Chaplains to DoD: Stop use of SPLC as Source for Equal Opportunity Briefs

CHAPLAIN ALLIANCE FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY October 23, 2013 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact CHAPLAIN ENDORSERS at info@chaplainalliance.org or call (571) 293-2427

Chaplains to DoD:  Stop use of SPLC as Source for Equal Opportunity Briefs 

WASHINGTON — Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty is calling on Department of Defense leaders to stop the use of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a source for training Equal Opportunity Officers.  

Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews, USAR Retired, Executive Director for Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty said, “The recent briefing given to Army personnel at Camp Shelby that identified the American Family Association as a so-called “hate group” clearly came from the Southern Poverty Law Center.  Our recent Freedom of Information Act request concerning a similar briefing in a Pennsylvania Army Reserve unit made clear that the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute uses the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “reliable source” to train Equal Opportunity officers.  This must stop.”

“Once again we have a very respected and loved ministry being maligned in an Army Equal Opportunity training setting. We commend the unit chaplain who spoke out during the training and defended the work of the American Family Association. The Army can no longer call these “isolated incidents” since we have training occurring in different locations, all using the same source materials.”

Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty is an organization of chaplain endorsers, the faith groups that provide chaplains for the U.S. military and other agencies needing chaplains. The endorsers in Chaplain Alliance speak for more than 2,600 chaplains serving the Armed Forces.

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