Former President Bush Greets Returning Troops in Texas

Former President George W. Bush repeatedly said that serving as the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces was one of his highest honors.  His actions demonstrated his devotion to the military, and they continue to do so.  Even in the absence of the press or publicity, he continues to treat the troops as special to him.

See pictures and a link to a video of Bush’s visit to DFW on 11 August 2010 to greet returning troops.

Whether or not one agrees with his politics, his sincere, continuing appreciation of and devotion toward the US military is admirable, and appreciated.

UAV Gets Lost, Flies to DC

According to the Navy Times, a US Navy UAV got “lost” and entered the restricted airspace around Washington, DC.

According to a Navy statement, the incident took place Aug. 2 when, about 75 minutes into a routine test flight, an MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter operating out of the Patuxent River test facilities in southern Maryland lost its control link with ground operators.

The aircraft then flew about 23 miles on a north-by-northwest course and entered the National Capital Region restricted airspace, part of the Air Defense Identification Zone surrounding Washington, D.C.

Most UAVs are programmed with “lost link” procedures that command the UAV into a preplanned flight profile if it loses contact with its ground station.  According to the article, an “anomaly” prevented this failsafe.

Marine Officer Defends Beach Baptism of Marines

The LA Times blog on the beach baptism of US Marines at Camp Pendleton generated an unusually high amount of vitriol toward religious exercise in the military.  There were also accusations of command influence and coercion.

A recent comment posted at the original blog attempts to rebut those accusations with the first public first-hand account of the event:

As a Marine Officer and the Public Affairs Officer who covered this event I would like to say that this amazing event was completely voluntary. In fact the event started with a hand-full of Marines who approached the chaplain to do it. As others heard about it they all got on board.  Read more

Chaplain: DADT Repeal will “Shred…Moral Fabric”

A recently retired Army Reserve Chaplain minced few words in criticizing the proposed repeal of the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”  Chaplain (Col) Alexander Webster (USA, Ret) said, among other things:

President Barack Obama’s initiative to rescind the “don’t ask, don’t tell” statute of 1993 will, if Congress yields to him later this year, shred the social and moral fabric of our armed forces…Fortunately for the nation and its military defense, many chaplains and their civilian faith group leaders are beginning, at last, to push back on the issue.

Webster cites the ADF letter from the Chaplains and the resolutions from Chaplain endorsers opposing repeal.

General Repeats Opposition to DADT Repeal

In a recent Pentagon briefing, outgoing US Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway repeated his earlier statement that logistic issues like billeting would immediately be a problem should the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” be repealed.

Based on his information from Marines, he said, “I can tell you that an overwhelming majority would like not to be roomed with a person who is openly homosexual.” But because some Marines do not object, he said, perhaps having those Marines share rooms voluntarily with openly gay service members “might be the best way to start, without violating anybody’s sense of moral concern or perception on the part of their mates.”

Asked what he meant by moral concern, General Conway said, “We have some people that are very religious.” He added: “I couldn’t begin to give you a percentage, but I think in some instances we will have people that say that homosexuality is wrong, and they simply do not want to room with a person of that persuasion because it would go against their religious beliefs.”

To date, the General is the only person who has voiced concern or seemed to validate the “moral concerns” of some servicemembers.  In fact, some have Read more

Conflict Between Belief, Regs Prevents Jewish Chaplain

The Wall Street Journal picks up on a story covered here previously:  Rabbi Menachem Stern has been trying to become a US military Chaplain, but is currently unable because he wears a beard as a tenet of his faith.

The 28-year-old rabbi was notified last year that he had been accepted as a chaplain in the Army Reserve. Almost immediately, Army officials contacted him to say the acceptance was a clerical mistake, and that unless he was willing to shave his beard, he couldn’t join.  As a Chabad Lubavitch rabbi, Mr. Stern refused, saying the beard is a tenet of his faith.

Stern is obviously aware of the Army’s previous exceptions allowed, including Chaplain (Col) Jacob Goldstein, who was grandfathered, and Read more

Weinstein Fights Christians in Military

Michael Weinstein recently published a letter “about the importance of supporting” a left-leaning website that is apparently suffering a financial shortfall.  The letter was used in a fundraising push for the site, for which MRFF ally Jason Leopold is a “managing editor” and Weinstein himself is a board member.  The message included an allusion to his oft-repeated conspiracy theory that Christians are trying to take over the US military (and the world):  Read more

Chaplains Engage Locals in Iraq

Contrary to some assumptions, Chaplains in the US military do not exist solely to serve the spiritual needs of American servicemembers.  In fact, they often play a strategic role in a conflict.  From Chaplain (LtCol) Ira Houck:

Chaplains are the religious leaders in the military and religious political leaders in Iraq have respect for the integrity of our office.  It’s because of our position that they will tell us information about their areas of expertise that they wouldn’t share with anyone else.

While the use of Chaplains in these roles has a long history, there is a unique aspect of the cultures currently engaged by the US:

Religion is a big part of Iraqi lifestyle and politics. There is no separation of church and state here.

Read more at Chaplains provide new perspective on Iraq.

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