The US Army is investigating claims that nearly 100 soldiers were kept in their barracks and forced to clean when they decided not to attend a Christian rock concert. About 20 of the soldiers said they did it for religious objections. The soldiers were not allowed to use their cell phones or computer access while not attending the concert. The first question is, why was there a Christian rock band playing for the soldiers in the first place?
The concerts have been going on for about 2 years and are called the Commanding General's Spiritual Fitness Concerts. It has been put together by Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers when he was at Fort Eustis and have continued despite his departure to command Fort Lee. He describes himself as a "born again Christian" that was saved at 16. While he says "The idea is not to be a proponent for any one religion. It's to have a mix of different performers with different religious backgrounds," no such mix can really be found. Each and every performer has been Christian.
At this concert in particular, the band in question was BarlowGirl, an all girl Evangelical Christian rock band. The father of the sisters that comprise the band was quoted saying, "We really believe that to be a Christian in today's world, you have to be a warrior, and we feel very blessed and privileged that God has given us the tool to deliver His message and arm His army."
Now it must be said that this concert is being put on by the command and not the Chaplain's office. Something that is well outside the Commander's duties. Beyond that these concerts are incredibly expensive, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation found that these concerts can cost anywhere from $10,000 - $30,000 per act and one "spiritual fitness" contract cost the Department of Defense $3.5 million.
So what is the commander of a US Military fort doing putting on evangelizing concerts for and why are soldiers who don't attend them being punished? What sort of country have we become where the US Military can evangelize openly and discriminate against non-Christians?
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