According to an Air Force press release, a reenactment of the first flight of a US military airplane will occur at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, commemorating the flight 100 years ago today.
The celebration is reportedly being held by both the Army and the Air Force. Obviously, the first military flight was conducted in a US Army aircraft.
Update: Read the post-celebration article, which includes pictures of the unique flyby of the Wright B Flyer.
An article at Army.mil explains the unique roles and necessity of the Chaplaincy to the success of the Army mission, something that applies across the services to the US military as a whole. One of the command Chaplains noted the value of the Chaplaincy goes beyond the tangible:
I would hate to think what the Army would be like without the Chaplain Corps. What if all of the positive spiritual emphasis in the world was removed in a moment? What would the world look like? It would be ugly.
Though not often said, there are moral virtues supported by religion and the Chaplaincy that positively contribute to the mission of the US military. Regrettably, those positive contributions are often forgotten, until they are removed and the impact of their loss is felt.
Via the Army Chaplaincy blog.
An official Air Force press release notes that US Air Force “remotely piloted aircraft” (RPA) crews, otherwise known as UAV operators, have been approved to receive an incentive pay equal to current flight pay rates. (This was proposed–and criticized–as early as last fall.)
Just days after noting the potential impact that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal might have on military Chaplains, there are now widespread articles on the decision by an Air Force base Chaplain’s office to rescind the invitation of a speaker who opposed President Obama’s proposed repeal.
The actions were those of an individual Chaplain’s office and were not necessarily indicative of the decisions of higher level leadership. However, the decision itself is a perfect example of the conflict that organizations opposing the repeal intend to highlight.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins had been invited in October by the Chaplains’ office to speak at the February 25 National Prayer Luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base (now known as Joint Base Andrews). Perkins is a US Marine veteran and ordained minister. Supposedly, after President Obama used his State of the Union to call for a repeal of DADT, and Perkins and the FRC vocally opposed him, the Chaplain’s office rescinded the invitation. (Notably, the Chaplain’s office is free to invite or disinvite anyone they choose; it is their public reasoning for doing so that makes this case interesting.)
The letter from the Chaplain’s office rescinding the invitation reportedly said: Read more
A previous article noted that Michael Weinstein likes to highlight the places that his Military Religious Freedom Foundation was mentioned in the press. One result of his “tooting his own horn” may be the perception of “impact” from his organization. Apparently, his desire to seem influential is so strong that he has digressed into fiction.
In a long article published at an independent “online magazine,” Weinstein Read more
An F-16 pilot at Osan Air Base, Korea, has reportedly ejected just prior to landing. The pilot is described as “safe,” while the plane, which “had nearly touched down” at the time of ejection, “did not catch fire and remained structurally intact.”
It will likely be at least a month before the initial reports are completed on the mishap.
The F-16, like most advanced fighters, is equipped with a “zero/zero” ejection seat (the ACES II, in most American ejection seat aircraft). This means at zero feet above ground and zero knots (that is, parked on the ground), the pilot can safely eject. Generally he gets “one swing in the chute” before hitting the ground, an impact that is Read more
With the Obama administration’s recent efforts to allow homosexuals to openly serve in the US military, some organizations are beginning to describe the impact that such a policy change could have on US military Chaplains.
As reported by the Catholic News Agency, the Alliance Defense Fund is one such group. The CNA said
Proposed changes allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military could marginalize military chaplains from religions which consider homosexual acts sinful, a religious liberty group has warned.
The ADF specifically said that the ‘affirmation’ of homosexuality in the military Read more
Like its recent support of the Super Bowl, the US Air Force also performed a flyby of the “super bowl of NASCAR,” the Daytona 500. As with many similar events, the flyby is timed to coincide with the end of the singing of the national anthem. The roar of jet fighters passing by as the anthem ends is a moving experience for many. As cool as it is, it is poor form to start cheering for the fighters before the anthem is complete, as many in the crowds tend to do.
Interestingly, a comment left on the official Air Force article on this story took issue with the altitude of the flyby. While the writer displays a bit of the fighter vs heavy antagonism (she said a tanker crew had gotten in trouble for doing “the exact same thing” and therefore the fighters should also), her complaint may have some validity. The YouTube videos of the flyby (there are two decent ones here and here) do seem to show the fighters Read more