Lorenz
Accessibility Notice
This post was created on the previous version of the MRFF website, and may not be fully accessible to users of assistive technology. If you need help accessing this content, please reach out via email.While Gen Lorenz may present this situation as failed leadership, let me offer an alternative view, considering that this was related to him by the chaplain and does not include some important information.
It’s not clear in the narrative above if the soldiers asked the chaplain to lead the entire unit in a prayer or if he asked if he could lead just the several soldiers that asked for the prayer in a private moment. The distiction is extremely important. If the latter was requested and denied, then the commander is wrong. If, as I suspect, it was the former case, and the request was for ALL in the unit to join in a prayer, then I submit that the lieutenant colonel acted enitrely appropriately and exercised excellent leadership.
Let’s say, for example, that the lieutenant colonel recognized that he had non-christians in his unit that did not want to play a part in a group prayer, or if he had christians that did not practice public prayer as requested by the chaplain. Forcing soldiers to participate in a religious ceremony–however well-intentioned by a few–is simply inappropriate and divisive, and disrespectful of the diverse religious views found throughout our military forces. Dividing the unit prior to a combat operation, separating the believers from the non-believers, or the christians from the “other-believers,” is simply poor leadership
General Lorenz needs the whole story before he passes judgment on a battlefield commander, instead of expressing blind faith in the story related to hiim by a chaplain who may have his own agenda.
(name withheld)
Recent Posts
- April 26, 2026 | No comments
2 Comments
Comments are closed.
Gen Lorenz appears to be using his rank, position and affiliation(s) to put fear into our Military officers and NCO’s who lead troops; and control how they respond to religious requests, either from chaplains or the troops. It is not typical of senior leadership to jump to conclusion, without ALL of the facts; in this case, they don’t seem to be known yet.
I have read the story by Genral Lorenz and disagree with his assesment. As a religious person who prays three times a day, I realize that my practices cannot interfere with the accomplishment of the mission I am tasked with. If that means I have to hold off on some of my prayers due to mission constraints, then that’s what I have to do…MISSION COMES FIRST WHEN YOU PUT THE UNIFORM ON. If the troops wanted to pray with a chaplain before going out on a mission, they should have done it prior to stepping for the mission brief. As someone with experience in time critical SOF/CSAR operations, I can tell you the difference between mission success or failure can be seconds. Even though some may not like it, a brief minute with a chaplain or anyone else for that matter before loading onto a helicopter can interfere with a time critical mission. IMHO the mission commander made a real time judgement call that may have offended some people, but ensured on time mission accomplishment.