Weinstein Praises General’s “Metamorphosis”

As previously noted, Michael Weinstein had suddenly softened his tone on LtGen Robert Caslen when he found out Caslen was slated to lead the US Military Academy at West Point.

During Gen Caslen’s involvement in the Christian Embassy controversy in 2006, Weinstein said those involved in the scandal were equivalent to al Qaida, Iraqi militant Muqtada al Sadr, and deserved to be court-martialed.  Two years later, Weinstein essentially accused Gen Caslen of fomenting insurrection at the hands of a Christian army, and said the Army was promoting “fundamentalist Christianity” by promoting Gen Caslen.

Weinstein’s self-serving “about face” has already been discussed.  What is interesting this time is Weinstein’s continuation of the faux praise for the General’s “metamorphosis” — while he cites absolutely no reason for or characteristic of LtGen Caslen’s alleged ‘reversal.’

After first reminding people the MRFF once accused General Caslen of “sedition” — a criminal accusation for which he does not apologize — Weinstein then says:  Read more

Chaplain Promoted to LtCmdr. Twice.

Chaplain (LtCmdr) William Dorwart has a fascinating story.  He enlisted in the Navy in 1967, then left and obtained a Masters in Dividnity at Notre Dame. He then rejoined the Navy as a Chaplain in 1985 and left again in 1991 to serve a civilian ministry role.

To help meet the shortage of Catholic chaplains, he returned to the Navy in 2008, 41 years after he originally enlisted.  He started again as a Lieutenant, and was finally promoted, for the second time, back to LtCmdr.

It’s an odd career path, but even now Chaplain Dorwart hopes to continue to serve in military ministry, if an age waiver is granted.

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All Female AWACs Crew includes Four Males

The 552nd Air Control Wing, which flies the E-3 Sentry, went out of its way to find 19 female Airmen to fill the flight deck and mandatory crew positions of the AWACs.  They “made history…by fielding an all-female flight crew.”  The wing pulled women from every unit, including Reserves, to find enough female Airmen:

The crew, comprised every operational flying squadron within the wing, took to the air on Aug. 23, in what is believed to be the first sortie flown by an all-female crew from the wing.

The “all female” flight routine has been done — and lauded — several times before, in other units and at other levels.  It appears precedent has been set for every unit and airframe to make a “historic” gender-specific flight.

In an awkward twist, the four men onboard the aircraft appear to have been ignored so it could be called an “all female” crew:  Read more

MRFF, Atheists, Commissary Manager Grumble over Bibles

Jason Torpy, a former Army Captain and current atheist, previously claimed to have influenced the Air Force to remove Gideon Bibles from hotel room checklists for Air Force lodging facilities.

Critics had claimed this would end the presence of the Bibles altogether; the Air Force disagreed, but Torpy agreed — and that is what he wanted, as he called the Bibles Christian “privilege.”

It seems the original complaint came not from a member of the military but from civilian Daniel Smith, the Store Director for the Navy Commissary in Yokosuka, Japan.  He recently complained — again — because there were shockingly still Bibles available to Air Force lodging patrons:

The Air Force never publicly said it would remove Bibles Read more

Chaplain with PTSD Serves as Counselor, Model

US Army Chaplain (Maj) David Trogdon is serving his fourth combat tour — this time, officially diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Now he helps minister to those who may be struggling as well:

He knows from experience the corrosive effect of repressing anger and anxiety. His return to war this year after three tours is motivated, in part, by a desire to show fellow troops that mental trauma can be tamed.   “Sometimes I get asked, ‘Does it bother you that people know you have PTSD?’ Read more

Airman Delivers Daughter, Deploys

Airman First Class Timothy Pledger’s first flight out to deploy to Guam for six months was delayed, so he was able to spend a few more hours with his wife, who was due to have their child “any day.”  His daughter decided to make her arrival at that moment, so Pledger had to help:

So Pledger returned home to be with his pregnant wife…Around 9 a.m., his wife’s water broke…

“The baby was already coming out. I called [emergency services] so they could give me step-by-step instructions on how to deliver the baby…”

After applying what the emergency personnel told him, a few minutes later his daughter was completely out and breathing normally.

A few hours later, Pledger got on an airplane and left for six months:  Read more

US Military Christian Preschool Moves Off Post

The Mustard Seed preschool program had been run at the US Army garrison at Yongsan, South Korea, for more than 30 years.  Apparently, someone applied to become director of the preschool but was rejected — so they filed an anonymous complaint that triggered an investigation of the entire program.

Initially, the Army was simply going to shut it down, but it relented when parents voiced their concerns over the hardship a sudden closure would cause.  The Mustard Seed school has now moved off post to Seoul International Baptist Church, where it can still serve US troops and civilians without military involvement.

“We decided to see if it would work, and it worked beautifully,” said Jon Goldsmith, executive director of the Seoul International Baptist Church, which now operates the Mustard Seed Preschool. “It’s not really out of context for us because we have a large military presence at our church, and we were the closest church to the base, with a sizeable representation from the base.”

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Air Force Issues Guidance on Chaplains, Homosexuals

The Air Force Chaplaincy recently issued guidance (PDF) on how chaplains should handle a variety of situations regarding homosexuals and chaplains whose theologies do not allow them to support that lifestyle:

Wing Chaplains, talk with the chaplains under your supervision so that you are clear on what each chaplain’s endorser’s expectations are regarding ministry to same-gender couples.  Honor those expectations and do not ask a chaplain to do anything contrary to his or her endorsement.

The Air Force appears to be the first service to explain how to handle marriage retreats where a homosexual couple may attend.  Speaking to the Air Force “MarriageCare” retreats:

When you advertise a MC retreat, announce the chaplain who will be leading the event and the chaplain’s endorser.  If the chaplain Read more

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