An overblown reaction

The Indianapolis Star: After 43 years of distinguished service to the nation, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger has found himself in trouble because of his role in one 33-second video — a clip designed to promote an organization that helps to strengthen the marriages of warriors returning home from war.

So what’s the problem? Well, the group that Umbarger, Indiana’s adjutant general, endorsed is a local faith-based — in this case, Christian — organization called Centurion’s Watch.

That raised the ire of a self-appointed watchdog, an attorney named Mikey Weinstein, who started an organization that bills itself as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Weinstein shot off a letter to the National Guard Bureau claiming that Umbarger had shown favoritism by taping the video for Centurion’s Watch last fall.

Perhaps. But a more reasonable way to view Umbarger’s involvement is that he chose to donate a small portion of his time and energy to tape the endorsement in an attempt to help veterans, whose marriages often can be affected by the lingering effects of combat.

In an over-the-top protest, Weinstein has demanded that the general be relieved of his command and court-martialed.

Again, the more reasonable approach would be to remind Umbarger that he should not have worn his uniform while taping the video.