School of the Americas: PCUSA chaplain refutes criticism
By Jim DeCamp, The Layman Online, May 12, 2000
The 1994 and 1995 General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (USA) called for the closing of the U.S. Army School of the Americas. Since then, church leaders have lobbied Congress toward that end. What are Presbyterians to think?
Jim DeCampMy first encounter with the U.S. Army School of the Americas (USARSA) was a prayer meeting – hardly what news coverage would lead one to ex-pect. While training for two weeks last August as an Army Reserve chaplain at Fort Benning, Ga., I thought, Why not see this place for myself?
Ruben ColonI dropped in on the chaplain of the school, Ruben Colon, ordained with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. No sooner had I sat down than a soldier came in speaking rapidly in Spanish. Colon listened, spoke a few words, read from the Scriptures and prayed with the soldier – all in Spanish.
This was my introduction to the “School of Assassins.”
What I discovered about the mission and conduct of USARSA was as surprising as my initial encounter. With the savage treatment the school has received in most of our religious press, it’s not surprising that the truth seems stranger than fiction.
And the truth is that USARSA is a top-notch institution, exerting a positive influence throughout Latin America among military officers, noncommissioned officers and government civilians. USARSA promotes the democratic values of freedom of religion and press, respect for human rights and the subordination of the military to civilian rule. It also preserves peace in the region by training military forces to deal with drug-trafficking, teaching humanitarian de-mining, building trust between officers of neighboring armies and introducing Latin Americans to our nation’s good will.
Here are some criticisms of the school, and responses rarely read in our religious press:
Graduates of the School of the Americas have committed human rights abuses; therefore, the school should be closed.
Since its inception over 50 years ago, USARSA has graduated more than 60,000 students from 21 Latin American countries. Fewer than 1 percent of those students have ever been linked to human rights violations.
Since a disturbing number of our seminary graduates have committed adultery, should our seminaries therefore be closed? Who in our denomination holds a school accountable for the moral failures of its graduates?
The School of the Americas teaches assassination.
The conduct of some graduates may besmirch an institution’s reputation, but it is irresponsible to blame the institution. This is like saying that Harvard University is accountable for the actions of the Unabomber. Furthermore, assassination is a violation of United States law, and summary execution has never been taught by our military as acceptable behavior. U.S. military personnel at USARSA are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and any of them who violate the law could face trial by court martial.
“Former SOA [School of the Americas] instructor Major Blair claims that SOA students and instructors have used their attendance at the school as a means to launder drug money.” (Sample letter to representatives and senators, distributed by the Presbyterian Washington Office, July 1, 1998.)
This charge is as vacuous as claiming that unnamed staffers in the Presbyterian Washington Office have used church money for personal ends, and then having nothing to back up the claim. The integrity of our denomination is at stake in everything we say.
The school is dangerous because it has walled itself off from the outside world.
USARSA has actively sought to engage human rights organizations in dialogue. In June of 1997, the school hosted a visit by representatives from a number of non-governmental organizations, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Institute on Human Rights, and several religious groups. In May of 1998, the school participated in an academic workshop at West Point, New York, with the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in an attempt to open a constructive dialogue with them. The school also has an open invitation to Amnesty International to visit the school.
Students from Chile, Columbia, Peru and the United States undergo medical training at the School of the Americas.Oversight of the school is weak.
In 1996, the Army formed a Board of Visitors, consisting of distinguished diplomats, retired general officers, civilian academicians, and an international human rights attorney. Since 1997, the school has been inspected, audited and reviewed 11 times by Army, Defense, civilian and congressional agencies. Each time, the school has been found to be in compliance with U.S. Defense and Army training policies and regulations.
Human rights training remains limited and ingrown.
Training in International Humanitarian Law and human rights is more comprehensive at USARSA than at any other U.S. military school. This training is given to all students in all of its 54 courses, whether two weeks in duration, or the 49-week premier course, the Command and General Staff Course. In these 49 weeks, an estimated 229 hours are devoted to human rights and related training.
Foreign students could be trained just as well at other Army schools.
Even if seats could be added to other Army schools, only students fluent in English would be able to take part. The opportunity to reach a cross-section of Latin American officers would be lost.
Jim DeCamp is pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Oostburg, Wis., and is a U. S. Army Reserve Chaplain with the rank of lieutenant colonel. DeCamp’s full report is posted at http://www.oostburgfpc.org/usarsa.htm