Rules Of Engagement

Nojerksalute_1

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Picking A Marriage Partner But Were Afraid To Ask Of Your Commanding Officer — otherwise known as a U.S. Army chaplain program called "How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk."

"’Being in the military certainly raises the stakes when you choose a mate,’ said Lt. Col. Peter Frederich, head of family issues in the Pentagon’s chaplain office.

"The ‘no jerks’ program is also called ‘P.I.C.K. a Partner,’ for Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge.

"It advises the marriage-bound to study a partner’s F.A.C.E.S. — family background, attitudes, compatibility, experiences in previous relationships and skills they’d bring to the union.

"It teaches the lovestruck to pace themselves with a R.A.M. chart — the Relationship Attachment Model — which basically says don’t let your sexual involvement exceed your level of commitment or level of knowledge about the other person.

"Maj. John Kegley, a chaplain who teaches the program in Monterey, Calif., throws in the ‘no jerk salute’ for fun. One hand at the heart, two-fingers at the brow mean use your heart and brain when choosing."

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"Don’t let your sexual involvement exceed your level of commitment or level of knowledge about the other person."

Translation from Military-Speak: "Save sex for marriage."

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

5 thoughts on “Rules Of Engagement”

  2. But don’t you just love the military’s penchant for acronyms for _evrything_? 🙂
    –athur

  3. Especially when they’re *cute.* Cute to the point of making you ill….
    <== Navy, obviously, but hasn't escaped the "clever" ones.

  4. It’s worth noting that the military treats everything like a combat situation: analyze the terrain, come up with a plan, asess the plan, then get married.
    One might conceivably forsee the coming trends in military marriages by looking at how well troops are doing in combat.

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