'Candle-lit vigil' at Fort Sam strikes some as proselytizing

A suicide-prevention session that included a prayer at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is being investigated by the Army after several complaints were lodged from people who felt that they were forced to be subjected to “government-sponsored proselytism.”

Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said 38 troops at the post, including 11 who were among about 800 who attended the Sept. 26 session, are willing to sign a federal complaint against the Army and an unnamed chaplain who led it.

“It became incredibly like a prayer service” based on accounts from witnesses, said Weinstein, who said he feels the training violated constitutional rights of soldiers and Army regulations ensuring fair treatment of personnel.

Staff Sgt. Victoria Gettman, a lab technician instructor, said she watched soldiers who'd recently completed basic training attend nearly two hours of suicide prevention and resiliency instruction before the chaplain was introduced at Evans Theater.

Gettman, an atheist who grew up Catholic, said she grew uncomfortable after battery-operated plastic lights resembling candles were passed out and the chaplain talked about “needing something divine.”

Though details of what happened in those 15 minutes are in dispute, Gettman said she heard references to a “heavenly father,” and viewed the session as a Christian prayer service. She later spoke with other instructors who agreed with her.

“When it was all over, I was just disgusted,” said Gettman, who filed complaints Friday with the Army's inspector general and the post's equal opportunity office.

Phil Reidinger, an Army spokesman at the post, said the training was mandatory and that there was a prayer, even though “Christian prayer is not a component of the Army suicide prevention and awareness program.”

“We take these allegations seriously. We respect religious freedoms of all those on our team,” he said in a statement.

“We are investigating in order to gather the facts, details and sort through what had happened, why and if any violations had occurred,” Reidinger added.

Gettman said she would not have minded if trainees could opt out of the session. But since the training was mandatory, she viewed it as government-sponsored proselytism.

“It felt like he was trying to convert people,” she said.

Weinstein, self-described as Jewish-agnostic, said the session was potentially offensive to people of nearly all backgrounds.

The 38 troops willing to file complaints include 24 Christians as well as two Jewish soldiers who attended the session. Both had volunteered to attend training that they were told would be mission-critical on the sacred Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Weinstein said.

Army Sgt. Justin Griffith, military director of American Atheists, a group based in New Jersey, said the training might have stirred feelings of alienation and despair among young troops suffering from mental anguish.

“It's hard to speak out when you're having those feelings,” he said. “How could that make someone feel if they were contemplating suicide?”

Reidinger said the “candle-lit vigil” was intended to build unity among troops in the 264th Medical Battalion.

Using a suicide prevention theme of “ask, care and escort,” Army officials hoped to encourage troops to intervene if a soldier is at risk.

“Getting someone help is a paramount consideration,” Reidinger said.

shuddleston@express-news.net