The Wiccan Warriors
Article by E. Strauss

While attending the Pagan Pride Festival ’08 at Battery Park, in Manhattan, I saw a man wearing camouflaged pants and an ALICE pack harness. The camouflage was the new design, made of tiny blocks of pigments over beige rather than large splotchy colors on a green background. The way he looked and how he carried himself was that of an American Soldier. I went to talk with the man and explained how I would like to feature him in an article about being a Pagan soldier, he agreed to the interview under one condition. He didn’t want his name used, for fear of reprisal if it ever got back to his command that he was talking to the press out of turn. We sat down on one of the benches and agreed on a pseudonym to protect his identity, Private first class, Butler.

Pfc. Butler was born in Brooklyn. He joined the Army National Guard when he was 19. The reasons for joining were altruistic, to better himself and give back to his community and get out of a neighborhood plagued with drugs and gang violence. He wanted to go to college and make something of himself and be an example to those he grew up with. Pfc. Butler is also Wiccan. When he joined he expected both acceptance of his way of life and absolute intolerance of it. One thing he didn’t expect was how soon the intolerance started.

While signing up at the recruitment station the question of religion came up. Butler explained he was a Wiccan, the recruiter said that choice wasn’t available, so Butler said Pagan, again it was unavailable. Butler tried to explain the validity of his religion but to no avail, he was left with having his religion listed as “other” on his dog tags.

When we went to basic training the other recruits learned he was a Wiccan, some respected his lifestyle and others were more or less confused by it.

“No one messed with me,” Butler laughed, “They thought if they did I would cast a spell on them.”

Butler never was offended by any ignorance shown, he knew his duty was to show the Army what Wiccans really were, just as he was showing his family and friends in Brooklyn what being a soldier was all about. He took all that they gave and understood the rules of conduct. If he got in a confrontation with another soldier, he would have been dishonorably discharged, which would ruin his chances of making it in the world. So, instead of holding a grudge on another soldier, he would sit and meditate and center himself. This lead to the other recruits believing he was either a pacifist or a homosexual.

However, he dealt with these rumors as a professional soldier and as a man, he proved himself to be a worthy companion, a team player, a soldier who would watch out for the rest of his squad and someone who didn’t hold any secrets. This attitude brought respect and understanding amongst his platoon, his fellow soldiers started to understand more about Butler, the way he lived, how he thought and how he prayed.

This unfortunately was not the end of his troubles. His dog tags still had his religion listed as “other.” His sergeant told him he would put in paperwork to change it to Wiccan, but instead, His sergeant had it listed as “no preference,” meaning atheist.

He graduated from Basic Training and went to Advanced Individual Training to specialize in chemical warfare decontamination. While at AIT, he tried to find someone, anyone who could help him get the right information on his dog tags. He went through his chain of command. He passed the Lieutenant who said he couldn’t help him, passed the Captain who said it wasn’t his problem, passed the Major who said “talk to the Lieutenant,” all the way up to the Division Colonel. The Colonel happened to be a practicing shaman and forced the issue. The Colonel got the correct dog tags in a few days after almost year of Butler requesting new ones.

“It sometimes feels like I am a black man living in the 1950s,” Butler commented. “People are just ignorant of us.”

Pfc. Butler got his orders already. He is shipping out in mid March. Due to military regulations he cannot say exactly where he is going, all he can tell me that it’s a “hot zone” in Iraq. Butler also didn’t want to say what his plans were after his tour of duty. All he knows is that he’s thinking about college and wondering what his 21st birthday in Iraq will be like. I asked him what being a Wiccan in Iraq would be like.

We mused on the topic before Butler commented, “In Iraq, the guys shooting at us don’t see us as Pagans, or Christians, or Jews or anything like that. We’re just American Infidels. We’re all equal in a firefight.”

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