God and Country

Much as they do every year, the US military academies ranked near the top of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review.

While some may consider the military academies somewhat interchangeable, its interesting to see the differences in “culture” at each institution.  For example, the “most popular major” at USAFA is said to be aero/astro engineering, at Annapolis its economics/history, and at West Point its business and economics.  And, as last year, it seems the Merchant Marine Academy has a reputation to overcome.

Interestingly, USAFA fell off the scale on “most religious students” — and West Point took its place.

Some notable rankings:  Read more…

The US military academies appear to have hammered out their graduation speakers for this year:

• President Obama will reportedly address the US Coast Guard Academy graduation.
• Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will take the US Naval Academy at Annapolis.
• Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley will speak at USAFA’s graduation.
• CJCS Admiral Mike Mullen will address the US Military Academy at West Point.

The top military leadership speaks at the military academy graduations on a rotating basis.  For those keeping count, Obama has already spoken at Annapolis, West Point, and now the Coast Guard academy, so if tradition holds he will address USAFA next year.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that a US Air Force Academy professor was killed in Afghanistan this week.

Maj. Phil Ambard, a foreign-language professor at the academy, was killed in Kabul, according to his daughter, Air Force 1st Lt. Emily Short.

Some people may not realize that a wide variety of people deploy to the combat zones from non-traditional fields.  The Academy likely has several instructors downrange.

Major Ambard reportedly had more than two decades of service in the Air Force.  Remember his family in your prayers.

Christian fighter pilot (more accurately, Christian attack pilot) Chad Hennings recently had the opportunity to address cadets at the US Air Force Academy during its annual National Character and Leadership Symposium.

Hennings, a former A-10 pilot and member of the SuperBowl winning Dallas Cowboys, was a member of the Sports Panel:

Filled with all the excitement of an NFL championship game, three-time Super Bowl champion Hennings combines hard-hitting sports action with moral truths to convey powerful, behind-the-scenes insights on what it takes to become a winner.

Others addressing the NCLS included Read more…

Bruce Fleming has had a long — and tumultuous — career as a professor of English at the US Naval Academy.

In 2009 he wrote an Op-Ed claiming the USNA inappropriately lowers its standards to increase its racial diversity, a claim he has made elsewhere.  He claims he was denied a “standard” pay raise as a result.  He filed a complaint which has now been settled “to the satisfaction of both parties,” according to the Academy.

Fleming has criticized the existence of the military institutions, complaining they create mediocre officers and “promulgate” a “conservative worldview” that includes “religion.”  Despite such complaints, he seems content to take a paycheck from the Navy to teach there, as he has for more than Read more…

And, no, this isn’t about Michael Weinstein.

Ralph Palmer, USAFA Class of 1967, has been campaigning for a few years to get the US Constitution put back into the pocket-sized cadet “Contrails,” which the Colorado Springs Gazette says is “better known as the ‘Cadet Bible.’”  The small tome is a collection of history, facts, and miscellaneous details that fourthclass (first year) cadets are often required to memorize.

It is not unusual to see pictures of cadets braced at attention with the small book gripped firmly a few inches in front of their face.  They’re supposed to be reading it and learning.

Apparently, the US Constitution — which had been routinely included in Contrails for decades — was removed, though supposedly it wasn’t done for malicious reasons:

“Sometimes it has to do with space, flat out,” said Air Force Academy spokesman Master Sgt. Chris Dewitt. “Everyone has things they want in ‘Contrails’ and it has the potential to grow to the size of ‘War and Peace’.”

Like the other USAFA grad often in the news, Palmer is a former lawyer, but Read more…

MAAF president Jason Torpy’s out-of-left field remarks about a USAFA religious training scenario were previously offered for consideration.  Based on what the regulations actually say, the following is most consistent with the environment of religious respect and religious freedom in the military, specifically tailored to the USAFA cadet culture:  Read more…

The inappropriate invitation of MAAF president Jason Torpy to a USAFA “religious respect” conference was the topic of a separate article.  One indicator (among others) of the improper invite was Torpy’s comments on one of the proposed training scenarios.  Torpy, a West Point graduate and former Army Captain, presents himself as an expert in matters of military regulations and religion…and, yet, he entirely missed the point.

To recap, the scenario was as follows:

Lisa wears a cross under her uniform. On the obstacle course one day the cross slips outside her uniform and a commander (or teacher) says, “What’s that? That’s not regulation.” Lisa apologizes and says she’ll tuck it back into her shirt. The commander (or teacher) says, “No, you need to take it off; you can’t wear it.”

Torpy’s discombobulated critique:  Read more…

One of the results of the religious “scandals” that have plagued the US Air Force Academy over the past few years was the creation of the Cadet Interfaith Council.  The CIC was the subject of the latest USAFA news article on religious expression and diversity at the Academy.

The 20-member cadet group serves as a focal point for religious issues in the cadet wing.  Current president Cadet 2nd Class Philicia Fahrenbruch notes the Council helped ‘protect’ the time set aside for SPIRE on Monday evenings last year, and has helped deal with other issues since then.

Some of the topics noted in the article highlight the continued sensitivity of religion at the Air Force Academy:  Read more…

The Air Force Times notes the push by the US Air Force Academy to inspire cadets about a career field most still dread: UAVs.

Flying a drone isn’t sexy — and the cadets at the Air Force Academy here don’t pretend that it is…  Read more…

Last week Philadelphia Eagles receiver Chad Hall caught a 9 yard pass and gave the Eagles a first down.

That single play drew attention across the country — especially from those in the Air Force.  Chad Hall is a 2008 US Air Force Academy graduate.  He was reportedly released by the Air Force in March after serving nearly two years of his 5 year military service commitment, apparently as a maintenance Read more…

According to the local Colorado Springs Gazette, the US Air Force Academy plans to release a portion of the results of its annual climate assessment survey.  The press conference date is 29 October, and the release appears to be at least partially linked to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The Academy’s refusal to release the results has been a point of contention with Michael Weinstein, who seems to believe they will add credibility to his cause.  USAFA Superintendent General Michael Gould has maintained the Academy is under no obligation to release the results of an internal climate study.

Forbes Magazine’s 2010 list of America’s Best Colleges, which assessed 600 undergraduate programs nationwide, ranked the US Air Force Academy at #11 in the nation.  Other military academies also fared well in a list that equated the service academies with other highly recognized institutions:

These rankings put service academies in the same tier as Ivy League colleges. The Air Force Academy placed at No. 16 in 2008 and No. 7 in 2009.

For the 2010 rankings, the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., ranked fourth on the list, while the U.S. Naval Academy came in at 29th, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy ranked No. 105, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy earned the No. 165 ranking.

The US Air Force Academy recently reported some of the results from its 2009 climate survey.  The survey is similar to those given to other military units in order to assess everything from racial relations to quality of life.

The superintendent, LtGen Mike Gould, is reportedly focused on instilling an atmosphere of respect for human dignity, and he has seen some success:

In many ways, the climate has shifted toward greater respect for all Airmen here regardless of their race, gender, religious beliefs or socioeconomic backgrounds.  Read more…

It should be common knowledge by now that the US military academies routinely rank among the best colleges in the country by a variety of standards.  The academies routinely top the Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges, and all the military academies were on it.  Of course, having a quality education with zero tuition does much for the value calculation.

The academies also top the 2011 Best Colleges pubished by the Princeton Review (see the 2010 list), which includes relative ranking criteria on a variety of “interesting” subjects.  The Air Force Academy again rises to the top on most conservative and most religious students.  The other academies were also consistently near the top on conservative, politically active, and “least happy” students, with slight variations.  (One unusual hit was at the Merchant Marine Academy, which took low marks on its professors.)  Other rankings:  Read more…