Just war in combat boots
Despite much progress over the last sixty years, the US Army has struggled to find and train its' personnel in a sufficient moral framework. In war time this struggle has been seen with the senseless abuse of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib. This is a grave concern for many including Christians. As a Christian and US Army Chaplain over the last fifteen years, I address this problem. Beginning with an exposition of controversial passages in the New Testament and the early church, an intellectual space will be created where the Christian faith and military service can function together. Just War Christian Discipleship, a certain way of appropriating the Augustinian view of Just War Tradition, presents and develops a Christian solution for proper response of the church faced with a nation considering, conducting, and ending a war. But this framework can also be used to help Christian US Army soldiers function in a one year deployment and combat mission. By combining the Just War (CD) framework with the seven virtues espoused by Thomas Aquinas and placing theses virtues as possible guides to practice the criteria of Just War (CD) within a year deployment and combat mission, the framework of Just War (CD) can be expanded to facilitate a better Christian witness.