http://www.news4jax.com/sh/news/stor...09-070412.html
Report: Army Chaplain Refuses Water Unless Troops Baptized
Posted: 8:33 a.m. EDT April 9, 2003
WASHINGTON -- The president of the Interfaith Alliance says he's "appalled" at reports that a military chaplain in Iraq wouldn't give troops water unless they agreed to be baptized.
SURVEY
The Miami Herald quoted Army Chaplain Josh Llano as saying, "It's simple. They want water. I have it, as long as they agree to get baptized."
Many troops have gone weeks without bathing in the desert heat, but the newspaper reports that Llano wouldn't let them into his 500-gallon pool of water unless they sat through his sermon.
The 32-year-old Llano is quoted as saying that the soldiers he baptizes "appear physically and spiritually cleansed."
Interfaith Alliance President C. Welton Gaddy said religious rites shouldn't become "bargaining tools for helping people in need."
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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