High-ranking Chaplain re-enlists Atheist SGT Griffith

Weaver · #1 by **Weaver** » Nov 03, 2011 7:27 pm

http://freethoughtblogs.com/rockbeyondbelief

The_Metatron · #2 by **The_Metatron** » Nov 03, 2011 7:44 pm

That officer couldn't be bothered to memorize that oath. I also never cared for those stupid wire frames they use to artificially fan out the flag. Little details.

Weaver · #3 by **Weaver** » Nov 03, 2011 7:47 pm

Agreed, on both - but it was still better than any of my personal re-enlistments.

chairman bill · #4 by **chairman bill** » Nov 03, 2011 7:57 pm

Er, why is a chaplain doing the enlistment? Is that normal for US forces?

Weaver · #5 by **Weaver** » Nov 03, 2011 8:10 pm

Any Commissioned Officer, usually at the request of the person being re-enlisted. SGT Griffith requested this Chaplain because they have had a good working relationship and helped solve many issues regarding AiFs together. He's using it as part of his bridge-building efforts to get proper respect and support for other atheists.

The_Metatron · #6 by **The_Metatron** » Nov 03, 2011 8:13 pm

chairman bill wrote:Er, why is a chaplain doing the enlistment? Is that normal for US forces?

Not in my memory. Any officer will do. Usually, it's the unit commander, but can be any officer the member chooses. Seems like the only requirement is the presence of a flag.

chairman bill · #7 by **chairman bill** » Nov 03, 2011 8:15 pm

OK. All is clearer now.

Weaver · #8 by **Weaver** » Nov 03, 2011 8:15 pm

A flag isn't required, but is usually provided to make the ceremony a bit more official-looking. All that is really required is the Commissioned Officer to give the oath (affirmation), and the appropriate paperwork for everyone to sign.

The_Metatron · #9 by **The_Metatron** » Nov 03, 2011 8:17 pm

Yeah, we like our little ceremonies.

Ironclad · **#10** by **Ironclad** » Nov 03, 2011 8:53 pm

Nice, a good step forward. And good on the chaplain too.

kiore · **#11** by **kiore** » Nov 03, 2011 9:40 pm

Good, and I think it was important that it was done by a chaplain.

LarianLeQuella · **#12** by **LarianLeQuella** » Nov 22, 2011 9:17 pm

Justin is a class act! Congratulations to him.

I always made the effort to have the oath/affirmation memorized when I did re-enlistments, promotions, commissionings, etc. I always felt that it showed a bit of extra respect for the person making that next step.

My favorite one was where I got to re-enlist a bunch of troops at 24,000 feet in the back of a KC-135 as we were flying over southern Iraq. As a bonus, the troops that were elligible for a re-enlistment bonus got the whole thing tax free.