February24,2010 TheHonorableBarackObama PresidentoftheUnitedStates TheWhiteHouse 1600PennsylvaniaAveNW Washington,DC20500 TheHonorableRobertM.Gates SecretaryofDefense 1000DefensePentagon Washington,DC203011000 Re:AllianceDefenseFund(ADF)LetterofFebruary17,2010 DearMr.PresidentandSecretaryGates: We,theundersignedmilitarychaplains,foundtheabovereferencedletter,writtenbylawyers whoappearunfamiliarwiththefunctionofthemilitarychaplaincy,tobefilledwithfalseconflictsand innuendos.

endos. We are the authors of a document entitled What the Military Would Look like Without DontAsk,DontTell:TheVeteransPerspective,referredtoinfootnote13oftheirletter.Theyhave citedanoutdateddraftofourdocument,andmisrepresentedourprofessionalethicsandvalues.The currentversionofthepaper,datedJanuary29,2010,providesamorecompleteresponsetotheissues theyraise,asreflectedinthefollowingexcerpts: What should be the response of the command to a Chaplain who, because of denominationaldoctrineorfaithtradition,refusestoprovidepastoralministriestoLGB servicemembers? Chaplains have dual accountability. They are accountable to the religious bodies that endorsethemandtotheirmilitaryservicebranch. Chaplains are expected to faithfully adhere to the beliefs and practices of the faith groups they represent.Chaplainscannot perform ministries or other duties which violate their faith groups teachings or their personal conscience. Faith groups recognizedbytheDepartmentofDefenseasendorsingorganizationsholdthisrightto beinviolable. Chaplainsarealsosubjecttotheirchainofcommandandmilitaryregulations.Asstaff officers responsible for carrying out their Commanders religious programs, chaplains are expected to perform or provide pastoral services for everyone in the command without discrimination. If a chaplains theological or ecclesiastical views preclude performing pastoral ministries to which a service member is entitled, the chaplain remainsduty bound to provide assistance to the service member through appropriate referraltoanotherchaplainwhocanandwillperformtherequestedservices.Torefuse todosowouldbeabreachofdutyrequiringappropriatecommandaction. 1
1

WhattheMilitaryWouldLooklikeWithoutDontAsk,DontTell:TheVeteransPerspective, January29,2010.Seehttp://votevets.org/pages/?id=0035(lastvisitedFeb.24,2010). 1

 Ourresponsereflectscurrentmilitaryregulations,whichrecognizethereligiouslydiverse makeupofthetroopsweserve. 2 Contrarytotheircontention,religiouslibertywillnotbeimpactedbyachangeinthislaw.We agreethat themilitarychaplainciesexisttoprovideforthefreeexerciseofreligioninthecontextof militaryserviceasguaranteedbytheConstitution. 3 Webelievefreeexerciseofreligionistherightof all service members, not just a Christian orthodox majority whose religious beliefs do not affirm homosexualbehavior.Americasmilitaryincludesabroadspectrumoffaithgroups,includingmainline Christiandenominations,whichhaveverydifferentviewsontheissueofsexualorientation. ADF lawyers attempt to conflate status with behavior is readily apparent in their letter. They mentionhomosexualbehaviortwentytimesinthefourpageletter.TherepealofDontAsk,Dont Tell is not about behavior; it is about truth and integrity. The same fraternization and conduct regulations,aswellastheUniformCodeofMilitaryJustice,willcontinuetoapplytoallservicemembers regardlessofgenderorsexualorientation. To suggest that open service by the tens of thousands of gays and lesbians who are presently serving in todays military would somehow have a negative impact on a chaplains religious beliefs regarding authority, marriage and sexual fidelity is outrageous. In fact, gay and lesbian patriots are alreadyservingaroundtheworldandthereisnoevidencethattheirconductisanythingbuthonorable. In a most subtle fashion, ADF attorneys raise the hot button issue of marriage. As they surely know,civilandreligiousmarriagesareseparateinstitutions.SincetheDefenseofMarriageActisnow thelawoftheland,samegendermarriagewillnotbeanissueinthemilitary. Mostimportantly,theyfailtorecognizeDontAsk,DontTelliscontrarytothecorevaluesof alltheservices.Infact,thislawisthefirsttimeinhistoryourmilitaryhasbeencompelledtoenforcea military policy that is completely at odds with the morality expressed in historic core values and embracedbyallchaplains.ThemagnitudeofsuchavaluesconflictwasmadeclearintheCongressional testimonyoftheChairmanoftheJointChiefsofStaff,AdmiralMikeMullen,onFebruary2,2010,when hesaid"Mr.Chairman,speakingformyselfandmyselfonly,itismypersonalbeliefthatallowinggays andlesbianstoserveopenlywouldbetherightthingtodo.NomatterhowIlookattheissue,Icannot escapebeingtroubledbythefactthatwehaveinplaceapolicywhichforcesyoungmenandwomento lieaboutwhotheyareinordertodefend theirfellowcitizens. Forme,personally,itcomesdown to integritytheirsasindividualsandoursasaninstitution.Ialsobelievethatthegreatyoungmenand womenofourmilitarycanandwouldaccommodatesuchachange.Ineverunderestimatetheirability toadapt." 4
2

It is DoD policy that the Chaplaincies of the Military Departments:4.2 Shall serve a religiously diverse population.Religious Organizations that choose to participate in the Chaplaincies recognize thisand express willingness for their Religious Ministry Professionals (RMPs) to perform their professional duties as chaplains in cooperation with RMPs from other religious traditions. Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) No. 1304.19.4, dated June 11, 2004. See also Department of Defense Instruction No. 1304.28.E2.1.5, dated June 11, 2004, which defines Ecclesiastical Endorsement as confirmation a military chaplain is professionally qualified to perform the duties of a Religious Ministry Professional for that denomination and is capable and authorized to minister as required within a pluralistic environment. 3 DoDD No. 1304.19.4.1, dated June 11, 2004. 4 Testimony of Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, February 2, 2010. Available at http://www.jcs.mil/speech.aspx?ID=1322 (last accessed February 24, 2010).

 Weagreethatourmilitaryisoverstressedwithmultipledeploymentsandminimaldwelltimes. Wearepainfullyawareoftheincreasedsuicideratesandthepressuresonpersonalrelationshipsending indivorceandspousalabuse.Itisintimesliketheseweneedallthosewhoanswerthehighestcallingto servetheircountryinuniformregardlessofgender,race,creedorsexualorientation. Wehaveministeredtoservicemembersfordecades,intimesofwarandinpeace.Wehavethe highestrespectandaffectionforthosewhoarecalledtoservice.Theyandtheirfamiliesareamongthe bestandthebrightestinourcountry.Weacknowledgethesacrificestheymakewhichallowustolivein freedomandsecurity.Itisaninsulttoimplytheylacktheprofessionalismanddedicationtosuccessfully implementthischangeinfederallaw.WiththeoutstandingleadershipoftheChiefsofChaplains,we areconfidentthatmilitarychaplainswillmakethistransition,andwillcontinuetoprovidespiritualcare andguidancetoallofAmericastroops. Wewillcontinuetoprayforyou,youradministration,ourservicemembersandtheirfamilies. Sincerely, CharlesD.Camp Chaplain(Colonel),UnitedStatesArmy(Ret.) JohnF.Gundlach CAPT,CHC,UnitedStatesNavy(Ret.) JerryRhyne Chaplain(Colonel),UnitedStatesAirForce(Ret.) Replyto:milchap@roadrunner.com cc: TheHonorableJohnMcHugh SecretaryoftheArmy 101ArmyPentagon Washington,DC203100101 TheHonorableRaymondE.Mabus SecretaryoftheNavy 100NavyPentagon Washington,DC203501000 TheHonorableMichaelB.Donely SecretaryoftheAirForce 1670AirForcePentagon Washington,DC203301670

AdmiralMikeMullen ChairmanoftheJointChiefsofStaff OfficeoftheChairmanoftheJointChiefsofStaff 9999JointStaffPentagon Washington,DC203189999 TheHonorableHarryReid SenateMajorityLeader 522HartSenateOfficeBldg Washington,DC20510 TheHonorableCarlLevin ChairmanoftheSenateArmedServicesCommittee 269RussellSenateOfficeBuilding Washington,DC20510 TheHonorableMitchMcConnell SenateRepublicanLeader 361ARussellSenateOfficeBuilding Washington,DC20510 TheHonorableNancyPelosi SpeakeroftheHouseofRepresentatives OfficeoftheSpeaker H232,USCapitol Washington,DC20515 TheHonorableIkeSkelton ChairmanoftheHouseArmedServicesCommittee 2120RayburnHouseOfficeBuilding Washington,DC20515 TheHonorableJohnBoehner HouseMinorityLeader H204TheCapitol Washington,DC20515