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Former SEALs chaplain could be kicked out of Navy for Christian beliefs

A chaplain who once ministered to Navy SEALs could be thrown out of the military after he was accused of failing “to show tolerance and respect” in private counseling sessions in regards to issues pertaining to faith, marriage and sexuality, specifically homosexuality and pre-marital sex, according to documents obtained exclusively by Fox News.
Lt. Commander Wes Modder, who is endorsed by the Assemblies of God, has also been accused of being unable to “function in the diverse and pluralistic environment” of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, S.C.
“On multiple occasions he discriminated against students who were of different faiths and backgrounds,” the Chaplain’s commanding Officer Capt. Jon R. Fahs wrote in a memorandum obtained by Fox News.

Modder told me he was devastated by the accusations. He believes charges have been trumped up.

Modder is a highly decorated, 19-year veteran of the military. Prior to becoming a Navy chaplain, he served in the Marine Corps.  His assignments included tours with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Naval Special Warfare Command – where he served as the Force Chaplain of the Navy SEALs.
His record is brimming with accolades and endorsements – including from Capt. Fahs.
In Modder’s most recent review, Fahs declared that the chaplain was “the best of the best,” and a “consummate professional leader” worthy of an early promotion.
So how did Chaplain Modder go from being the “best of the best” to being unfit for service in the U.S. military in a span of five months?
The Navy did not return my calls seeking comment – so all we can do is rely on their written accusations and evidence.
Michael Berry, a military veteran and attorney with Liberty Institute a law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases is representing Modder. He accused the military of committing a gross injustice against the chaplain in a letter to the Navy. He told me they will respond forcefully and resolutely to the allegations – which they categorically deny.
“We are starting to see cases where chaplains have targets on their backs,” Berry said. “They have to ask themselves, ‘Do I stay true to my faith or do I keep my job?’”
He said Modder is being punished because of his Christian faith.
“They want chaplains to be glorified summer camp counselors and not speak truth and love into people’s lives,” Berry told me. “There are some anti-religious elements in our military. Anytime somebody wants to live their faith out – there are people who say that is offensive.”
Modder told me he was devastated by the accusations. He believes charges have been trumped up.
“The military now wants a 2.0 chaplain instead of a legacy chaplain,” Modder said. “They want a chaplain to accommodate policy that contradicts Scripture.”
Modder’s troubles started on Dec. 6 when an assistant in his office showed up to work with a pair of Equal Opportunity representatives and a five-page complaint documenting grievances against the chaplain.
The lieutenant junior grade officer went on to detail concerns about Moody’s views on “same-sex relationships/marriages, homosexuality, different standards of respect for men and women, pre-marital sex and masturbation.”
Modder said the young officer had only been working with him for about a month and would constantly pepper him with questions pertaining to homosexuality. He had no idea that the officer was in fact gay – and married to another man.
“His five page letter of complaint was unconscionable,” Modder said. “He said I had a behavioral pattern of being anti-discriminatory of same sex orientation.”
The chaplain was not even given a chance to defend himself. He was immediately removed from duties and told to clean out his office.
“It was insulting and it was devastating,” Modder said. “I felt discriminated against. How could something like this happen at this stage of my career?”
Zollie Smith, the executive director for the Assemblies of God, U.S. Missions, told me they stand firmly behind the chaplain.
“We stand behind him 100 percent,” he said.
In hindsight, Berry believes the officer was setting up his client – and in doing so may have committed a crime.
“I believe some of what the lieutenant has alleged could constitute a military crime – false statements – taking what the chaplain said and twisting or misconstruing it – in an attempt to get the chaplain punished,” he said. “He abused the position he was placed in as a chaplain’s assistant.”
He believes the officer may have gained access to private counseling file
“To be clear, Chaplain Modder does not dispute that during private, one-on-one pastoral care and counseling sessions, he expressed his sincerely held religious belief that: sexual acts outside of marriage are contrary to Biblical teaching; and homosexual behavior is contrary to Biblical teaching; and homosexual orientation or temptation, as distinct from conduct, is not sin,” Berry said.
Modder said many Americans may be shocked to discover how much military culture has changed over the past few years.
“This new generation is very secular and very open sexually,” he said. “The values that the military once held – just like the Boy Scouts of America – are changing. The culture wants this. Culture is colliding with truth. That’s at the heart of this.”
Modder recalled an incident that occurred when he first arrived on the base. He was about to deliver the invocation at a graduation ceremony when the captain pulled him aside.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Hey chaplain – do not pray in Jesus’ name,’” he recalled.
Modder said he understands the firestorm he is about to enter – but he remains resolute.
“Every fiber in my being wants to run away from this – but if I do I’m not being obedient to the Lord,” he told me. “I need to stand up for righteousness and this is something I cannot walk away from.”
The reality is that many other chaplains could find themselves in Chaplain Modder’s shoes. The Roman Catholic church and the Southern Baptist convention have nearly identical positions on the issues that the Navy found problematic with Modder.
“It’s going to be a hard road for me,” he said. “But it’s what God has called me to do.”
Ultimately, it’s about leaving a legacy and setting an example for his family – his wife and four young children.
The day he was relieved of his duties, Chaplain Modder’s 14-year-old son tagged along to help pack up his dad’s office. A few senior enlisted men were there as well.
As they were driving away, the boy told his father that the enlisted men had spoken to him.
“They told my son that ‘you can be proud of your father because he’s keeping the faith,’” Modder said. “The whole command knows that Chaplain Modder is keeping the faith.”

VA administrator used doll photos to mock veterans' mental problems in email

A social worker at an Indianapolis Veteran Affairs clinic was disciplined earlier this year after sending emails to colleagues that contained photos of an elf figurine posed to mock the mental health problems of combat veterans.
Robin Paul, who manages the Roudebush Veteran Affairs Medical Center’s Seamless Transition Integrated Care Clinic, on Dec. 18 sent an email with photos showing an elf pleading for Xanax and hanging himself with an electrical cord, according to The Indianapolis Star, which broke the story. A spokeswoman for the facility, Julie Webb, said the matter was dealt with in January, but declined to say what action, if any, was taken.
“Management was made aware of the situation a month and a half ago and addressed it at the time,” Webb told FoxNews.com. “Ms. Paul apologized. She has helped to build the clinic up and this was an error in judgment that does not reflect the Indianapolis Veterans Affairs’ commitment to providing high-quality health care to our veterans.”

“It is a slap in the face to our recent and past veterans suffering from mental health issues every single day.”- Ken Hylton, American Legion

Paul could not be reached for comment, but told The Indianapolis Star that she was sorry in an email the hospital’s public affairs department sent on her behalf.
“I would like to sincerely apologize for the email message and I take full responsibility for this poor judgment,” Paul wrote in the email. “I have put my heart and soul into my work with Veterans for many years. I hold all veterans and military personnel in the highest regard and am deeply remorseful for any hurt this may have caused.”
One email, addressed to “IND STICC Team” and obtained by The Indianapolis Star, contained the subject line, “Naughty Elf in the STICC clinic.”
“So, photos have appeared that indicate that the STICC clinic may have been invaded,” it read. “Looks like this magical character made his way through a few areas.”
One photo showed the elf giving a female doll a gynecological exam, and bore the caption: “Trying his skills as a primary care provider (doing a pap).”
Another showed the elf next to a sticky note with the words, “Out of XANAX — please help!” That caption read, “Self-medicating for mental health issues when a CNS would not give him his requested script.”

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The emails were sent in December, and included photos of a elf figurine posed in ways that appeared to mock the plight of troubled veterans. (Credit: The Indianapolis Star)

A third photograph showed the elf hanging from a strand of Christmas lights, with the caption: “Caught in the act of suicidal behavior (trying to hang himself from an electrical cord).”
News of the email is the latest in a series of black eyes for the massive agency, which has been under fire for facilities that altered their books to hide the number of patients who died while awaiting appointments.
The latest controversy drew outrage from veterans groups.
“It is a slap in the face to our recent and past veterans suffering from mental health issues every single day,” Ken Hylton, commander of the Indiana Department of the American Legion, told the newspaper, adding that Paul should be fired.
Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans of America and a Fox News contributor, agreed.
"While this shameful act may be an isolated incident, what’s not isolated are the almost daily reports that feed the perception that VA leadership are detached from the urgent challenges facing returning veterans,” Hegseth said. “But it’s even more troubling that Ms. Paul’s shockingly poor judgment did not merit immediate firing. She should have been fired the minute such poor judgment was discovered and failing to do so only reinforces VA's track record of failing to hold its employees accountable."
Paul remains employed at the hospital and continues to manage the clinic, earning an annual salary of $79,916, according to the Star.

Danish lawmakers propose Mohammad cartoons in school textbooks

A new proposal in Denmark could result in the Charlie Hebdo shooting and cartoons of the Islamic Prophet Mohammad being taught in schools.
The country’s opposition leaders are in agreement that the controversial cartoons first printed in Jyllands-Posten newspaper should appear in school textbooks, The Washington Post reports. Both the Conservative People's Party and Danish People's Party, the latter commanding the third-largest level of support in Denmark, have voiced their support for the idea.
”It would be natural for the cartoons to become part of the material that the teachers can choose to use," Conservative People’s Party spokeswoman Mai Mercado told DR Nyheder.
Jyllands-Posten first sparked controversy in September 2005 after publishing a series of 12 cartoons of the prophet Mohammad, including one particularly controversial image showing the prophet wearing a bomb in place of a turban. While the cartoons inspired many artists – including some working at Charlie Hebdo – to draw their own Mohammad cartoons, the newspaper encountered a backlash, as well. Since then, the newspaper has received a number of death threats.
While the two parties both agree that teaching about the attacks is important, their support comes in varying degrees.The Conservative People’s Party believes that teachers should be free to choose whether or not to reprint the cartoons in textbooks and that they should be taught in history class. The Danish People’s Party believes the teaching of the cartoons should be mandatory, and that the subject should be part of religious studies, according toThe Post..
There are already reportedly many Danish schools that teach courses using the cartoons in the latter years of secondary schools, although it is not obligatory.
Dennis Hornhave Jacobsen, president of the Danish Association of History and Social Studies Teachers, believes teaching the cartoons in class is a bad idea because “it could end any real discussion about the nature of freedom of expression, because there are children in schools who believe the Muhammad cartoons are objectionable and the discussion will stop there.”
Additionally, Claus Hjortdal of Denmark's Headmaster Association told the BBC that he believes publishing the images will lead to bullying.
"One can easily talk about it without showing the images," he said.

Boko Haram gains new power by aligning with ISIS, say experts

Only a Coward Hides behind a Mask.

By joining ISIS, Nigerian-based Islamic terror group Boko Haram has likely gained unprecedented power, resources and reach, according to intelligence experts.
Boko Haram, which has driven some 3 million people from their homes in northeast Africa over the last five years, slaughtering whole villages, taking women and children slaves, and setting off lethal explosions in densely populated areas, made the announcement it was joining the Middle Eastern group on March 7 on an audio track translated into French and English. Leading terror experts in the U.S. and Africa said the announcement to become a part of ISIS, a group that has horrified the world by beheading, crucifying, stoning, pushing to their death and even burning alive innocent civilians across Syria, Iraq, Libya, Algeria, the Sinai Peninsula, and other parts of the Middle East, has far greater implications than just being a mere symbolic act.

“Boko Haram has entered the realm of international jihadism, and by so doing will gain prestige among the vast supporters of Islamic State.”- Veryan Khan, Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium

“Boko Haram has entered the realm of international jihadism, and by so doing will gain prestige among the vast supporters of Islamic State,” said Veryan Khan, editorial director of Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC).
Conversely, ISIS, also known as Islamic State, will gain its first real step into Africa beyond mere cells, individual loyalties, and smaller less well-known groups, she said.

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Boko Haram gains power and prestige by joining with ISIS, according to experts. (Graphic courtesy of Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium)

“Given the fact that Boko Haram not only controls large swaths of territory, holds hundreds and hundreds of hostages, and is the most successful terror operation out of Africa right now, ISIS has gained a real foothold,” Khan said.
The Islamic State must officially accept Boko Haram's “bay’ah” or pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State, though it is unlikely that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will deny it, considering his strategy of world expansion and control, said Jasmine Opperman, TRAC Director of African Operations.
Islamic State's focus remains Syria and Iraq but as seen in Libya, Africa will not escape the Islamic State's search for ever wider presence.
ISIS has flourished where there is weak governance and instability, and Africa has many such areas that could be seen as "lucrative markets,” Opperman said.
“When the ISIS accepts the pledge it will be a clear message to other groups such as Ansaru, AQIM and al-Shabaab to join,” Opperman said. “That will allow an expansion into north and central Africa similar to what was seen since June 2014 in Iraq.”

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A poster advertising for the search of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is pasted on a wall in Baga on May 13, 2013 (REUTERS)

The pledge also will elevate the profile of Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, attention that “Shekau so desperately seeks,” Khan said, comparing him to “witch doctor – part voodoo/part radical Islam,” but noting he has had an image “makeover” in recent weeks.
“By Boko Haram pledging to the Islamic State, Shekau has secured a safe haven for Boko Haram's leadership. Even if the current Nigerian offensives are to succeed, a temporary escape could be made to another IS stronghold from where Boko Haram's life cycle can be maintained irrespective of distance,” Khan said.
Boko Haram’s pledge could be an attempt at seeking quick fixes to two areas they are currently struggling with, namely, recruitment and access to arms, Opperman said.
“Boko Haram is now part and parcel of the ISIS-aligned international jihadist threat,” Opperman said. “Any deterring operation will have to take into account Boko Haram, and that means greater international involvement in an area already overwhelmed by foreign presence and interests.”
While the pledge doesn’t hand the reigns of evil completely to ISIS, “ISIS will provide a strategy and directly guide on who to target, where to target and how to target,” Khan said.
The official pledge follows news FoxNews.com first reported March 2 that Boko Haram appeared to have aligned its media production, social media and execution style videos with ISIS, even placing the signature ISIS black flag in its videos on its military-style tanks.

Firestorm erupts over GOP letter challenging Obama's power to approve Iran nuclear deal

A political firestorm erupted late Monday after an open letter from Republican senators to Iran's leaders challenged President Obama's ability to strike a permanent nuclear deal with Tehran.

Vice President Joe Biden strongly denounced the letter in a statement saying the missive "offends me as a matter of principle" and was "beneath the dignity of an institution I revere."
"In thirty-six years in the United States Senate, I cannot recall another instance in which senators wrote directly to advise another country — much less a longtime foreign adversary — that the president does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them," Biden said in his statement.
The letter signed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and 46 of his colleagues warned Tehran that any nuclear deal needs congressional approval in order to last beyond President Obama's term and pointed out that without that step, all Iran would be left with is a "mere executive agreement" between President Obama and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The letter added, "We hope this letter enriches your knowledge of our constitutional system and promotes mutual understanding and clarity as nuclear negotiations progress."
In a response posted on the website of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif dismissed the GOP letter as "mostly a propaganda ploy."
"It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history," Iran's top diplomat added.
President Obama himself compared the Senate Republicans to reactionary members of Iran's government, saying "I think it's somewhat ironic that some members of Congress want to make common cause with the hardliners in Iran. It's an unusual coalition."
Cotton defended the letter in an interview with ABC News, saying "It's the job of the president to negotiate but it's the job of Congress to approve ... We're simply trying to say that Congress has a constitutional role to approve any deal, to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Not today, not tomorrow, not ten years from now.
"We're on the verge of a deal that could allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon in as little as ten years, so it's important that Iran realize that Congress will not allow that outcome to happen," the senator added.
The letter does not include the signature of Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Action on any new legislation challenging the administration's strategy would be likely to begin with him.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said earlier Monday that "the rush to war, or at least the rush to the military option, that many Republicans are advocating is not at all in the best interest of the United States."
With Cotton presiding over the Senate, Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Republicans were driven by animosity toward Obama and unwilling to recognize that American voters had twice elected him president. Reid said that even at the height of Democrats' disagreement about the war in Iraq with former President George W. Bush, they would not have sent a letter to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"Republicans don't know how to do anything other than juvenile political attacks against the president," Reid said as Cotton listened.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the White House's objections to the letter "a tempest in a teapot." Congress obviously will want a voice in any deal with Iran, McCain told reporters, suggesting the Democrats' protests might be "a diversion from a lousy deal."
The Obama administration believes it has authority to lift most trade, oil and financial sanctions that would be pertinent to the nuclear deal in exchange for an Iranian promise to limit its nuclear programs. For the rest, it needs Congress' approval. And lawmakers could approve new Iran sanctions to complicate matters.
"As the the authors of this letter must know, the vast majority of our international commitments take effect without Congressional approval," Biden said. The vice president cited "diplomatic recognition of the People’s Republic of China, the resolution of the Iran hostage crisis, and the conclusion of the Vietnam War" as three such commitments.
The U.S. is negotiating alongside Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia in an effort to reach agreement on the framework of a permanent agreement by the end of this month. Negotiations are due to resume next week in Switzerland. Officials say the parties have been speaking about a multi-step agreement that would freeze Iran's uranium enrichment program for at least a decade before gradually lifting restrictions. Sanctions relief would similarly be phased in.