God and Country

According to MSNBC, the VMFA-122 Crusaders were “ordered to reverse” their decision to return to the “Crusaders” moniker.

“The deputy commandant for aviation [Lt. Gen. Terry Robling] directed VMFA 122 to maintain the unit identification as the Werewolves,” said Marines public information officer Lt. Col. Joseph Plenzler. “I called down there to confirm that they have changed the tail markings, squadron patches” and other places the squadron logo appears, he said.

The Marines gave no reason for the order, giving Michael Weinstein — who had called the Marines a “national security threat” for the move — the blood in the water he needed to claim victory and make further demands:  Read more…

Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and state threatened to sue the city of Santa Monica over its proposed ‘holiday display’ policy for the Christmas/Hanukkah season. Last year it had a “lottery system” which was dominated by anti-religious displays.  Americans United

threatened to sue the City of Santa Monica if it moves forward Tuesday with a proposal by Nativity scene organizers that would ban signs and banners that “denigrate” holiday traditions.

It’s a mixed bag, actually.  The concept of free speech Read more…

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has restricted the flight envelopes of the F-22 Raptor and ordered the Air Force to

take additional steps to mitigate risks to F-22 pilots, George Little, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, said…

Panetta reportedly directed the Air Force to “expedite” the installation of a backup oxygen system, though that system won’t be ready until later this year anyway — and it will take nearly a year and a half to modify all the Raptors.

The Air Force as much as admitted its most recent response was a reaction Read more…

News reports were aghast recently that the Air Force has decided to choose a Light Attack aircraft for delivery to the Afghan Air Force — which has undergone an arduous contract dispute already – without conducting a flyoff.

The Air Force will choose a winner in its troubled Light Air Support competition without actually flying the two contending planes, the Embraer Super Tucano and the Hawker-Beechcraft AT-6…

The decision puts the Air Force acquisition process back in the spotlight, where it has only suffered in the past.

The Air Force announced two F-22 pilots who spoke in uniform and without permission to 60 Minutes, Maj. Jeremy Gordon and Capt. Josh Wilson, will be granted protection under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act.

Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger…said the service considers the two pilots who have refused to fly the Raptor to be whistle-blowers and protected under the federal whistle-blower act.

The act protects members of the military who make a protected communication to a member of Congress, one of whom was present with them on the set.

While the widow of Capt Jeff Haney sues the Air Force, two other pilots appeared on the CBS show 60 Minutes with a Congressman, seeking military whistleblower status to publicize their complaints against the F-22.

Maj. Jeremy Gordon and Capt. Joshua Wilson have chosen to stop flying the F-22 because they say during some flights they and other pilots have experienced oxygen deprivation, disorientation, and worse…

They are so concerned they have taken the extraordinary step of risking their careers by appearing on 60 Minutes in uniform — and without permission — to blow the whistle on a plane they love to fly…

The pilots could face further disciplinary action for speaking to us which is why this man was seated just off to the side throughout the interview. He’s Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, an Air Force pilot himself, who Josh and Jeremy went to with their concerns in order to gain protection under the Military Whistleblowers Act.

The Air Force had only recently acknowledged that a “small number” of pilots Read more…

The Air Force reported that an F-15E Strike Eagle crashed “in Southwest Asia” on a local training mission.  Both crew members were reported safe.  This is the second F-15E crash in the AOR since the March crash that killed pilot Capt Francis Imlay.

In Utah, the Air Force said an F-16 crashed, with the pilot successfully ejecting.

As is the norm, the crashes will be investigated by a board, and the results released some months from now.

Jason Torpy, the one-man Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, is an atheist and former Army officer.  While his MAAF is ostensibly a “community support network,” he recently revealed the true motivation behind his ideology.

In a recent display of internet frustration, Torpy took fellow atheists to task for not banding together and being “anti-” enough.  The context was a comment that people don’t join groups for things they don’t believe in, spoken by Neil deGrasse Tyson, a self-described agnostic (who says he is “often claimed by atheists”):

Do non-golf players gather and strategize? Do non-skiers…come together and talk about the fact that they don’t ski? I can’t do that. I can’t gather around and talk about how much everybody in the room doesn’t believe in God.

This is the same point raised by many people  Read more…

The US Air Force was previously taken to task by Congress when it removed the Latin word for “god” from the Rapid Capabilities Office patch — because an atheist complained.  (In fact, Rep Randy Forbes went so far as to say Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz “has been as bad as I have seen…in defending religious liberties.”

It seems the Air Force solved the patch problem:  Read more…

Juan Garcia, an assistant to the Secretary of the Navy for manpower, says Secretary Ray Mabus wants a service where opportunities are “gender blind.”  To that end, the Navy is floating the idea of ending gender-specific hats.

“It’s a small thing, but separate covers was in some ways emblematic of a two-tiered sea service force,” Garcia said in an April 10 interview, speaking about Mabus. “He wanted to take a look across the force…to send a signal that our Navy … reward[s] and keep[s] the best talent, regardless of gender.”

Unisex uniforms are nothing new.  In fact, the Air Force recently Read more…

Capt Barry Crawford was recently awarded the Air Force cross by US Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz for his actions in Afghanistan in May 2010.  The Air Force cross is second only to the Medal of Honor, and Crawford became only the third living recipient of the award since September 11, 2001.  The Air Force special tactics officer and his small team fought a pitched 14-hour battle with more than 100 Taliban insurgents — with Crawford exposing himself to fire to assist in the evacuation of wounded.

Crawford credited “someone higher Read more…

From Fox News:

From the American Family Association:

“The Air Force and its Secretary, Michael B. Donley, have created the most hostile “anti-religious” environment in the history of the United States military.”

The Air Force’s decision to remove the Bible from the standard checklist for its military lodging facilities continues to get press (much to the chagrin of Michael Weinstein, who wasn’t involved in this story but has been trying to sensationalize another one).

A group of chaplains and chaplain endorsers, the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, has expressed its “concern,” saying that the decision has Read more…

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey has reportedly ordered the entire Department of Defense to review its military education materials for content that might be offensive to Islam.

The order was precipitated by an elective course called “Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism,” offered Read more…

If you can forgive the crassness of the meme, the video itself is pretty good — and entirely accurate:

As predicted, it didn’t take long for Chris Rodda to read last week’s write-up on the VMFA-122 Crusaders and manufacture some outrage.  She called the renaming of the unit from the recent “Werewolves” back to the “Crusaders” “sheer stupidity” and a “constitutional issue.”  Of course, everyone is aware of the clause in the Constitution that prohibits military units from having a cross on their patches.  It must be in there somewhere…she said so.

Michael Weinstein was in regular form.  Eliminating the unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, which constituted about half his statement:

“This…action…is…unconstitutional[] and…stupid[]. It [is]…propaganda…for our…Islamic foes and…a…national security threat…It will…hasten the maiming and deaths of our armed forces members…We’ll be seeing you in Federal Court, chump.”

“See you in court” from Michael Weinstein is about as threatening as “see you on the field” from the 2011 Indianapolis Colts.  Being a perpetual loser kind of undermines your credibility.

Michael Weinstein, again, says that America’s extremist adversaries — not the US Constitution nor “Nature” nor “Nature’s God” — are the barometer by which Read more…