Steve Saint Builds Flying Missionary Car

Steve Saint, son of martyred missionary Nate Saint, and the organization he founded called i-Tec (The Indigenous People’s Technology and Education Ministry Center) have created a flying car inspired by humanitarian and missionary needs:

Saint, the founder of Dunnellon-based i-Tec…said the idea for a short takeoff and landing all-terrain car, plane and airboat grew out of his family’s missionary work in remote areas of Ecuador.

Saint’s Maverick is a dune-buggy type car that can be mounted on pontoons or underneath a wing parachute, after which it is propelled by a six foot propeller at the rear of the vehicle.

The Maverick Sport flies at a fixed 40 mph using a 36-foot-wide ram wing, or wing-shaped parachute, deployed on a 27-foot mast and stored on top of the car during road use.

The Maverick was at the experimental aircraft fly-in at OshKosh this past week (the Experimental Aircraft Association’s 2010 AirVenture), though it couldn’t fly in due to paperwork issues with the FAA.  They documented their drive from Florida to Wisconsin.  More information is available at their Maverick LSA website.

Military Academies Top University Rankings

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

US Military Chaplain Berated, Warned Over Views on Homosexuality

While talking heads continue to declare that the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell” will have no impact on military Chaplains or Christians in the military, a US military Chaplain has just experienced evidence undermining that claim.

In an article entitled “Mounting religious liberty concerns in DADT,” the US military Chaplain, whose details are withheld to protect his career, is stationed with a foreign military service that allows homosexuals to openly serve.  (The “success” of foreign militaries in integrating homosexuals into the service is often held up as a model for future American service.)  Examples were cited that directly contradict the claims of those who support Read more

Military Paper Announces Ramadan

The Quantico Sentry, the base paper for US Marine Corps Base Quantico, published a “Perspectives on Faith” article last week describing the upcoming Islamic month of Ramadan, which begins on Wednesday.

As with many articles in military papers on religious topics regardless of faith, it contains content explicitly stating Islamic beliefs as fact and without qualification.  The military as a whole benefits from an understanding of the various faiths not only of those that make up the military, but also of those in the cultures it experiences around the world.  In that regard, articles that speak to the tenets of various faiths — even if they do so explicitly, or in a supportive way — are a valuable contribution to the military culture.

Interestingly, the byline of this article was simply the “Quantico Islamic Community,” though a note at the end identified the local Islamic lay leader and gave the military chapel as a point of contact.  It would seem the article was written by a Muslim, given that it used the honorific “peace be upon him” when referring to Muhammad.

US to Sell F-15s to Saudi Arabia, Israel Expresses Concerns

In an interesting revelation of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, the US has said it will sell Saudi Arabia “very capable” F-15s, though they will reportedly be ‘less capable’ than some purchased by South Korea and Singapore.  Reportedly, this would appease the concerns of Israel about its military advantage in the region.

Of note, Saudi Arabia already has F-15s; this weapons buy would simply be a purchase of newer, more advanced versions of those aircraft.

Colorado Post Hosts Native American “Chapel”

In the wake of the article highlighting the Christian perspective on a neo-pagan congregation site at the Air Force Academy, a local military paper notes the presence of a Native American sweat lodge on Turkey Creek Ranch, an MWR facility of Fort Carson.  (Fort Carson was recently threatened over the cross on its hospital patch.)

Here, Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, their families and supporters come to pray in a traditional Native American purification ceremony.

The religious site has been at the military facility since the 1990s:

The Turkey Creek Ranch sweat lodge was started in 1994 by two Native American military members who wanted a traditional place to pray. Fort Carson Army Installation gave them a permanent spot inside its Turkey Creek Ranch…

Though the military is sometimes accused of trying to Read more

Weinstein Conspiracy Theories Get More “Creative”

Michael Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation may have finally proven his reliance on conspiracy theories to advance his cause.  He recently gave an interview to American Muslims Today, broadcasting in Nebraska, which headlined the interview thusly:

Who would Jesus bust a cap on?
In this part of the series we discuss The New Crusade. We explore how the fundamentalist Christians have fully infiltrated and some say taken over the US military.

(Apparently the impending repeal of DADT is actually an elaborate diversion by fundamentalist Christians in the military…)

In the interview, Weinstein says he can “basically trace the start Read more

Air Force Looking for Motto, not Slogan

Contrary to the prior assertions of the Air Force Times, the US Air Force says it is not looking for a recruiting slogan; instead, it is in search of a “motto” that is “meant to endure.”

Colonel Groves made the distinction between temporary recruiting slogans and an official motto, which will be the service’s first.

“People may recall slogans such as ‘Aim High,’ ‘No One Comes Close,’ and ‘Cross Into the Blue’ seen in ad campaigns supporting recruiting efforts,” Colonel Groves said. “The Air Force motto, in contrast, is focused on building esprit-de-corps, and is meant to endure to future generations of Airmen.”

The goal is reportedly to have an Air Force motto within the year.

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