Getting Fired

In my not so illustrious career, I was fired 4 times. In the military, you can't be fired like in the civilian world but your career can be ended, many things can happen: being relieved from duty is no fun but I will have to admit that I took a somewhat pride in my four firings and still survived. Here is one of them. 

The Chaplaincy had been sued in the courts as unconstitutional. The chief of chaplains had hired the rabbi, who was also a lawyer, to represent the chaplaincy and their interest. I didn't even know him. We were having a big conference at the Presideo. I was merely an attendee. At the last moment, the chaplain, who was running the conference at 6th Army, asked me to step in and give a devotion. 

"Sure." 

I made a few remarks and led with an illustration that in the "City" we had a business called "Class Act." They would cater parties, deliver flowers, anything you wanted and with "class." It would cost you big time but they themselves were a "class act." Then I said, the Chaplaincy ought always to be a "class act." And then I used the chaplaincy constitutional issue as a good example. We could not let that issue effect our ministry. We had to be a "class act." If we were Baptist, Presbyterian, Jewish, Mormon, whatever, (at that time, Muslims were not on the score card.), we had to do our job, we couldn't slow down or pretend we were something we weren't.  

Devotion over, thought I had done a good job. Pat, pat, pat

About an hour later, I get a call to come to The Deputy Commander's office.  The Deputy Commander was a great guy. I go to his office, the Rabbi is there with his general's star, etc., shining. Pete was kind of pale as I remember. The Deputy Commander began to dress me down. It was a couple minutes before I realised what was happening. When I tried to explain, he cut me off. A tirade. Finally, I got an opening and said, "I don't know what you are talking about." 

"Your remarks at the breakfast about the Constitutional issue. You degraded it." 

I said, "I just gave an illustration." 

The Deputy tried to jump in. The Rabbi would not let him. He finally ran down and to my credit I was pretty calm and tried to apologise. 

He then said, "I will destroy your career. I am going to recommend that you be given an article 15." By this time, I knew he was out of his league and none of those things could happen, anyway. I was already on everybody's "s..." list anyway. I said something like, "Rabbi, (He already had emphasised that he was a general). "Rabbi, I don't care what you do. And the way you come across to me is that you are a classic asshole and you can just kiss my ass." I departed the area.  I don't recommend this course of action. 

The Rabbi and a buddy of mine went on to write a book about the Constitutional issue.