Military National Prayer Breakfasts Include Many Faiths

While the topic of National Prayer Breakfasts at local military installations was already discussed, the events continue to occur at various locations around the world.  At Fort Benning, a picture showed the nature of the breakfast within the military:

Jewish Chaplain (Maj) Carlos Huerta talks with Muslim imam Dawud Salahuddin Bin Pearson before the start of the National Prayer Breakfast. (US Army Photo)

Jewish Chaplain (Maj) Carlos Huerta talks with Muslim imam Dawud Salahuddin Bin Pearson before the start of the National Prayer Breakfast. (US Army Photo)

The celebration was open to all faiths and included prayers by Muslim imam Dawud Salahuddin Bin Pearson and Jewish Chaplain Read more

Soldiers Fellowship with Like-Minded Atheist Peers

When criticizing para-church organizations that ministered to servicemembers, MRFF creator Michael Weinstein used to cite the number of US military bases around the globe, as if the number somehow made the existence of the organizations more insidious.  But as someone very recently said, the presence of groups of religious adherents at military bases arises from a far more basic human need: fellowship.

“If there’s one thing church groups get right is fellowship [sic],” Johnson said. “Everyone wants to be around people who are like them.”

The person quoted is supporting the existence of such groups, but she isn’t at all religious.  She is Kathleen Johnson, founder of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers and currently Vice President and Military Director of American Atheists.  She is reportedly a former Army first sergeant, retired after 21 years of service.  (Her organizational profile pictures continue to show her in a military Read more

Restrictions on Judeo-Christianity Ruled UnConstitutional

The US District Court for southern California ruled in late February (pdf) that a school district erred when it demanded that a teacher remove banners from his room due to their “Judeo-Christian” and “particular sectarian viewpoint.”  The banners contained quotes from American founding documents and mottos that made reference to God.

While the academic environment of the case may not seem relevant to Christianity in the military, realize that the school district (and occasionally the teacher) was treated as a government actor, as the military is (and often military members are).  The government’s treatment of religion in this case, and the court’s response, was extremely enlightening.

The most interesting part of the case was the fact that while the school district said that the presence of the banners might raise concerns under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, the court ultimately ruled that the school district’s actions actually violated the Establishment Clause.  The reason was simple:  Read more

F-18 Crew Ejects off SC Coast

US Marine Corps pilot Maj Duane Litpak and his backseat weapons officer Capt Jonathan Hutchison reportedly ejected from their two-seat F/A-18D off the coast of South Carolina.  Both were safely recovered by Coast Guard helicopters.  Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, the jet’s home base, is a training base for Marine F/A-18 crews.

The public reaction from the Marines is an interesting contrast with the Air Force.  In general, the Air Force will say only that an incident has occurred and that a board will convene to investigate it, while often keeping the crew out of the limelight.  By contrast, the Marines almost immediately published photos of the two climbing out of the Coast Guard chopper, and explained in detail that the crew had to slow their aircraft to a safe ejection speed and abandon the aircraft due to a fire.

UAVs: Get’em While They’re Young

The US Air Force Academy recently awarded “UAS-RPA” wings to its first group of cadets.  Cadets had already been authorized to wear glider wings if they were an Academy glider pilot or jump wings if they were parachutist qualified.

The display is the latest effort by the US Air Force to “normalize” the unmanned aerial vehicle career field and encourage its development within the Air Force culture.

Army Chaplain Smokes, Spits, Prays with the Guys

US Army Chaplain (Capt) Carl Subler is profiled by the San Francisco Examiner in a revealing article that describes the comradery the Catholic priest shares with the Army troops he serves in Afghanistan.

His perspective on faith and suffering, while somewhat unique to hear someone say, is actually fairly commonly held:

I find the more creature comforts are taken away from us, in many ways, we look to God with even more hope.

Read more of the interesting article at the Examiner.  Chaplain Subler was previously profiled here.

Via the Army Chaplaincy blog.

Huckabee: Engage the Fighter Pilot Culture

The origin of ChristianFighterPilot.com is the misperception among some people that one cannot be both a good fighter pilot and a good Christian.  The assumption is that the two are mutually exclusive; one must overpower the other.  While the fighter pilot culture can be hostile to a Christian spirit, being both a fighter pilot and a Christian is not an oxymoron.  In fact, the sometimes carnal nature of the fighter pilot profession makes it the perfect place for a Christian, not one to be avoided.

Former Presidential candidate and now Fox News commentator Mike Huckabee seems to agreeRead more

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