Fort Hood Pagans Complain about Christian Privilege

One of the oldest and most well-known non-traditional religious groups in the US military is the pagan group on the US Army post at Fort Hood, Texas. In 1999, George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and soon to be US President, famously criticized the US military’s openness toward wiccan practices at Fort Hood.

The “Fort Hood Open Circle” entered the news again recently when Michele Morris, the group’s self-described clergy and Designated Faith Group Leader (DFGL), posted an “open letter” on Facebook decrying their mistreatment in the face of “privilege” (which she clarified as “Christian privilege” in another interview) [emphasis added]:

My congregation was locked out of their church last night. It wasn’t the first time, or the second, in fact – I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened over the last six years…Last night was three hours outside, an entire congregation milling around, angry, scared, frustrated, defeated, and discouraged…

The last six years…have been a dizzying roller coaster of harassment and neglect relieved by brief moments of support and underpinned by the soul killer that we proudly call “tolerance”.

Morris went on to list a veritable bevy of grievances. It was unclear at Read more

Colonel Bob Starr: “Obligated” to Support LGBT in US Air Force

starrpride1A fascinating set of developments has occurred in a Texas GOP primary race for the US House of Representatives. Michael Bob Starr is a retired Colonel and was recently the Wing Commander at Dyess AFB, which is in the district for which he is running. Promoting himself as a conservative — his Twitter tag line says “Conservative. Christian. Husband. Father.” — one of his opponents is accusing him of participating in “social engineering” while in the Air Force:

The candidate, Colonel Bob Starr, can be seen in a number of photos wearing gay pride clothing, throwing his arms in the air as a champion in gay pride runs, and even wearing a rainbow painted gay pride shirt…

Col Starr eventually responded, saying [emphasis added]

“I believe and strongly support traditional marriage, but as commander of Dyess Air Force Base, my job was to enforce the law and not discriminate against anyone who made different lifestyle choices than the ones that I agreed with,” Col. Starr says. “All I had to do was make sure that homosexual airmen were not discriminated against. That’s what changed in the law in 2011…”

“As leader of the base, I participated in as many events as I could to support as many airmen as I could…”

“I created an atmosphere of acceptance,” Col. Starr claims. “I did it regardless of the group or organization.”

Critics pointed out that he seemed to go beyond “all [he] had to do” when he participated in the “gay pride” events.  In another article Col Starr is quoted as saying he was “obligated” to Read more

US Military Uses Strong Bonds to Aid Male, Female Relationships

strongbondsLast fall, chaplains from the 181st Intel Wing, an Air National Guard unit in Terre Haute, Indiana, led a Strong Bonds marriage retreat called “Laugh your Way to a Better Marriage.” Though they haven’t been in the news much, chaplain-led marriage retreats have been an ongoing source of tension as chaplains and service members try to navigate the sensitivities of ‘other sexuality’ — a point that sometimes taints the “non-event” narrative of supporters of DADT repeal.

The Racers’ retreat highlights from where some of that tension can come:  Read more

Pentagon Leads on Sexuality and Gender, Defers on Religion

When dozens of retired General Officers lobbied Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to lift restrictions on Sikhs serving in the US military, the DoD had a somewhat odd response [emphasis added]:

A Pentagon official speaking to Military.com on background said there is no Defense Department policy on Sikhs…to review…

The Defense Department issues standards that the individual services may interpret broadly and implement on their own, with no service bound by a decision made by another…

In essence, the DoD said it doesn’t have a policy preventing  Read more

USAFA Cadets Defy Mikey Weinstein, Pray in End Zone Before Game

Before the Mountain West Conference championship game this past weekend, US Air Force Academy cadet football players defied the invective and threats of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein — and prayed in the end zone.  As captured on video by NBC San Diego:

Mikey Weinstein’s criticism has been called petty even by his supporters, yet he is claiming these cadets taking a knee in the end zone prior to the game violates Air Force instructions, the US Constitution, and the law:  Read more

Chris Rodda: US Army Validates MRFF Claim

In a follow-up to the original Military.com article on the Great Fort Shafter Sign Scandal of 2015 (begun on this site, interestingly enough), journalist Bryant Jordan included an interesting request Army Public Affairs had made of him:

Sgt. 1st Class Mary Ferguson, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the office, asked the story be pulled because it included only a single source, the unit did not have a chance to respond, because the story headline “brings attention to jihadists over a non-issue…contributing to their agenda” and because the sign was removed.

In essence, Army PA was saying Read more

Generals Call on US Military to Allow Sikhs to Serve

A coalition of 27 retired General officers signed a letter (PDF) urging the US Department of Defense to allow Sikhs to serve in the US military. Currently, Sikhs must abandon the articles of their faith — including uncut hair, beards, and turbans — before they can join the military:

Although Sikhs have served honorably in the U.S. military since World War I, restrictive appearance regulations adopted in 1981 created barriers to their service. Revisions earlier this year to DOD Instruction 1300.17 make it possible for service members to request religious accommodations; however, the new guidelines presumptively exclude Sikh articles of faith, forcing Sikhs to repeatedly apply for waivers and even violate their religion while an accommodation request is pending.

One of the notable signatures on the letter is Read more

Lawsuit Reveals Details of Air Force Punishment for Religious Expression

The recent dismissal of the lawsuit filed by US Air Force TSgt Layne Wilson against the Air Force revealed some interesting details about how and why he was disciplined for expressing opposition to same-sex marriage.

As noted previously, the ruling (PDF) indicated the controversy started with an email:

On December 2, 2012, Plaintiff Layne Wilson…sent an email, using his military email account, to an official at the United States Military Academy at West Point objecting to a same-sex wedding held at the military academy’s chapel…

As quoted in the ruling, the email said:  Read more

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