A Congressman’s idea to name a Navy ship after homosexual activist Harvey Milk has received opposition from a seemingly unlikely group — homosexuals:
Some of the strongest opposition appears to be from the gay community…Some gay activists, at least one city supervisor and others have said Milk was anti-war and wouldn’t want a ship named after him.
The normally non-controversial process of naming vessels after cities and Presidents takes a scandalous turn every now and then when the Navy suggests, or receives a suggestion to consider, naming a vessel after a controversial figure.
President Obama’s administration has registered its objections to several portions of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the US House (which also includes another attempt to ban NASCAR sponsorships).
The Obama administration “strongly objects” to provisions in [the bill] that would prohibit the use of military property for same-sex “marriage or marriage-like” ceremonies, and protect military chaplains Read more…
It is easy to forget that Michael Weinstein was an Air Force JAG “for 10 years” (if you can figure out how that timeline works, you win the Christmas turkey). In a recent press release conducted through his trusted Colorado Springs Independent, Weinstein claimed USAFA was now obligated to cancel its National Prayer Breakfast observance (the same event over which he sued — and lost — last year). Referring to the Colorado Court of Appeals ruling that said Colorado National Day of Prayer proclamations were unconstitutional,
Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says the ruling means Read more…
US Africa Command chaplains recently traveled to newly independent South Sudan to meet their counterparts in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. They have an interesting patch:
The patch bears a large cross and reads Read more…
Air Force Chaplain (Capt) Christian Lapaul Williams provides a moving first hand account of his role at Arlington National Cemetery. Worth the read.
The F-15C Eagle is an air-to-air fighter. That’s what it does, and that’s what its pilots love. In fact, saying the air-to-ground “b-word” (bomb) is even forbidden in the community (among other linguistic games).
That isn’t stopping the Eagles from trying out some of the air-to-ground toys.
The Air Force Times reports a National Guard F-15C unit has been testing a Sniper pod, an air-to-ground targeting pod, on its Eagles: Read more…
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, concerned over instances of “misbehavior” that have shed negative light on the US military, issued a “personal plea” for US troops to “honor their military values:”
“These days, it takes only seconds — seconds — for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline,” Panetta said. “And those headlines can impact the mission that we’re engaged in, they can put your fellow service members at risk, they can hurt morale, they can damage our standing in the world, and they can cost lives.”
The sentiment was reportedly echoed by the top commander in Afghanistan:
Marine Gen. John Allen…believes that a number of major setbacks in the past six months have resulted from moral, Read more…
A DoD article highlights US Army Chaplain (LtCol) Avi Weiss, a chaplain who “FOB hops” around Afghanistan as the only Jewish religious leader in the theater.
“Attempting to keep traditional Jewish laws is difficult in this environment,” said Weiss, explaining the shortage of rabbis in the military. “It’s a credit to the military that it Read more…
A New York museum is hosting a collection of US military Bibles dating from the mid 1800s to modern times.
The exhibit showcases three dozen copies of Scriptures published for members of the U.S. Armed Forces from the Civil War onward, from leather-bound, 19th-century copies to contemporary Bibles clothed in camouflage.
The books are on loan from Read more…
The Family Research Council has joined with Judicial Watch in filing a lawsuit against the US Navy seeking access to documentation over the Walter Reed policy that “banned” the Bible.
The FOIA lawsuit…seeks access to records concerning a policy announced in a September 14, 2011, memo issued by the Commander of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center banning the use and/or distribution of Bibles and other religious items during visits with wounded, ill or injured patients.
The Navy has reportedly failed to respond to the FRC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request within the time required by law. Walter Reed rescinded the policy as insufficiently reviewed after intense media coverage.
News reports were aghast recently that the Air Force has decided to choose a Light Attack aircraft for delivery to the Afghan Air Force — which has undergone an arduous contract dispute already – without conducting a flyoff.
The Air Force will choose a winner in its troubled Light Air Support competition without actually flying the two contending planes, the Embraer Super Tucano and the Hawker-Beechcraft AT-6…
The decision puts the Air Force acquisition process back in the spotlight, where it has only suffered in the past.
The US Naval Academy at Annapolis won a Boeing-sponsored inter-service academy competition to design a futuristic aircraft cockpit:
The competition, now in its second year, required each academy’s team to design the cockpit of an aircraft for a mission nearly 30 years Read more…
Some people take issue with the presence of military chaplains serving within the borders of the US, but the religious ministry team of a Marine Expeditionary Unit showed that soldiers stateside sometimes need their spiritual resources brought to them, as well. The unit was in field training during Easter this year:
While training is the number one priority, seven religious services were held to allow the service members to practice their faith even Read more…
General Mark Welsh, the current commander of USAFE, has been nominated by the President to become the next Chief of Staff of the Air Force. If confirmed, he would represent a return of the fighter pilot to the Chief position, which was filled for the first time by a non-fighter/bomber pilot with current Chief General Norton Schwartz.
“It’s always a great day to be an Airman … but this one is extra special for me. I came into the Air Force because I Read more…
Quartermasters have Saint Martin, and Marine artillery has Saint Barbara, but the patron saint of Army aviation is Saint Michael. Four aviators were recently “inducted into the Order of Saint Michael” while deployed to Afghanistan.
The award recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the promotion of Army Aviation in ways that stand out in the Read more…
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