{"id":3557,"date":"2026-06-11T22:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T22:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/?p=3557"},"modified":"2026-06-11T22:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T22:04:11","slug":"pagan-on-duty-dog-tags-dei-and-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/11\/pagan-on-duty-dog-tags-dei-and-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Pagan on Duty: Dog Tags, DEI, and Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The author, military journalist, Germany, 1993.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When I joined the Army in 1992, my first introduction to military life was my drill instructor\u2019s \u201cwe all wear green\u201d speech. He was a Black man, a Vietnam veteran\u2014sergeant first class\u2014and the recruits looked up to him immediately. His desire for respectful interaction was surprising to us recruits who were expecting something a bit more comparative. Right from the get-go he was teaching us how to treat one another. Anti\u2011racism was clear from day one, the opposite of the stereotype Full Metal Jacket <\/em>portrays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inclusivity wasn\u2019t limited to my DI. At the time my training unit was one of the last all\u2011female battalions; an all\u2011male battalion trained in the adjacent quad. Don\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell was already rumbling and would become official policy months later, but the atmosphere felt, imperfect as it was, like a move toward a more equitable military. My lead DI was quietly authoritative, steadfast, and committed to intersectional inclusion. Near the end of training he told us that without women the military would be \u201cmuch less than it is.\u201d Current administrative rules about what can go on dog tags make the military less than it should be as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stood up for me later in training when another DI teased me about my name. I learned he was pagan when we got our dog tags and discovered there wasn\u2019t an officially recognized faith code for his beliefs. Dog tags indicate a service member\u2019s faith so that traditions\u2014like last rites\u2014are honored. He listed \u201cCatholic\u201d on his tags because the imagery felt closest to his beliefs. I chose \u201cOther.\u201d One squadmate who was Wiccan chose \u201cNo Religious Preference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sundays, those listed as \u201cOther\u201d or \u201cNo Preference\u201d often stayed in the barracks for chores\u2014boot polishing, uniform pressing, barracks cleanup\u2014while others attended religious services. Sometimes I went along just to get out of the barracks. It felt unfair that, because Fort Jackson lacked services for \u201cOthers,\u201d we were assigned work while Christians received time off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At my first duty station, friends in Personnel Services made me a contraband pair of dog tags. I remember feeling emotional when my buddy gave them to me: in all caps under my name, social, and blood type read \u201cPAGAN.\u201d I wore them proudly. Leadership knew, and\u2014like Don\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell\u2014didn\u2019t make an issue of it. During my service, internal rank\u2011and\u2011file pressure, command surveys, and soldiers\u2019 time were used to push against outdated policies restricting faith codes and non\u2011traditional partnership recognition. Minority religions were present across the force in my experience: another pagan practitioner was involved in family readiness programs, heathens performed bl\u00f3ts, and Wiccans held initiation circles.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The author, assigned with UNPROFOR, the Balkans, June 1995<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In 2001, Veterans Affairs adopted a new procedure and approved the addition of emblems of belief for other faith groups for military headstones, much by the hard work of Circle Sanctuary, a non-profit nature Spirituality Church, also known as their \u00a0Pentacle Quest.<\/a> I would end my active enlistment time right about when it became official for Pagan and Earth-centered traditions to be an official religious preference on dog tags and service records (circa 2007). Between more women serving side by side with men, the inclusion of openly serving queer community members, and more faiths being recognized, it seemed like the Department of Defense was maturing and becoming a place of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Oh, right, DEI was part of our annual training, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two decades after that adoption, servicemembers may again be forced to choose \u201cOther\u201d or \u201cNo Preference\u201d <\/a>because the inclusive coding system that guides chaplains and caregivers has been narrowed. That matters: chaplains are often the frontline support for faith practices, including in combat. The current U.S. Secretary of\u00a0Defense used this policy change to roll back equity and equality, reflecting a broader push toward privileging one religion over others.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil\u2011rights and advocacy groups are challenging the policy. American Atheists<\/a> filed a FOIA request, and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation<\/a> is speaking out. Lawmakers, including the co\u2011chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus<\/a> and a coalition of Utah legislators<\/a>, have applied pressure and demanded answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have a voice: contact your senators <\/a>to urge them to require the Pentagon to recognize all belief systems (Paganism, Humanism, Atheism, etc.)\u2014for example, by inserting a provision in the next National Defense Authorization Act or attaching a funding rider to defense appropriations to prevent enforcement of the restrictive system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My rebellious dog tags spent decades as just dog tags\u2014no rebellion needed\u2014until now. Stored in my footlocker at Villa Westwyk, they remain a symbol of resistance and proof that change is possible and worth protecting.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The author, military journalist, Zaku, Iraq, Spring 1994<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I joined the Army in 1992, my first introduction to military life was my drill instructor\u2019s \u201cwe all wear green\u201d speech. He was a Black man, a Vietnam veteran\u2014sergeant first class\u2014and the recruits looked up to him immediately. His desire for respectful interaction was surprising to us recruits who were expecting something a bit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,597],"tags":[630,627,635,632,631,629,625,634,628,633],"class_list":["post-3557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-post","category-crone-dispatch","tag-army","tag-dei","tag-department-of-defense","tag-dont-ask-dont-tell","tag-faith-code","tag-military","tag-paganism","tag-pentacle-quest","tag-pentagon","tag-women-in-the-military"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3557"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3567,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3557\/revisions\/3567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runatroy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}