SAN DIEGO — A television documentary recently broadcast on the Military Channel explores the role of an Army chaplain in helping soldiers through the danger and dreariness of a 15-month deployment in one of the more dangerous parts of Iraq.
“God’s Soldier” covers three months in the life of Capt. Charles Popov, chaplain for the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, the Wolfhounds. Popov, 49, a Baptist, tries to keep the troops’ morale from sagging as the unit suffers 18 killed and 300 wounded.
One topic is ever-present: How can a chaplain justify war in the face of a biblical admonition against killing? Popov tries to distinguish between killing and murder, noting that the Bible, in several places, condones violence against the wicked.
“There is a justice that has to be served,” Popov tells his flock. “God is a god of mercy, and God is also a god of justice.”
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