whose water?

[cellio]

There's not much water available in the Iraqi desert, of course, so most soldiers haven't bathed in a long time. According to this article, there's an army chaplain in Iraq who has a large pool of water for use by the soldiers, but there's a catch: they have to get baptised first.

Unless that chaplain personally collected the water without using any army resources (including protection), I hope they kick him out of there. Because in any other case, it's not his water; it's the army's water. And yes, my reaction would be exactly the same if it were a rabbi who required everyone to pray the daily service first, or a Republican who required you to change your voter registration to his party first, or anyone collecting a fee.

I'm all for having folks along with the army who aren't part of the effort but who do provide support services valued by some members of the unit. But when support staff become parasites, it's time for them to go.

Comments

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

It's apparently not meant to be drinking water, but bathing water... but all the same, smacks of the kind of fanaticism that frightens me. I would imagine that he'd refuse to minister to people of other faiths, as well, when all chaplains are supposed to give comfort and succor no matter the faith of the supplicant.

This isn't dishonorable discharge material, but I definitely think that his boss needs to have a chat with him, come review time, about whether the Army is the right career path for him.