New Gun Policies Change Little at Fort Hood

Large institutions like the US military, in their haste to address scandals, are sometimes criticized for imposing policies that answer the accusations of critics rather than defending the virtues or protecting the freedoms of their members.  (This was the case when the Air Force issued “Religious Guidelines” in 2005, for example.)  Fort Hood, in its reaction to the recent massacre, may have made itself vulnerable to that accusation.

The Army Times reports that Fort Hood has “tightened” its firearm policy.  Notably:

The policy [requiring personal weapons registration] also applies to soldiers living off post and civilian hunters if they plan to use a gun at Fort Hood.

Those who enter the post must tell guards if they have a weapon with them.

Post officials say they will increase enforcement and inspection, and those who don’t comply face penalties.

The “new policies” restrict gun-owning Soldiers without making any changes that would prevent another massacre.

While the changes were reportedly made in response to the Fort Hood massacre, Read more

Fighter Pilot Defends his Manliness

Paul “Skid” Woodford is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and F-15 fighter pilot.  As recorded on his blog, he recently experienced a questionably “manly” event that reminded him of a story that is, truthfully, still a longstanding urban legend within the fighter community (particularly between the F-15 and F-16 communities, which sometimes have a “friendly” rivalry).  The story he tells is still well-known, despite the fact that Woodford retired more than 10 years ago, and the story he recounts is nearly 30 years old.

The reference to LtCol Woodford’s site does not equate to an endorsement of his views (interesting though they are).  He uses the “warrior vernacular,” so be warned about language on the site.  Woodford is also a self-described atheist and tends to “lean left.”

If nothing else, his site is proof that contrary to popular belief, the US military–and even the fighter pilot community–is not homogenous.  The US military is composed of men and women who represent all kinds of ideologies, as is the American culture from which they come.

US Air Force Supports Sectarian Ceremony

Though “watchdogs” are normally on the lookout for any connection between official US Air Force resources and remotely-religious events (as they sternly did earlier this year), a recent public event passed quietly and without controversy.

The US Air Force Band attended and provided the music for the National Menorah lighting at the White House on December 13th.

Though chilled by the winter weather, the band provided a warm performance and did an excellent job of supporting the US government’s public celebration of an important part of many Americans’–and some would say the nation’s–culture and religious heritage.

The entire ceremony can be watched at the National Menorah website.

First reported at the Religion Clause.

Military Walks Careful Line in “Holiday” Celebrations

The US military is increasingly sensitive to associations with events that might be perceived as religious.  While it strives to protect the free exercise rights of its members, it is also cognizant of criticisms of inappropriate interactions between a government institution and religion.

Few times is this more evident than near the end of the year, when the military struggles to support the religious celebrations of its members of varying religions.  In general, there is little chance of offense between the varying religions that share holy days during this season.  The greater possibility, in fact, is that critics of religion will be offended by the military’s support of military members’ religious celebrations.

The military’s handling of these events is not uniform, and there are no official policies on the support of public religious celebrations by military members.  This has led to some interesting contrasts.

For example, military bases traditionally have displays during the “holiday” season, not unlike the White House’s National Christmas tree and Menorah.  Searches for “Air Force Base” and “Christmas tree” show that, in the Air Force at least, there are still a great many military bases that do, in fact, light “Christmas” trees.  However, expanding the search Read more

Military Religion Question of the Day: Beliefs

A US Air Force Air National Guard Chaplain recently wrote what became a surprisingly controversial commentary:

Although I haven’t written any books in my time, I often refer to a book that speaks to the subject of happiness. It’s called the Bible. The Bible tells us that 2,000 years ago, God sent his son Jesus into the world so that through his death on our behalf, we could have a personal relationship with him. Lest we forget, Christmas speaks of that birth and the happiness that came from that. Whether you share this belief or not, my wish for all of us is that no matter what religion you identify with, that we genuinely recognize that there is hope for happiness. It is important to remember that we are never alone, and that life eventually, and ultimately, will get better.

It was part of a commentary published by Chaplain (LtCol) Daniel Hornok in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season, which is traditionally an emotional one for military members and their families.  This is true of deployed servicemembers, certainly, but also for young troops who may be experiencing their first major holidays at a new base away from home.  The Chaplain emphasized hope and the need to ‘look out for each other,’ an act that “may save a life.”

While the commentary of a Utah ANG Chaplain is probably not terribly widely read (with no offense intended to the Chaplain), and the topic (hope and support during the holidays) was one that is important to the military, it still managed to attract some negative Read more

Reports: UAV Video Feeds Compromised

While UAVs have the politically palatable aspect of not endangering a pilot, they are not the panacea that some seem to have come to believe they are.  They break, they crash, and sometimes they even have to be shot down by the good guys.

Now the Wall Street Journal reports that UAV video feeds that provide intel to American forces are also available to the targets of those feeds.  US forces reportedly captured laptops with hours of supposedly classified UAV video.

In an era in which people are derided for not securing their passwords or loading anti-virus software on their computer, it seems unconscionable that the US military didn’t take the “simple” step of encrypting the feeds.  This has led to some interesting comments, including “are we really that stupid?” as well as speculation that Read more

Air Force Academy Religious Climate “Improving”

An Associated Press article repeated at the local Gazette and other sources says of the US Air Force Academy:

Religious tolerance has improved dramatically since allegations five years ago that evangelical Christians harassed cadets who didn’t share their faith.

The article even quotes critic Michael Weinstein, who sued the Air Force for incidents at the Academy, agreeing with the assessment:

This is the first time we feel positive about things there.

While the initial complaints were that the Air Force was foisting Christianity on its cadets, the Air Force investigation instead determined that the situation was far simpler: cadets of minority faiths did not feel appropriately accommodated as was permissible under military regulations.  Thus, the Air Force addressed Read more

Air Force Leaders Send Holiday Greetings

As noted at the Air Force website, the top 3 US Air Force leaders distributed their 2009 holiday season greetings.  They asked Airmen to “reflect on our blessings,” and expressed gratitude for deployed Airmen and fellow servicemembers serving in war.  The leaders also specifically asked Air Force families to “reach out” to the familes of deployed servicemembers and single Airmen, and

welcome them into your holiday celebrations, in the spirit of giving and support that makes our greater Air Force family so special.

Ultimately, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley, Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Roy successfully transmitted a neutral note of goodwill for anything that happens to be going on during this specific time of year:

In all of the joyous ways that this holiday season is celebrated, we wish you and yours the very best–during this special time, and througout the New Year.

While admirably non-exclusive, the message is almost meaningless Read more

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