Loyalty test; the case of Chaplain Robertson - Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Garland Robertson - Column

Christian Century, March 2, 1994 by Ken Sehested

Robertson is convinced that if the military chaplaincy is to retain any semblance of its gospel mandate--if its function is to be more than that of morale officers supporting command decisions and U. S. foreign-policy directives--then it must be demilitarized. The religious agencies that certify their respective chaplains must "reclaim their pastoral offices" and must be free to speak to the points at which religious convictions and command directives collide, said Robertson. This means that chaplains must come under the direct employment of their sponsoring bodies and must serve without the privilege of rank.

The Air Force secretary is now considering whether to reverse the Board of Inquiry's judgment of an honorable discharge without pension ($29,000 annually in Robertson's case). Her decision could be significant in answering Robertson's question: Are we ministers of the state or of the church of Jesus Christ?

Ken Sehested is executive director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, based in Memphis, Tennessee.