God and Country

Missionary Aviation Fellowship has reportedly received a $1.7 million “challenge grant” that will fund the acquisition of another KODIAK.  As previously discussed, the KODIAK is a purpose-built bush plane created by Quest with input from the MAF.  MAF assets have already seen service in Haiti, among other locations.

Links to MAF and other similar organizations can be found on the Links page.

According to a news release, Missionary Aviation Fellowship has leased a Cessna Caravan from Samaritan’s Purse to aid in its ongoing efforts in Haiti; the aircraft was leased for $1 for two years:  Read more…

The Colorado Springs Gazette, local to the US Air Force Academy, has an interesting article on the rise of UAVs at “Zoom U,” the military Academy most stereotypically known for its association with fighter jets.

Last year, the Air Force ordered more drones than fighter jets, and the Air Force Academy became the first service academy in the nation to launch a program to coach cadets in their use.

“Unmanned aircraft are here, and they are the future of the Air Force,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Dave Latham, an experienced pilot who directs the academy’s extracurricular drone program.

UAVs are becoming an integral part of the US Air Force, even from the beginning.

A metal-covered New Testament, originally a source of strength for a Sailor in World War II, is now providing a connection for a Sailor nearly seven decades later.

“My dad just approached me…a couple days before I was leaving to go back to fly overseas,” Chris Carson said. “He said, ‘You take the Bible with you, Chris. It’s important to have it with you to keep in mind the good Lord.’ My dad is pretty religious. I brought it with me.”  Read more…

According to a DoD press release, Army 1LT Rafael Lantigua of the Texas National Guard will soon be the Army National Guard’s first Muslim Chaplain.  Lantigua has fulfilled all requirements save some classes required by the Chaplain board.  Lantigua, who had a Roman Catholic father and a mother who converted from Baptist to Buddhist, converted to Islam as a teenager.  He says he looks forward to being a model for “other members of [his] faith:”

“I am humbled for this opportunity to be a role model for other members of my faith throughout the military,” he said.

While he is by no means the first Islamic Chaplain in the US military, they remain relatively few in number.

US Navy Ensign Aroon Seeda is reportedly being commissioned into the Chaplain Candidate Program.  When he completes his requirements, he will reportedly be the second (or perhaps third) Buddhist Chaplain in the US Navy.  Like several other Buddhist Chaplains, Seeda will attend University of the West, a Buddhist school in southern California.

Likewise, Brett Campbell will enter the Candidate program at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Naropa was founded Buddhist Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

As reported by Buddhist Military Sangha [Campbell].

Religious freedom in the armed forces — something the US military takes very seriously — sometimes goes beyond the servicemembers that most are apt to think of.  In the case of Fort Hood, Texas, it also applied to the children.  As noted by the Army news release:

Students and staff from Fort Hood’s Smith Middle School took part…in an event known as “See You at the Pole” Sept. 22.

SYATP is an annual, student-led global day event that draws students from across the world to their school’s flagpoles to pray for their nation, schools, students and teachers, according to the website.

More than 20 students and faculty members took part bringing their own prayers and a group prayer.  Read more…

Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation publicly prides itself on its self-proclaimed “defense of the Constitution,” but its recent response to a critic defies its own description.

A detractor emailed the MRFF defending the “christian concert coming to FT Bragg [sic],” previously discussed here.  The MRFF published the message, as it frequently does, and its response was telling.

Rick Baker, an MRFF “regional coordinator,” said  Read more…

In a seemingly rough week for aircraft, a student and instructor successfully ejected from their T-6A Texan II near Laughlin AFB, Texas, late last week.  As usual, it will be more than 30 days before a report is released on the cause.

In India, a pilot successfully ejected from his MiG-27 before it crashed.

And according to FoxNews, a commuter jet had an unsafe gear and scraped a wing down the runway in New York.  (Video on YouTube.)

According to various reports, Fort Bragg plans to continue with its Rock the Fort event despite complaints the participation of US military personnel constitutes a violation of the Constitution.

In a letter this week responding to concerns expressed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick wrote that he’s confident the planned “Rock the Post” event doesn’t infringe on anyone’s freedoms.  Read more…

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has called for the US Army to cancel a Chaplaincy event at Fort Bragg, NC.  The event is Rock the Fort, which is associated with Billy Graham’s Evangelistic Association.  According to the BGEA website:

When evangelist Josh Holland gets up to speak at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., this Saturday, he plans to honor the soldiers who are present, thanking them for their sacrifice and what they do to ensure our nation’s freedom.

“I also want to talk about the truest kind of freedom, which is found in a relationship with Christ and in freedom from sin,” Holland said during a phone interview this week.

The AU takes issue:  Read more…

Among the many missions of the US military Chaplaincy, Chaplains attempt to support the mental and spiritual well-being of Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines.  This has become particularly important with the rate of suicides in the military.  One of the ways the Chaplaincy is fighting for their troops is support for relationships, including significant support for military marriages.

Chaplain (Maj) Michael Reeves of Fort Stewart apparently came up with a unique way to help strengthen military marriages: a unit Mizpah coin.

Chap. (Maj.) Michael Reeves, installation chaplain, is the one Read more…

An Air Force Academy press release notes the service of Chaplain (Capt) Zebulon Beck, one of only nine active duty Air Force Mormon Chaplains, who will minister to “more than 100 Mormon cadets.”

An interesting part of the article is the reference to the “mandatory two-year mission” of Mormons:

As is the case with other Mormons of similar age, many cadets interrupt their studies for the mandatory two-year mission. Those who do so often come back changed people.  Read more…

According to a Michigan news site, the “Bible-references flap” from earlier this year (which was frequently misrepresented) hasn’t put a damper on the bottom line of Trijicon, the maker of advanced (and popular) gunsights for weapons.

In fact, it might even have helped.

Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing at Trijicon, said the company has removed controversial Biblical verse references from inscriptions in its military orders but still includes them in commercial sales to hunters, collectors and others. He also said the company this year is on track for more business than last year under its military contracts, despite Read more…

The Air Force celebrated its birthday on 18 September; the “celebration” inspired some to repeat the frequently asked question: Are pilots becoming obsolete?

But that specter of obsolescence is beginning to haunt some of the most tech-savvy men and women in America – Air Force pilots – as the service looks toward an unmanned air fleet capable of any and every kind of combat and support role, from close air support to cargo and refueling; a fleet “smart” enough to work together, even “swarming” to carry out tactical and strategic missions.

More at Military.com.