Army Halts Training Targeting Christian ‘Extremist’ Groups

The Secretary of the Army of the United States has ordered all military leaders to halt supplemental training that has been labeling some mainstream evangelical Christian groups as “extremist”. Todd Starnes of FOX News originally posted an exclusive story on October 14 about a briefing that took place at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. In that briefing, several dozen U.S. Army active duty and reserve troops were informed that the American Family Association, a well-respected Christian ministry, should be classified as a domestic hate group because the group advocates for traditional family values. The AFA was named along side other domestic hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, the Black Panthers, and the Nation of Islam.

Starnes was contacted by a soldier who attended the briefing and was offended by the material that the soldiers were being trained in. A picture showing members of Westboro Baptist Church holding up derogatory signs concerning homosexuals was posted next to the AFA logo. The only problem is that the AFA is not affiliated with the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. A chaplain in the meeting also spoke up to question the assertion that the AFA was a domestic hate group and should be labeled as Christian extremists.

Today, Starnes reported exclusively that the Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, had ordered Army instructors to halt training on extremist groups using materials not previously approved by current Army policy. In a memorandum recovered by Starnes, McHugh wrote:

“On several occasions over the past few months, media accounts have highlighted instances of Army instructors supplementing programs of instruction and including information or material that is inaccurate, objectionable and otherwise inconsistent with current Army policy.”

Over the last few months there has been a growing concern that the military and President Obama will begin targeting Christian groups as extremists based on their views on homosexuality. Though this assumption is based primarily in rumors, this latest event proves troublesome. That is why McHugh is ordering a hold on all these training until December 13. The goal is to develop a uniform training policy on extremist groups that every instructor will begin using.

For now, Christian watchdog groups and the Army agree that more care is needed in the oversight of these trainings. It will be interesting to watch and see how the Army will define just what constitutes an extremist group in the future.

What do you think? Should the Army define Christian groups as extremist based on their views on homosexuality?