Unfriendly fire

He survived hostilities in Iran, Colombia, and Somalia, but can Gen. Boykin get out of the culture war alive?

By Edward E. Plowman
Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin is one of America's super heroes. Fresh out of college, he started out as a U.S. Army officer in 1971, was a Delta Force operations officer in the 1980 attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran, became commander of Delta Force (1992-1995) and led the Delta team that went after narcotics czar Pablo Escobar in Colombia in 1992, commanded the ill-fated 1993 raid in Mogadishu, Somalia, to quell violence there, and went on to become commanding general of the Army's Special Forces units at Ft. Bragg, N.C. His body bears scars from gunshot and mortar wounds suffered along the way; a mortar blast in Somalia almost blew off an arm. But he kept coming back. A committed warrior in the defense of his country, he is one of the most decorated soldiers on active duty.

He also is a committed Christian, one who prayed with his men before every mission.

Therein lies the rub. Committed Christians talk about their faith, and Gen. Boykin has been doing that as an invited guest at various churches and conferences for years. But in this era of political correctness, what evangelicals in prominent positions say in public is under ever-increasing scrutiny.