President Bush proclaimed September 5th through the 7th as the annual “National Days of Prayer and Remembrance.” From the announcement:
We also pray for the safety and success of the members of our Armed Forces now serving freedom’s cause. We seek God’s grace on their families, and commit to Heaven’s care those brave men and women He has called home…As we defend our country against its enemies, we pray for help in protecting the gift of freedom from those who seek to destroy it, and we ask the Almighty to strengthen all those securing liberty on distant shores.
Regent University and Officers’ Christian Fellowship are hosting a one day forum on military Christian leadership called Strength in Faith. The form will occur in October and will include speakers from OCF as well as Regent, including a former Chief of Naval Operations (Navy Chief of Staff) and a former Commander of AF Special Operations Command.
While frequently criticized for developing “whole” officers (including spiritual and moral aspects, as well as leadership and academic), the military academies have consistently demonstrated strength as educational institutions. US News and World Report recently published their Best Colleges 2009. The Air Force Academy was ranked #2 in the nation for aero/astronautical engineering, and was the #1 school in the western region, as also noted at AF.mil. All three military academies (Military, Naval, and Air Force) were in the top 10 nationally for engineering programs.
Chaplain Bill McCoy, author of Under Orders, now finds himself backtracking from the publication of an endorsement by General Petraeus on the cover of his book. According to various press reports, he now says the endorsement, as well as that of another General,
were intended for me personally rather than for the general public
Under Orders was reviewed here six months ago, and the Chaplain even responded to defend his book at the time.
In typical fashion, Michael Weinstein has said Read more…
A local Philadelphia newspaper covers the story of Rabbi Jon Cutler, a Jewish Navy Reserve Chaplain serving a 13-month tour in Iraq. Cutler is the head Chaplain for 23 others.
Like many Chaplains, Cutler has the benefit of civilian religious counterparts to help fulfill troops’ spiritual needs:
When Cutler came to Iraq this winter, [he] set about creating a synagogue in the base’s chapel complex. Today, that synagogue — supplied with a Torah scroll brought over from the U.S. and the ark that holds it constructed by civilian contractors — has between 10 and 15 military personnel attending Friday night services. There is a steady crowd at Saturday Torah studies and weekly Jewish movie nights. Read more…
According to a Kansas paper, Army Specialist Jeremy Hall (who is currently suing the Defense Department for “religious proselytizing”), was rebuffed in a visit to the IG to complain about “violations of his religious freedoms.” Weinstein said this “undermines” the DoJ’s move to dismiss, which cited Hall’s failure to use the in-place grievance systems.
According to the article, the visit occurred “earlier this month.” That would make it appear to be a response to the DoJ motion, which was filed last month, and possibly an attempt to generate content for Hall’s response to the motion, which is due next month. In addition, Weinstein (a former JAG) appears not to see a conflict of interest with the Army conducting an internal investigation about charges which are currently involved in, or related to, an ongoing federal lawsuit in which it is essentially a defendant.
According to the article, Weinstein also plans to bring up the fact that someone posted a mock Soldier’s creed (that ridiculed soldiers with medical duty waivers) in Hall’s platoon area. The article lists a previously unknown medical restriction for Hall. How Weinstein plans to integrate the faux creed about physical fitness into a lawsuit about religion is unclear. The sarcastic modification of military mantras is a fairly common brand of critical cynicism in the military, and is limited neither to the Army’s creed nor physical conditions.
General Schwartz took over as the new Air Force Chief of Staff today. His assumption of command received far less fuss than did the news of his original nomination.
Maj Gen Cecil Richardson, Air Force Chief of Chaplains (previously noted here), was interviewed by the Air Force Times. Notable quotes on religion in the Air Force:
[I]f you’re just introducing yourself to someone and you say I’m married, I have three kids, I’m from Ohio, I’m a Roman Catholic and my faith is an important part of my life, no problem…If you…say, “If you want to be a good airman, a good officer and a good student … you have to be Roman Catholic or Baptist,” then you’ve gone over the line.
It’s true the other way around. I’ve met guys who say, “I’ve got a commander who’s very anti-religious. Read more…
In an interesting turn of events, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF) undermined Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU) in its recent effort to complain about Fort Leonard Wood’s “Free Day Away” (discussed here).
In July, the AU requested an IG investigation…something the MAAF did two years ago. The MAAF also complained again last January, and received a reply (which noted that the IG had already investigated their complaint) at nearly the same time the AU made their IG request. From the DOD reply:
The [IG] found that the program does not violate Army policy in that participation is voluntary…The IG determined that…soldiers have opportunities to participate in non-religious morale, welfare, and recreation programs. More specifically, during the Free Day Away program,…soldiers can remain in the barracks or go to an on-post facility, such as a Post Exchange Annex.
The Free Day Away event has also featured prominently in the MRFF lawsuit against the Department of Defense.
As noted here, the 7th Circuit ruled against the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which had challenged the “pastoral care” role of the VA Chaplaincy on Constitutional grounds (filed in 2006). While the lower court ruled on the merits of the case (in favor of the VA), the circuit court vacated that decision and found that the FFRF did not have standing to sue.
In its ruling, the court also included a fairly detailed history of the military Chaplaincy. Even the FRFF legally conceded that chaplains
obviously perform religious activities, which they can do to a limited extent to accommodate the constitutional Free Exercise rights of hospitalized patients.
The judges also noted Read more…
The ChristianPost notes that the Princeton Review has come out with its list of “best colleges” (actually released on July 28). As they note, one ranking was “most religious students.” Brigham Young may immediately come to mind (indeed, its #1).
However, of the 368 colleges ranked by 120,000 college students, #14 on the list of “most religious students” was…the US Air Force Academy.
USAFA completed its sociopolitical trifecta by coming in at #17 for “most politically active” and #5 for “most conservative.” (The Naval Academy ranked #12 for most conservative, while West Point was #5 for politically active.)
The individual college pages can be seen here, though it may require a profile log-on to see school data.
As noted at the Religion Clause, the 3rd Circuit Court ruled that a group of Navy Chaplains lacked standing to sue over the alleged preferential treatment of Catholic Chaplains in the Navy. The court did not rule on the merits of the case, and one judge dissented.
The decision is interesting in its relation to the ongoing lawsuit against the Defense Department brought by Jeremy Hall and the MRFF. The government has alleged that Hall (and thus the MRFF) also lacks standing for similar reasons listed by the 3rd Circuit.
For example,
As the Supreme Court has often stated, mere personal offense to government action does not give rise to standing to sue. Read more…
Daily spiritual struggles, constant challenges to a Christian’s faith, the potential for persecution, lawsuits and attacks that restrict religious faith: with so many negatives, why would any Christian even want to be in the military?
Many of the articles on this website deal with the pessimistic aspects of trying to be an authentic Christian in a sometimes immoral fighter pilot world. This was a somewhat zealous attempt to “set straight” any “starry-eyed” would-be fighter pilots, though it may have neglected to consider those who honestly know very little (good or bad) about the fighter pilot world. A dearth of positive articles may lead some to believe that there isn’t any good in being a fighter pilot, or that there’s no respectable reason for a Christian to be in the military at all. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There are awesome and positive things about being a fighter pilot, and the military even has aspects that make it desirable as a Christian career. Read more…
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