John McDougall, a chaplain in the United States Army came under fire by the military for promoting his book Jesus Was An Airborne Ranger while in uniform in an online video. The video was promptly removed from the publisher's website on Thursday, June 11. According to Lieutenant Colonel Ben Garrett, the issue was fully resolved by Monday, June 15. The title of McDougall's book is named after a traditional Ranger Regiment song.
"As I drove up the Cascade Mountains, I started thinking about how much my Rangers resembled Jesus -- selflessly willing to give their lives for others. God took this simple thought and then inspired me to write an entire allegory about how Jesus was like an Airborne Ranger," said McDougall.
According to army regulations, chaplains can endorse the Christian faith while wearing their uniforms only when they are performing their official duties. Tatjana Christian, an Army spokesperson, told USA Today in an interview that the video "was not part of those official duties."
The video raised concerns from Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group. Mikey Weinstein, a leader of the group voiced his concern that the video could send an incorrect message to ISIS, that America is a Christian nation waging war against Muslim nations. Weinstein maintained that the gravity of the issue stemming from the video could directly result in the death of more Americans.
Jesus Was An Airborne Ranger, a book published by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group carries a disclaimer which states that the U.S. Army, U.S. government, and the Department of Defense did not take part in endorsing it. Yet, critics noted that the video carried no disclaimer. Charlene Guzman, a senior publicist at Waterbrook Multnomah said in an interview that she regrets putting up the video after being informed on the Army's regulations. She said that she was happy to take it down in order to comply to the rules designated by the Army.
Garrett told The Blaze on Monday, June 15 that the issue was resolved "when the U.S. Army brought the oversight" to the attention of McDougall and the book's publishing company. He expressed that the Army only needed to explain its regulations to have them comply to the rules.
