Washington (CNSNews.com) - A former combat officer and military chaplain says this Memorial Day leaves him concerned about military chaplains, who currently face the threat of a military that is rushing headlong to introduce homosexuality and same-sex marriage into the armed services -- and an administration that is ignoring the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

“(H)ere we are as a nation, pulling the rug out from under soldiers -- really, is what we’re doing -- and commanders to really defend this nation,” said Bishop John Neal, head of the International Communion of Evangelical Churches.

Neal, a retired Army colonel, said the military’s push to open up military chapels to same-sex marriage ceremonies will drain the military of chaplains and soldiers who do not believe that homosexuality is compatible with military service.

Neal pointed out that our all-volunteer military "has a long history of discrimination" -- and must discriminate in order to carry out its mission.

“Hear me, what I’m saying about discrimination -- we discriminate,” Neal said. “I can’t tell you how many fat soldiers I put out of the Army. They were patriotic; they loved their country; they had a good heart. But it would cause damage to my mission (for them to remain.) So you can be 7-ft. tall and want to fly a fighter jet – (but) we discriminate, because we are not going to change the billion dollar equipment. We get what we need to fit the mission.”

Neal was part of a group of pastors and former military chaplains who went to Capitol Hill last Thursday to call on the Senate to approve a set of amendments to the Defense authorization bill that re-affirm that DOMA applies to the military. The federal law defines marriage, for the purposes of the federal government, to mean the union of one man and one woman.

The group, which was led by Bishop Harry Jackson of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, said the administration’s preparations to remove the military ban on homosexuality – and its refusal to enforce DOMA -- have left military chaplains in danger of being compromised.

“No American, especially those serving in the armed forces, should be forced to abandon or to be marginalized based upon his or her religious beliefs,” Jackson told reporters.

He agreed that not enforcing DOMA “could be something that would drive some chaplains out of the military altogether.”

“We’re calling for the Christian community to contact their senators and let them know that we support DOMA as it stands. And until it is changed by due process of law, it should not be circumvented by political sleight of hand,” Jackson said.

The amendments, sponsored by Reps. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), Vicki Hartlzer (R-Mo. ) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), were prompted by a directive issued in April by the Navy’s chief of chaplains saying that Navy chapels could be used for same-sex marriages in states where those unions are legal.

The chief of chaplains, Rear Admiral Michael Tidd, also said that Navy chaplains would not be forced to perform same-sex ceremonies, but if they objected, they would have to refer homosexual couples to clergymen who would perform the ceremonies.

In early May, Akin, the chairman of the Seapower subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, and 22 other congressmen fired back with a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, reminding him that DOMA is the law of the land.

Though the Navy subsequently placed the policy on hold, pending legal review, Akin introduced his amendment to codify that DOMA does apply to the military.

Bishop Neal, meanwhile, said there are many chaplains who oppose the change to the military ban on homosexuality, but who will not get the chance to speak up because they are still in the service. Soldiers, he said, take an oath and give up some of their rights.

“I heard Gen. Carl Mundy, the 30th Marine Corps chief, say it this way: ‘We have to salute with total reverence with one hand, but with another hand tied behind our backs.’ Because just to volunteer, you take away our freedoms -- because we can’t be here to talk to Capitol Hill, we can’t talk to our boss,” he said. “But I’m asking the people of America to stand up and speak for us.”

Though military chaplains can't speak up while serving, the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal group, will sue on their behalf if the Senate does not pass the House-approved amendments, according to ADF Senior Counsel Austin Nimocks, who appeared alongside the pastors.

“The Alliance Defense Fund will pursue legal action if viable legal action becomes available, and if the Senate does not follow the House and protect service members, we have no doubt that legal action will be required. This is an irreconcilable conflict – and the Senate has to reconcile this,” Nimocks said.