St. Martin and the Conscription of Care

St. Martin and the Conscription of CareI arrived on active duty to find that the cult of the saints has been taken up into a kind of civil religious practice among American soldiers.1 My first assignment as a chaplain was with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).St. Michael was our patron saint.This angelic warrior is a patron for all soldiers, but for airborne soldiers especially.2 Soldiers asked me for St. Michael medallions within days of my arrival to the unit."Oh okay, you're Catholic.Got it.Let me see what we've got.Nope not Catholic.Oh, you're not even Christian.Interesting."For some, these medallions are genuine parts of their religious devotion.For most, these medallions are superstitious kitsch-"We're going to war; I'll take whatever you've got"-or civil religious paraphernalia.These medallions often have the image of St. Michael (or another saint) on one side and the unit patch or regimental crest on the other.There is nothing subtle in this framing about whether God is with the unit.St, Martin of Tours is another key figure in this civil religious pantheon This is especially true for chaplains.I want to introduce or reintroduced St. Martin.I want to share a broader story about his life and legacy, and how they shape military chaplaincy and Christian participation in war.There is more to St. Martin's story