"Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream." Amos 5:24

Winter 201-2011 Update:

The Navy chaplains’ litigation is ongoing. I have seen several comments that the litigation ended and we lost; that is not true. We lost our effort in 2008 to get an injunction forcing the Navy to end its practice allowing Catholic chaplains to remain on active duty past the statutory separation age until they qualify for retirement. We had to dismiss the original class certification in Adair in 2006 because all the chaplain plaintiffs on active duty retired or were separated in 2006, destroying the class. However, Gibson (the third suit in the current combined litigation) has a request for a class action but no request for certification has been filed pending resolution of our unresolved summary judgment motions. In the current combined case, we have had a motion pending for over 2 years and competing summary judgment motions pending for over 14 months. I have continued to provide the Court new evidence relevant to those motions, as reported below.

With the help of several litigants and a chain of events that resembles a miracle, I was given information showing the Navy’s previous assertion it had abandoned its faith group chaplain accession goals was false. While the Navy was arguing it had abandoned those goals and the case was moot in both the District Court in our case and the Appellate Court in Larsen v. U.S. Navy, a related case challenging the Navy chaplain accession system and its arbitrary goals, the Navy had, in fact, reverted to its practice of providing recruiters with specific faith group goals. It issued goals for FY 08 and 09 for Roman Catholics and Special Worship denominations whose totals were one third of the total goal. This strongly suggests some variation of the arbitrary Thirds Policy is still driving the Navy’s chaplain accessions program. Some circumstances suggest this was done to deceive us and the Court by hiding the fact the Navy had gone back to denominational goals.
    A. This new evidence relates to some of the pending motions, as the Navy has continued to fraudulently argue it abandoned faith based accession goals and/or the Thirds Policy (which it has never admitted existed) in opposing our pending summary judgment motion concerning the Thirds Policy. I have supplied it to the Court as supplemental evidence.
    B. This discovery has allowed the non-liturgical clergy plaintiffs in the related case of Larsen v. U.S. Navy to reopen their case. The District Court in Larsen ruled the case was moot (the Court could not provide a remedy) because the Navy had abandoned its denominational goals/quotas and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Court of Appeals remanded the mootness issue to the District Court.

If you know any Navy recruiters or have contacts with people who might know Navy recruiters who are currently serving as such or have recently retired, ask them what they know about Navy chaplain recruiting goals and chaplain processing procedures.
    A. My understanding is recruiters have been instructed to treat clergy seeking information on how to become chaplains differently than other interested Navy applicants and to enter the name of the clergy person seeking information into the database of possible accessions/recruits only after the recruiter has checked with CAPT Meehan, the Navy Chaplain Corps head recruiter. In other words, recruiters are not to record or begin to process an applicant until after calling CAPT Meehan. Allegedly the first question she asks is, "What is the applicant’s denomination?" It seems, the Thirds Policy is alive and controlled at the Chief of Chaplain’s office. I suspect CAPT Meehan has or gets denominational guidelines from Ronnie Berto, but I need to get evidence.
    B. I talked with one recruiter who confirmed this, but I would like additional confirmation.

Our statistician, Dr. Harald Leuba, PhD, continues to develop statistics showing that denomination colors everything that happens in the Chaplain Corps. One of the allegations in our Complaints is the Chief of Chaplains or his Deputy should not serve on selection boards because, as Rear Admirals and head of the CHC, they are in a position to improperly influence the board results. We have anecdotal evidence and Naval IG Investigations showing this occurs. Dr. Leuba now can show through statistics this is a reality. At the rank of Commander, the promotion rate of the Chief’s denomination increases at a statistically significant rate during the Chief’s tenure. This complements Dr. Leuba’s study showing that denominations which appear most often on promotion boards have statistically significant higher promotion rates at the grade of Commander. I have no way of knowing when the Court will decide to address the issues in our case, but I am seeking ways to keep the issues before the Court.

I was recently provided a chart prepared by the Center for Naval Analysis ("CNA") for the Chaplain Corps’ 2000 Leadership Conference presenting CNA’s conclusions about the fairness of the Navy promotion system. The chart shows the Catholic promotion rate at Commander was above the average promotion rate at a statistically significant rate. The proper comparison is between Catholic promotion rates and those of other faith groups, but even the CNA’s improper comparison shows (a) the Navy was on notice its chaplain promotion system preferred Catholics and was not religiously neutral, (b) the allegations of religious preferences which had prompted the CNA review of chaplain promotions had validity, and (c) the differences in selection rates were not due to chance. The Navy did not provide this chart in discovery, and the fact I received it is another example of God’s grace and intervention because I had no prior knowledge of its existence.

I am working on a means to get the Court to address the underlying issues on which the precedent says we should win. While I am frustrated by the time it has taken to resolve the simple issues in our case because the precedents are on our side, I am always reminded of Who is ultimately in charge and Scripture’s admonition to give thanks in all things. I recommend seeing the movie "Amazing Grace", the story of Wilberforce’s battle to abolish the slave trade, and "Luther", his fight for freedom of conscience, if you have not seen them, as they are reminders that major challenges to evil take time but righteousness eventually prevails; and we will prevail.

Finally, let us pray that the Lord would move on the heart of Judge Urbina, and bless him with wisdom in this case and his other cases. I ask for your continued prayers for wisdom, discernment and favor with the Court.

Peace and Grace,

Art Schulcz