The Army has abandoned an attempt to censor and formally reprimand a chaplain who shared his religious beliefs and endorsed Defense Department policies on his personal social-media account, First Liberty reported.
Chaplain Andrew Calvert, an Army major, commented on a news article that he supports the Defense Department’s now-repealed prohibition on people with gender dysphoria serving in the military.
President Joe Biden has since reversed former President Donald Trump‘s policy that prevented so-called transgender people from remaining in the military’s ranks, the Christian Post reported.
Calvert’s support for the previous administration’s policies made him a target for the Biden regime’s political and religious persecution.
Someone sent screenshots of Calvert’s comments, made on Jan. 25, to an Army investigator at the 3rd Forces Assistance Brigade. The investigator determined that Calvert’s Christian convictions conflicted with the Defense Department’s policies.
The Army sent Calvert a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand on April 22, which could have ended his career if a formal reprimand followed.
Calvert’s and First Liberty’s successful defense against the formal reprimand means that the chaplain will continue in his Army career with a clean record and the possibility of future assignments and promotions.
“I am grateful for this favorable decision, and I look forward to continue meeting the spiritual needs of the soldiers with whom I serve,” said Calvert, who has been in the Army for 16 years and has served in several combat zones.
Calvert has received the Bronze Star and three Meritorious Service Medals.
“We’re very happy for Chaplain Calvert and we commend the Army for making the right decision,” said Mike Berry, general counsel for First Liberty Institute. “No service member should ever be punished because of their religious beliefs.”
Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty supported Calvert’s appeal of the reprimand.
“The right to ‘freedom of conscience’ is the most sacred belief held by all Americans and proponents of a free society, and that is why it is our first constitutional right,” Alliance Executive Director Derek Jones said in a statement.
