God and Country

Private First Class Naser Abdo has reportedly been arrested by Texas police near Fort Hood, Texas.  Abdo wasn’t assigned to Fort Hood; he was assigned to Fort Campbell in Kentucky.  The Army said Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell.

Local police indicated they had interrupted a “terror plot“ in their arrest of PFC Abdo.  He was reportedly found with guns, gunpowder, and the makings of a backpack bomb.  The arrest was made possible by a tip from local gundealer Guns Galore.  Clerk Greg Ebert said the staff of the store was concerned because Abdo was purchasing large quantities of gunpowder — while asking questions about how to use it.  Guns Galore is reportedly the same store where Maj Nidal Malik Hasan purchased his firearm.

According to AP reports, Abdo has admitted to planning an attack at Read more…

USAFA has its “Falcon Circle,” and just down the street Fort Carson has its unique religious “chapel” as well.

As previously noted, the Turkey Creek ranch US Army facility of Fort Carson has been used for some years to support the religious freedom of men and women in the US military of all kinds. The kind of worship?  A native American sweat lodge.

Michael Hackwith is the local spiritual leader and leads the group in Read more…

In a bit of sensationalist headlining, a few news articles noted the Defense Department report blasting the acquisition program of the Navy’s MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter.

According to a June 24 report from the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, the critical error came when the drone’s operator accidentally pressed the spacebar with a wire from his headset — launching the self-destruct mechanism on the vehicle.

As the articles later note, there’s no such thing as a single-button Read more…

US Air Force General Stephen R. Lorenz recently retired as the head of Air Education and Training Command.  (He is also a former Commandant of the US Air Force Academy.)  He frequently wrote commentaries alliteratively entitled “Lorenz on Leadership.”  On July 19th, the Air Force published his most recent article, in which he recounted a Chaplain’s run-in over pre-mission prayer:

As the troops were preparing to board the helicopters to an FOB that had recently been under attack, several Soldiers asked the chaplain if he could lead them in a prayer. A lieutenant colonel happened to be with the group and the chaplain, who was a captain, thought as a common courtesy he would ask the senior officer for permission to say a prayer for the troops about to enter combat. The lieutenant colonel replied to the chaplain that, “It would not be necessary” and walked away. The chaplain followed this senior officer’s guidance and did not lead the men in a prayer.

General Lorenz took the Lieutenant Colonel to task:  Read more…

An Army Soldier continued an old tradition of bestowing a US flag from a combat theatre upon a significant person.

Detective Andrew Gordon of the South Charleston Police Department was surprised when a package arrived at the police department all the way from Kuwait. Inside were an American flag, a plaque and a certificate Read more…

Can you hold hands while in uniform?  How about a kiss or embrace?

Believe it or not, those are some of the most often asked questions by new officers and enlisted — and in most cases, the answer wasn’t clear.  Now, however, it’s in plain English:  If you choose to do those things in uniform, you may well be in violation of the new Air Force regulations.

Last year, the Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, otherwise known as the report on the DADT survey, noted the ‘sensitivities’ of public displays of affection with respect to homosexuality.  The working group made this observation:  Read more…

Daniel Blomberg at the Alliance Defense Fund has an interesting article over the negative impact of DADT repeal implied even by those championing it:

If this change is risky enough that even the President scrambles to prevent it from happening “too quickly,” the Secretary of Defense who championed it focuses on limiting damage wrought by it, and most combat troops anticipate harm from it, why are we forcing it on our service men and women at all?

If you recall, some were asking how DADT repeal would improve the US military’s effectiveness.  Blomberg points out it seems most say they’re doing what they can to “mitigate” the negative.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus censured Cmdr Liam Bruen, the recently retired Navy fighter squadron commander, over the naming ceremony of an administrative officer who took offense.

In a slap at the fading and officially out-of-favor tradition of racy, sarcastic and irreverent aviation call signs, a just-retired Navy fighter squadron commanding officer was censured by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus Wednesday for failing to halt and subsequently condoning the hazing of a junior officer at a 2009 call sign review board where assembled officers voted to call the officer “Romo’s Bitch” the Navy announced…

The Navy also counseled the unit’s second in command, Cmdr Damien Christopher, who had gone on to command, for violations of the Navy’s “policies on hazing and Read more…

US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the Fort Hood massacre in 2009, has been arraigned for military trial.  His civilian lawyer, retired Colonel John Galligan, reportedly “took a leave of absence” from the case.  FoxNews implied his departure might have been related to his lack of security clearance.  Galligan has been vocal about Hasan’s “mistreatment” to date:

“I have consistently argued that Major Hasan has not been treated fairly. I maintain that belief,” Galligan said Wednesday.

Col. Gregory Gross, the military chief circuit judge, scheduled the trial for 5 March 2012 in response to the defense’s request for a delay.

By that date, the baby killed in the rampage would have been about 2 years old.

The defense had begun to lay its case earlier this week for Carlos Bledsoe, otherwise known as Abdulhakim Muhammad, accused of murdering a Soldier in an attack on a recruiting center in Arkansas.

The case was suddenly halted earlier this week when Muhammad agreed to a plea deal — guilty, life without parole.

Muhammad’s lawyer had originally told the jury their job was easy:  His client did it.

“This isn’t about whodunit or who didn’t do it,” said Patrick Benca, a lawyer for Abdulhakim Muhammad. “Mr. Muhammad was the one that had his finger on the trigger.”

The prosecution used that to their advantage:  Read more…

Below:

• President Obama has certified appeal; September 20th marks DADT end
• ADF “stands ready to defend” servicemembers with faith, service conflict
• Pakistan protests US support for homosexuals, even with DADT repealed
• Washington Times notes “smoking gun,” Executive Branch misled Congress
• Mixon says military “not ready” for DADT repeal, critics silenced
• US military now used to “attack” Defense of Marriage Act
• Multiple-marriage group seeks same respect as homosexuals

Read more…

The American arm of the ministry known as “Campus Crusade for Christ” will begin phasing out that name and officially become “Cru” over the next year or so.

Amazingly, that’s been big news, even at Fox, CNN, and the Washington Post.

In a classic case of “can’t win,” critics from both sides have blasted the organization.  Some supporters are disappointed to see what they feel is bowing to political correctness.  Some detractors think it is a weak attempt to mask the ‘true mission’ of evangelizing the world.

“Cru” is already used Read more…

The US Navy got a lot of grief for posting a list of “Sexual Assault Prevention Tips” on its Facebook page that was derided at different times as uncouth, offensive, and “dumb.”

Navy spokesman Lt. Alana Garas told Fox News that the Navy post should have included more context from the start.
 
“The intention of posting this poster was to encourage discussion on a serious issue,” Garas said. “It is a crime that will not be tolerated … and the Navy will continue to explore ways to reach our sailors on this serious issue.”

Eventually people realized the “poster” wasn’t the work of the Navy, but of a feminist blog (which actually only created the poster, not the text, which was the source of another feminist blog…).  FoxNews noticed the blog the Navy credited went out of its way to deride Christianity:

Christianity is inherently and undeniably Read more…

Putting a new twist on an old cliché, NASA astronaut Michael Good (Col, USAF, Ret) recently spoke on the awe-inspiring experience of space flight:

“They say there’s no atheists in foxholes, but there’s probably no atheists in rockets,” said Catholic astronaut Col. Mike Good, who believes his faith in God was solidified by the awe-inspiring views he saw from space.

The article notes the infusion of faith in the local community and NASA:

NASA employees fill pews in churches surrounding Johnson Space Center, including Webster Presbyterian Church, called the “church of the astronauts” when John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin, Jerry Carr, Charlie Bassett and Roger Chaffee were active members of the congregation. Later this month, the church will honor the anniversary of Aldrin’s Holy Communion on the moon, the first meal ever eaten on its surface.

Nearby, the Catholic Church St. Paul the Apostle in Nassau Bay depicts Hubble images in its stained glass windows, a design collaboration with space-loving parishioners.

Two years ago Col Good hoped to bring “glory to the Lord of all creation” on a mission to work on the Hubble.

Some atheists apparently took umbrage at Good’s use Read more…

Articles from Iraq and Afghanistan highlight the importance of the military Chaplaincy and Chapels for US servicemembers deployed to war.

First, an Air Force article from Joint Base Balad, Iraq, notes the goals military members set in the deployed environment:

Many people on a deployment create goals such as getting in better physical shape or taking educational classes, but there is another area that is sometimes forgotten…spiritual fitness.

and the military’s remedy to the comprehensive fitness servicemembers need:

The mission of the…Wing Chapel is to ensure the free exercise of religion and promote spiritual fitness for the human weapon systems.

Chaplain (Col) George Meister explained the importance of the Chapel’s contribution to the getting the mission done:  Read more…