Reader's Digest for Soldiers

U.S. residents can give a free Reader's Digest magazine gift subscription to soldiers serving overseas by sending a check for $10 to: Armed Services Gift Subscription, Reader's Digest, PO Box 8288, Red Oak, Iowa 51591-1288.

Tracing Your Family's Military Roots

Want to check out your family's military records? Ancestry.com has released more than 90 million U.S. war records (from 1607 to 1965!) -- and the record-search is free through 6 June:
http://www.abc4.com/content/specials/as_seen_on/story.aspx?content_id=682e9901-b181-4c87-ac87-67e8bdd59055 .

Faith and War

How do soldiers keep their faith in God’s goodness amidst the suffering and slaughter of battle? Chuck Colson addresses this issue in a timely post at:
http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=6514

Child Soldier Prevention Act

Speak out against the use of child soldiers around the world by asking your member of congress to support the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 (S.1175), which would curtail U.S. military assistance to governments that don't stop using children as soldiers

As World Vision's president, Richard Stearns, states, "American tax dollars should not be used to support the exploitation of children as soldiers, and American weapons should not end up in the hands of children."

Click the following link to be taken to the World Vision website, which provides an easy way for you to contact your members of Congress.

Memorial Day: Lest We Forget

Monday is Memorial Day in the U.S. Here are thoughts on the day by Paul Anderson:

"Memorial Day will pass by many again with little or no personal expression to honor why it exists. Such is a willful forgetfulness no matter how you cut it...This Memorial Day don’t forget the sacrifice of your “friends,” the fallen American warrior. Do something to truly acknowledge genuine gratitude for freedom and for their sacrifice. The honor and gratitude you bestow in one fashion or another reflects your attitude; a grateful and humble heart."

Exerpt from a Paul Anderson devotional, available at: http://www.payh.org/site/PageServer?pagename=res_email

2007 Book Awards

Christianity Today has listed its 2007 Book Award winners, including one ("Upon the Altar of the Nation", by Harry S. Stout) which might be of particular interest to military and societal ethicists.

Link: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/june/8.36.html

Quotes to Note

"If you don't want to stand behind your soldiers,
feel free to stand in front of them." -- unknown

Moldovan Military Ministry

At the request of the Moldovan Ministry of Defense, a Christian concert was recently held at the Officers’ Club in downtown Chisinau. The event was organized by the Moldovan Military Christian Fellowship, and approximately 600 soldiers, policemen, and officers attended.

After the concert, members of the fellowship distributed 500 copies of the New Testament (in Romanian language), copies of the book, "Christian Military and His Family", and invitations to attend a Christian youth camp.

Christian Military Wives

Here's a new website for Christian military wives: http://www.christianmilitarywives.com/index.html

Military Ethics:
General Petraeus Addresses U.S. Troops

U.S. General David Petraeus has written an excellent letter to U.S. soldiers addressing the need to act ethically -- excerpts follow; the whole letter can be found at the link at the end of this message:

"Our values and the laws governing warfare teach us to respect human dignity, maintain our integrity, and do what is right. Adherence to our values distinguishes us from our enemy....

"...We are, indeed, warriors. We train to kill our enemies. We are engaged in combat, we must pursue the enemy relentlessly, and we must be violent at times. What sets us apart from our enemies in this fight, however, is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect. ..."

Link: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/values-message.htm

Child Soldier Victory

Praise God, the African nation of Chad has begun demobilizing child soldiers from its national army! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6640351.stm

For more info on this worldwide crime against children, http://www.child-soldiers.org/.

For an excellent book written by a former child soldier from Sierra Leone, see "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" at http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/0374105235/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0324111-9965413?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179434682&sr=8-1 .

Battlefield Ethics Suffer From Stress

"In a survey of US combat troops in Iraq, fewer than half of Marines and a little more than half of Army soldiers said they would report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian," reports the Taipei Times at http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2007/05/06/2003359726