only for about a month when he began peppering him with questions about homosexuality. ... Michael Berry, an attorney at Liberty Institute, a law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases, told me his client categorically denies making any such statements. He said the chaplain is the victim of a setup. ... Mike Huckabee, a potential candidate for the White House in 2016, wonders if it is 'becoming illegal to be a Christian' in the military. 'Today's military planners seem to think there should be nothing but atheists in foxholes, and that includes chaplains,' he told me. ... Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), a Southern Baptist Air Force Reserve chaplain, told me he plans to raise the issue of Chaplain Modder with the Pentagon. 'The religious liberty issue in the military needs to stop,' Collins said. 'The rulings are clear. As a chaplain we are provided to stay within the tenets of our faith. You cannot force me to counsel or to provide service outside the tenets of my faith.'"
TENS OF THOUSANDS RALLY FOR CHAPLAIN ACCUSED OF BEING ANTI-GAY
(Friday Church News Notes, March 20, 2015,www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -
The following is excerpted from Fox News, Mar. 12, 2015:
"Thousands of Americans, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and famed evangelist Franklin Graham, have come to the defense of a chaplain who could be thrown out of the Navy because of his Christian faith. Lt. Cmdr. Wes Modder has been accused of failing to show 'tolerance and respect' in private counseling sessions regarding issues pertaining to faith, marriage and sexuality--specifically homosexuality. Modder, who is endorsed by the Assemblies of God, has also been accused of being unable to 'function in the diverse and pluralistic environment' of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, S.C. The highly decorated, 19-year military veteran previously served in the Marine Corps and has had several high-profile assignments--including being named force chaplain of the Navy SEALs. Just a few months ago, Modder's commander called him 'the best of the best' and a 'consummate professional leader' worthy of an early promotion. But all that changed after Modder's assistant, a married gay officer at the base who was upset about the minister's views on same-sex relationships and homosexuality, filed a complaint against the chaplain. The young officer had been working for the chaplain only for about a month when he began peppering him with questions about homosexuality. ... Michael Berry, an attorney at Liberty Institute, a law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases, told me his client categorically denies making any such statements. He said the chaplain is the victim of a setup. ... Mike Huckabee, a potential candidate for the White House in 2016, wonders if it is 'becoming illegal to be a Christian' in the military. 'Today's military planners seem to think there should be nothing but atheists in foxholes, and that includes chaplains,' he told me. ... Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), a Southern Baptist Air Force Reserve chaplain, told me he plans to raise the issue of Chaplain Modder with the Pentagon. 'The religious liberty issue in the military needs to stop,' Collins said. 'The rulings are clear. As a chaplain we are provided to stay within the tenets of our faith. You cannot force me to counsel or to provide service outside the tenets of my faith.'"
