Quote:
Originally Posted by dragoon500ly
In the U.S. military, chaplains are supposed to be unarmed, so I'm a bit puzzled about these stories of chaplains carrying such a variety of weapons. I've reviewed over 120 TO&Es and only two mention chaplain being armed, and equally interesting, both of these were removed within 12 months of being released. IMHO this indicates that when a chaplain is armed, they are violating military regulations, as well as the Geneva Conventions. Having said this, there are no regulations forbidding a chaplain from earning a shooting badge, they simply cannot carry a weapon in a combat zone.
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Most Chaplains I've been around downrange were unarmed, as they are supposed to be. I can think of one, who was an Weapons Squad Leader in Gulf War I, who insisted on having an M4 when we were convoying out during the initial Iraq invasion in 2003. He was one of those crusading Baptist types who thought all of the Muslims were animals. PFC Higgins wasn't going to challenge a Chaplain, that's for sure. Of course, I have a pretty contentious relationship with the concept and influence of chaplains in the military. Largely because of guys like this.