Faith and the Soldier: Religious Support on the Airland Battlefield.
Abstract
This study reviews the significance of faith and religious support on any future AirLand Battlefield. It addresses Forward Thrust, the Army's doctrine of religious support forward to the soldier in combat, and the Unit Ministry Team, the vehicle which carries out that support. Faith and the need for meaning in life gain added prominence in the face of battle. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur spoke eloquently at West Point in 1962 of the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. He spoke of the faith that sustains soldiers in combat: The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training -- sacrifice. In battle and in the face of danger and death, he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when he created man in his own image. No physical courage and no brute instinct can take the place of the Divine help which alone can sustain him.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 31, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA194545
Entities
People
- Wayne E. Kuehne
Organizations
- United States Army War College