Sam Dreben PDF Download

During my 28-years of service as a military chaplain in the United States Armed Forces, I wore the uniforms of the US Navy, US Marine Corps, and US Air Force. I had tours of duty in the United States and overseas. The senior chaplains with whom I worked and to whom I was responsible for each day's work, were of senior rank, and men (I briefly served under a woman while deployed in the Middle East) who were all Christian, mostly of the Protestant faith. I describe my time with them, and the atmosphere they created both for the chapel and chapel staff community as for the entire base. Uniformly, I found them intolerant of other religions, refusing to accede to my place at the table of authority and decision. One individual was an anti-Semite, a man who took every opportunity to undermine my place at the base we were at (Naval Station Subic Bay, Philippines). The hours following the weekly staff meeting were when he expressed his outrage at the existence of the State of Israel while promoting the rights of the Palestinians. He belittled every aspect of my work at this base. His vilifying statements, expressed in shouting outbursts at the highest pitch of screech and rage, were done without any interest in any form of civility or decency. Once unleashed, he poured forth his fecal filth, resulting, in his expressing his determination: For me not being able to stay in the Navy and to never be promoted to a higher rank. But this anti-Semite's intentions and actions were thwarted by an extraordinary event that countered the immediacy of negativity. The long-term effects of that man's actions resulted in a festering poison that was never eradicated throughout the time I was in the military. I also describe other seniors, with their foibles and careerism, their overall limitations, and crass behaviors. In two instances, I joined a group of African-Americans at two Air Force bases who were intent on gathering sufficient racist information for a legal challenge with the ACLU. I was honored to sit with them, considering ways to oust the racists who sat in the leadership position. I retired as a Major and did so honorably. I regret working with these miserable miscreants who expressed virtue and grace but whose hearts were filled with limitation, dishonor, and evil. In the final analysis, I regret having served alongside these people. They did not deserve my presence and they certainly did not earn my esteem or respect. I am often thanked for my years of military service, immediately seeing a nod of respect at the sacrifices made during these nearly three decades of time. These two volumes, detailing names, places, and settings describe the details and how I coped with persons who represented an unwelcome face, one of barest tolerance at the necessity of my presence and, by extension, the presence of the small Jewish community at that military base. I encountered harsh Christian fundamentalism, promoted by these Christian chaplains, and extended by them to their counterparts in the military base community. Facing such negative attitudes in each base, I realized the severe limitations of my presence. And by the time of my retirement, I was literally counting the days when I would never again meet with these people. These are unpleasant vignettes, but they are true insofar as my recollection of them. And one of the purposes of these volumes is to remove the veneer of naïveté about this world and its people. In the end, I am ambiguous about that commitment, partly proud I persevered, but also ashamed at the cost such commitment demanded. I leave it to the reader to determine if the sacrifice was worthwhile.