[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWfDw0AqQBQ[/youtube]

4 minutes in and I already had to pause and go, um what?

I went to Fort Jackson for BCT immediately after high school. Church was elective. You could go to church (which offered Evangelical Protestantism, Catholic, Church of Christ, Islam, and some others I don't remember) or you could stay in the barracks and clean on Sundays. There wasn't any of this indoctrination bull crap. It wasn't forced and there was a wide selection of denomination choices. Although watching this video does make me go back to Nostalgia days and really wish I didn't get discharged. Company Foxtrot Battalion 2-13 3rd Platoon, I did have fun in basic.

Well, it could be argued - and should be - that the dichotomy of choosing between working shit details like cleaning barracks compared to going to church is part of indoctrination.

When I went through Basic, we had choices as well - Catholic or Evangelical Protestant of some sort (don't really remember, this was 25 years ago).

There are many, many other forms of indoctrination as well - such as the times I was forced to stand around while people prayed at me, or the time I was forced to attend a prayer breakfast and threatened with punishment when I argued, or the times when the Chaplain spammed my e-mail over and over with his "thoughts of the day" shit out of the Babble, or the Chaplain having a part in every briefing to expound on his interpretation of Christianity.

Read the Rock Beyond Belief blog on FTB for some good, current examples - such as a Chaplain who says he "reserves the right to evangelize the unchurched" - as if anyone ever gave him such discretion or privileges.

Weaver wrote:Well, it could be argued - and should be - that the dichotomy of choosing between working shit details like cleaning barracks compared to going to church is part of indoctrination.

I didn't mind the cleaning the barracks. Too be honest I absolutely hated church in the military and I was an evangelical Christian back then. o.o Besides Sunday mornings was a time I got to write all my letters, manage my journal, tidy up my personal space after the hectic week, etc. I didn't find it that bad. But then again, I also was a soldier who volunteered for meal serving out in the field.

When I went through Basic, we had choices as well - Catholic or Evangelical Protestant of some sort (don't really remember, this was 25 years ago).

Well that's the thing. Those who don't want to do barracks maintenance can go to church service simply to get out of barracks. There were multiple services accommodating all religious beliefs. Atheism doesn't have a service of worship. It's not exactly selective and as I said most Sunday mornings it was relaxed in the barracks, and I don't think once the Drill Sergeants ever really yelled at someone for sweeping haphazardly.

There are many, many other forms of indoctrination as well - such as the times I was forced to stand around while people prayed at me, or the time I was forced to attend a prayer breakfast and threatened with punishment when I argued, or the times when the Chaplain spammed my e-mail over and over with his "thoughts of the day" shit out of the Babble, or the Chaplain having a part in every briefing to expound on his interpretation of Christianity.

O.O Now THAT is a blatant violation of military conduct. Did you file complaints to your Commanding Officer at any of those points?

Read the Rock Beyond Belief blog on FTB for some good, current examples - such as a Chaplain who says he "reserves the right to evangelize the unchurched" - as if anyone ever gave him such discretion or privileges.

The simple fact remains that allowing the religious to attend "church" (often deliberately a non-strictly religious atmosphere of fun and excitement) while requiring the non-religious to conduct work details is WRONG - it's unConstitutional advancement of religion. Just because your particular DS's weren't too strict on Sunday work details doesn't mean that some aren't.

Yes, I went through the Chain of Command on most of them - but hell, when it's the Commanding Officer ordering you to attend a prayer breakfast, appealing to him isn't likely to solve anything. In the end, it took an EO complaint and a whole shitload of stress on my part.