God and Country

The as-yet undecided case of the Camp Pendleton cross, a memorial facing complaints by atheists, has actually impacted a second, unrelated cross.  LCpl Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire, and members of his platoon had apparently planned to erect a cross on an overlooking hill on Camp Pendleton:

But because of a pending military review of placement of religious symbols, the parents of Lance Cpl. Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt Read more…

As has been routinely noted, members of the US military frequently sacrifice even their scarce free time to serve those less fortunate around the world.

A group of Sailors and Marines helped the Bethany Orphanage in Albania, a trip coordinated by Navy Chaplains Read more…

Lt Lance Leone, a Coast Guard helicopter pilot who was the sole survivor of a crash and then endured an attempt to charge him with homicide, has reportedly received a career-ending performance evaluation.

The Coast Guard commander for Alaska is recommending Read more…

In the ongoing saga of the US military and social media, SSgt Suneel Mehta is reportedly going to be punished for making a racially charged “tweet” referencing the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman controversy.

The Twitter message came to light when an anonymous person “reported” it to the Marine Corps Times.

Mehta apologized, deleted Read more…

From Fox News:

From the American Family Association:

“The Air Force and its Secretary, Michael B. Donley, have created the most hostile “anti-religious” environment in the history of the United States military.”

The Air Force’s decision to remove the Bible from the standard checklist for its military lodging facilities continues to get press (much to the chagrin of Michael Weinstein, who wasn’t involved in this story but has been trying to sensationalize another one).

A group of chaplains and chaplain endorsers, the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, has expressed its “concern,” saying that the decision has Read more…

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey has reportedly ordered the entire Department of Defense to review its military education materials for content that might be offensive to Islam.

The order was precipitated by an elective course called “Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism,” offered Read more…

Fighter pilots from two Aviano-based F-16 squadrons got a unique opportunity to exchange flights with pilots in the Bulgarian Air Force — which flies MiG-21s and MiG-29s.

The exercise was cut short when a MiG-29 crashed Read more…

US Marine Sgt Gary Stein, who will be discharged for his Facebook comments about the President, has expressed regret.  While maintaining he’s being used as an example and treated unfairly, he also says he wished he’d phrased things differently:  Read more…

Update: Liberty Counsel has agreed to defend the town of Woonsocket for free.

The awkwardly named Freedom From Religion Foundation has apparently demanded that a war memorial in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, be removed because it has a cross on it.  The memorial

was erected nearly a century ago to honor the city’s war dead, including three brothers killed in World War I.

The town’s mayor had an interesting response to the call to tear down the 91-year old memorial:

Mayor Leo Fontaine told the Woonsocket Call he will not remove the cross “under any circumstances.”

However, the town is reportedly strapped for cash and may not be able to afford a legal defense.

Atheists and critics of various stripes — including Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and Jason Torpy — have Read more…

In April 2010, the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision that claimed a transfer of National Park Service land in the Mojave National Preserve — upon which stood a cross — was an end-run around the US Constitution.

In January 2011, the VFW sued the government for failing to abide by that decision and allowing the cross to stand.  In fact, while the case was ongoing the cross was stolen; when a replacement appeared, the government took it down.

Now it appears the case is done:

A federal judge has approved Read more…

US Marine Sgt. Gary Stein will reportedly be administratively separated with an “Other than Honorable” discharge as a result of his “political” Facebook activities:

The Commanding General for Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego…has approved the board’s recommendation that Sgt. Stein be separated from the Marine Corps with an “other than honorable” discharge.

The Sgt’s case is so high profile the Marines took the unusual step of Read more…

The US Army post at Fort Knox had apparently invited Ted Nugent, along with Styx and REO Speedwagon, to an event to be held on June 23rd.  Following Ted Nugent’s recent foray into the spotlight for his comments at an NRA convention, his invite has been cancelled.

The reasoning for the cancellation:

A spokesman for Fort Knox told TheBlaze.com that having Nugent perform “would be a conflict of interest since the military has the obligation to be apolitical.”

The article, printed on MSNBC, notes that such a statement is tortured:

Such a claim, though, seems dubious Read more…

If you can forgive the crassness of the meme, the video itself is pretty good — and entirely accurate:

The US House of Representatives recently introduced HR 3600, a bill that would repeal a portion of the IRS 501(c)3 code commonly known as the Johnson Amendment:

The Johnson Amendment was passed by Congress in 1954 [and] states that entities who are exempt from federal income tax cannot:

Participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of – or in opposition to – any candidate for public office.

This portion of law has been used as a tool to prevent churches Read more…

Chaplains have been serving the troops for almost as long as the US military has existed, providing spiritual support and protecting free exercise wherever US servicemembers are deployed.

Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, February, 1971: Helmets are removed but placed nearby for quick retrieval as Chaplain (Capt.) Albert Hartlage Read more…