Month: November 2009

Chaplain Strengthens Marriages from Iraq

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

MRFF: Chaplain’s Sermons Permissible, Sort of

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

Is There a Cultural Shift Occurring in the Air Force?

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

First F-35 Arrives at Pax River

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

Hasan’s Superiors were ‘Strong Christians’

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

Muslims, as All Americans, Should Continue to Serve

Groups and individuals (and there are several) who have recently proposed banning Muslims from serving in the US military as a result of the Fort Hood massacre are demonstrating naivete and an incorrect understanding of both the military and the US Constitution.

No American citizen should be prohibited from any government role, including military service, purely because of his religious beliefs.

Besides being ludicrous on its face, the enforcement of such a religious ban Read more

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