Army Chaplain Changes Lives in Iraq

US Army Chaplain (Capt) Richard Hill is among a small group of Chaplains serving the needs of hundreds of troops at his base in Iraq.  The impact his service has had on the spiritual well-being of troops in Iraq has been visible:

“It has been very rewarding to see the lives of the military touched by God,” he says, especially since they are under no compulsion to attend church or avail themselves of the services of a chaplain…

“We even had some Marines join the choir just because they liked to sing. As a result, they gave their lives to Christ Read more

Air Force 747 Shoots Down Missile

The Air Force announced that the YAL-1, or Airborne Laser, had successfully intercepted a representative ballistic missile in the boost phase, proving the concept of an aircraft based, directed energy anti-ballistic missile weapon system.  Pictures and video are available at the official site of the Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency.

Notwithstanding the historic strategic bombers, the YAL-1, which is a highly modified Boeing 747-400, is the largest aircraft to ever demonstrate an offensive “air to air” capability and is the only one to use directed energy to achieve a kinetic purpose.

Fighter pilot perspective:  If it can bring down a missile at range like that, imagine what it could do to bombers, fighters, UAVs, or even a variety of select ground targets…

The Sacrifice of the Four Chaplains

The US Army Transport Dorchester was sunk 67 years ago on 3 February 1943.  It was one of three ships in a convoy taking American troops across the Atlantic, and would become famous not because it was targeted by German submarines, as many ships were; nor did it become famous for the loss of life, as other events eclipsed the dead and wounded.

The USAT Dorchester became famous for the Four Chaplains.

Four Army chaplains were on board, along with nearly 900 other men: Lt. George Fox, a Methodist; Lt. Alexander Goode, a Jewish Rabbi; Lt. John Washington, a Roman Catholic Priest; and Lt. Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister. They became beacons Read more

“Tebow Rule” Proposed by NCAA

Though he was not the only player to do so, former Florida Gator Tim Tebow made famous the practice of using his eyeblacks for communicating a message.  The NCAA football rules committee has now decided to ban the practice, leading some to dub it the “Tebow Rule.”

Under some interpretations, the practice of putting such text anywhere on the sports uniform was already prohibited, and the rules committee “clarified” that prohibition to include the players’ eyeblacks.

Chaplain Protects Humanity in Military Service

Chaplain (Maj.) Sid A. Taylor is a Baptist Pastor and US Army Chaplain, currently deployed to Iraq.  He oversees the “spiritual needs of more than 4,000 Soldiers:”

While not everyone here has the time nor the desire to attend the service of his or her choice, within FOBs Marez and Diamonback [sic], there are six protestant services, five masses, one Latter-Day Saints service, an Islamic Prayer Room and a Jewish meeting held each week.

Chaplain Taylor has an admirable perspective on the concept of the total person in the military, something the US Army is trying to recapture in its Comprehensive Soldier Fitness programs:

One of the biggest tasks before a chaplain is “Ensuring the spiritual and human dimensions of what we do are not lost.”

“The Army understands the importance of values, morals and integrity in everything we do. Soldiers have emotions and Families. They also have a soul that needs to be sustained in order to do what they do.”

Some might say, for example, that the scandal at Abu Ghraib Read more

Generals Speak at Religious Military Conference

In order to help “Jewish men and women in the US armed forces maintain their religious connection,” the Aleph Insitute hosted a Military Shabbaton and Training Conference in Florida.  The event brought

together more than 300 service personnel, lay leaders and congregants for presentations by military leaders.

Key military speakers included Fort Bliss commander Maj Gen Howard Bromberg; Rear Adm Robert Burt, Navy Chief of Chaplains; and Maj Gen Douglas Carver, Chief of Chaplains for the Army.

The Aleph Institute noted the importance of the Chaplaincy in the military:

According to Rabbi Sanford Dresin, Aleph’s director of military programs, military chaplaincy has its roots in the First Amendment and its guarantees of religious freedom for all citizens.

At the same time, the institute seemed to misunderstand the role of Chaplaincy.  For example, the article notes that  Read more

Book Review: The Eye of the Viper: The Making of an F-16 Pilot

Peter Aleshire
The Lyons Press, 2004.
Topic: F-16 Pilot Training

Peter Aleshire is an author who shadowed a B-Course class through their 6 months at Luke Air Force Base. His book is an interesting summary of the time at Luke with some additional information on other training that specific pilots required. The decision on whether to recommend this book was not easy; it is somewhat informative for someone who might want insight into the fighter pilot culture, though it is specific to the F-16.

On a moral level, it is written as a fighter pilot might write it: profanity (including the use of God’s name in vain), is casually common. More importantly, there are some factual errors or misleading implications. Unimportant examples include the statement that Kunsan butts up against the Korean Demilitarized Zone (p155; it doesn’t), or the implication that an F-16 pilot can Read more

There are No Atheists in Foxholes

The phrase “there are no atheists in foxholes” is not without controversy.  (In fact, one Soldier even went so far as to file an official complaint because an officer used the “discriminatory” phrase.)  The old saying, whose origin is unknown, isn’t meant as a moral conclusion or a statement of fitness.  It simply characterizes the belief that in extreme situations and faced with mortal danger, many people are open to the concept of some form of higher power.

There are certainly examples of the opposite truth.  A New Hampshire publication Read more

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