The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty sent a letter last month to the Secretary of the Army about his predecessor. Former Secretary of the Army Eric K. Fanning signed an order that targeted Christian beliefs hours before he resigned.

Army Directive 2017-06 required the Army to train against “implicit or unconscious bias.”The directive threatens Army personnel who hold Christian beliefs, said the chaplains. They wrote to acting Secretary of the Army Robert M. Speer. While Fanning did not spell out what the bias is, the chaplains claim it is a way to target Army persons who have Biblical beliefs about sexuality.

Fanning held the title of the first openly gay service secretary.  

Chaplain Ron Crews is the executive director for the Chaplain Alliance. Crews told CBN News that Fanning was very proud that he was the first homosexual to serve as a Secretary of the Army. Crews added that Fanning has been pushing his own agenda in the Army at the expense of war training.

“Everybody in the Army should believe there is a path forward for them. Readiness is getting the most out of the force,” Fanning told The Washington Times on Wednesday. “I don’t think opportunity and equality are political agendas. I think they’re important American values.”

The order does not increase military readiness, said Crews. It wastes valuable training time to push a political agenda.

The chaplains urged Speer to consider the threats the military faced daily. They added that “such training mandates … cannot … help our soldiers be better prepared for combat readiness.” Crews told CBN News he hopes Speer will repeal the order.

The Chaplain Alliance provides over 2,700 chaplains to the U.S. military and other agencies. Their website states that the group exists to make sure that chaplains can defend the freedom of religion and conscience that the Constitution guarantees.