God and Country

The Alliance Defense Fund has been calling on the US military to charge Maj Nadil Malik Hasan with 14 murders, not 13.  

Private Francheska Velez was three months pregnant when Hasan allegedly killed her and her unborn child.  If her child was included, the massacre would have claimed 14 lives.

The ADF accurately notes that the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) reflects the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and specifically cites the death of unborn children Read more…

The White House blog details the Sikh celebration of the “540th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji” that took place on November 13th.  President Obama did not attend (he was on the first leg of his Asia trip), and it does not appear he made a statement on the celebration.

The White House notes that this is the first Sikh celebration to occur in the White House.  It is not, however, the first time this event has been recognized Read more…

Despite the occasional accusation to the contrary, the US military is not a bastion of conspiratorial theocrats.  As is routinely shown even on this site, the Chaplains of the US military go beyond the call in their efforts to support all military members, no matter what religion (if any), and often no matter what nationality.

At Keesler Air Force Base, Chaplain (Capt.) Charles Mallory recently had an opportunity to organize a new group to discuss issues of belief.  The Chaplain was approached by an enlisted Airman about starting a discussion group that would ultimately be called “The Query of Orthodoxy,” designed to give  Read more…

In the United States of America, we have an abundance of things for which to be thankful.  We enjoy the practice of our human liberties to a degree unparalleled in the world.  We rest in the security provided by the world’s best military.  Despite vast ideological differences, we continue a tradition of peaceful debate and peaceful transitions of power.

Remember those who have sacrificed, and continue to sacrifice, to protect those sacred trusts for which we are so grateful.  Thank God for our freedoms, our nation, and the troops who protect it–even as they celebrate while separated from their families back home.

Have a joyous and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Read the message from the Secretary of Defense.

Michael Weinstein and his Military Religious Freedom Foundation have been repeatedly called out over the past few weeks for displaying an odious double standard:  Weinstein has demanded various military Christians be court-martialed, accusing them of using their positions of power to proselytize and coercing subordinates based on their religion.  He has failed to make any similar call against accused Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, even though Hasan has been accused of doing exactly the same things.

However, Michael Weinstein has finally asked, “Should Hasan be court-martialed?“  Oddly, he never answers his own question.

To his credit, Weinstein does make a (qualified) statement that Hasan should have been court-martialed.  That would be the most serious, if parsed, statement Weinstein has made against a person not of the Christian faith in the military.  However, Read more…

The Air Force has continued its practice of paying bonuses (officially known as Aviator Continuation Pay, or ACP) to aviators.

After graduating from training, Air Force aviators (pilots and navigators) incur a commitment to serve; currently, the pilot commitment is 10 years.  When the pilot’s commitment is over, Read more…

Boeing, which has been emphasizing advanced technologies and weapon systems, recently announced that it had shot down small UAVs with vehicle-mounted lasers.  (Boeing was also responsible for the airborne tactical laser that recently fired at ground targets.)

The system was under test by the US Air Force at the Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, CA.

The system experimentation serves two purposes:  Read more…

A recent set of articles bemoaned the lack of a “separation of church and sports” in the United States, an idea espoused by those who are tired of players “mixing” their faith and their athletics (see Tim Tebow, Fisher Deberry, Tony Dungy, Chad Hennings, etc.)

Time magazine recently covered the subject from a different perspective.  In “God and Football” they cover the various roles of Chaplains in the NFL.  Some of the comments are oddly similar to those faced by Chaplains and religious adherents in the military.  Read more…

Chaplain (Capt.) Brent Crosswhite, a US Army Chaplain from Fort Hood, is deployed to Iraq, but still managed to team up with his wife to help strengthen Soldiers’ marriages.

The Chaplain is holding a marriage class in Iraq while his wife leads an identical one for spouses at Fort Hood.  The husbands and wives cover the same materials, and at the end of each session there is a video teleconference with the other class.  One of the goals is to mitigate the 20 to 30 divorces that the average Army brigade Read more…

A recent Military Religion Question of the Day involved a sermon delivered in Afghanistan by Chaplain (LtCol) Gary Hensley.  The question and subsequent answer have already been discussed.  The discussion noted that groups used Hensley’s sermon as proof of religious impropriety in the military, though their accusations were demonstrably false.

The relationship of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to this incident, however, requires further illumination.  Read more…

Last week, a question was posed about whether a Chaplain’s sermon in Afghanistan was a violation of military rules.  The background, and links to the video, can be seen here.

So, did the Chaplain, as the accusers imply, violate military regulations due to the content of his sermon?

The shortest, most accurate answer: Read more…

The culture of the Air Force is in many ways like high school. Fighter pilots are the jocks, the cool kids who rule the campus. And drone pilots? They’re the AV club.

As has been frequently said here (and as described in the book), the stereotype is that Air Force fighter pilots are the glorious rulers of the Air Force.  A Stars and Stripes article says that the Air Force cultural dominance of the fighter pilot may be at an end, just as the dominance of strategic nuclear bombers passed on to fighters decades ago.

While the dominance of the fighter pilot may be fading in some people’s estimation, the cultural stereotype lives on:  Read more…

The first test version of the F-35B, the STOVL version for the Marines, arrived at the US Navy flight test facility at Patuxent River this weekend.  The aircraft is built with the lift fans that will allow vertical flight, but it is not production representative; it was built specifically for the test program and includes equipment and sensors that will not be in the operational version of the JSF.  Lockheed has yet to deliver any F-35A or C versions, for the Air Force and Navy, respectively, though one AF version flew for the first time last Saturday.

USMC Photo

Unfortunately, a second report simultaneously came out Read more…

The Navy has recovered a body from the wreckage of a crashed T-34, which is likely that of the remaining missing pilot.

As the national intrigue continues into the events leading up to the massacre at Fort Hood, one question generating interest even at the Congressional level is why no one ever said anything about Hasan’s ‘militant’ behavior or statements.  Reports indicate that fellow medical students did complain, but no official reports were lodged because no one wanted to be viewed as prejudiced against a Muslim.

Michael Weinstein, of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, “doesn’t believe” those medical students, for a very specific reason:  Read more…