God and Country

It’s long been known that Michael Weinstein is starved for attention in a way unique for a man his age.  His zealotry for his cause is so consuming, in fact, there are times even his wife has said he has gone “overboard” — because he wants attention.

“When he goes a little overboard, we talk about it,” [Bonnie Weinstein] said. “But people don’t realize that going overboard is what’s getting the attention.”

In theory, Weinstein’s claims of ubiquitous persecution would result in droves of US military members beating down his door for help.  In fact, the opposite is true — in 2007 Weinstein even had to advertise to find someone to complain:

Without such a pawn, Read more…

Pastor Rick Warren gave an interview to ABCNews’ Jake Tapper in which he “defended the use of military force.”  Apparently, this was newsworthy:

Military service…is a worthy and valid vocation. In fact, the greatest compliment that Jesus ever gave, he gave to a soldier in scripture. He said, “I’ve never seen such faith in all of Israel.” And the Bible said God has Read more…

The Air Force has withdrawn an essay that referenced chapel attendance in its correspondence course for junior officers.

The decision came after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation demanded in a March 27 letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz that the service stop using the document on the grounds that it violates the U.S. Constitution.

The Air Force responded to Weinstein’s complaint by saying the coursework would have been withdrawn in this summer’s scheduled curriculum review anyway, as it has already been removed from the in-residence course the correspondence version mimics.

Weinstein was quick to claim “victory” Read more…

Michael Weinstein is taking the US Air Force to task, again, for using the word “chapel” in a course from Squadron Officers’ School (SOS), a junior officer military education course.

The sentence at issue is important in context. Therefore, the surrounding text is included below.  Weinstein’s lawyers have declared these words “unconstitutional,” saying the SOS course

mandates that regular chapel attendance is part of the “Spiritual and Ethical Responsibilities” of a commissioned Air Force officer…

That’s an extraordinarily tortured reading of the text.  It’s also ignorant, since it is a commentary on leadership, not an Air Force policy document.

The manufactured offense over a single phrase is so stretched Weinstein likely views this as a test case.  Will the Air Force knee-jerk and scrub the course for the offensive reference to a chapel?  Or will it take a more measured response — or even acknowledge the virtue of the text he is attacking?  The Air Force’s reply will be enlightening.

The “again” portion of this is notable.  The perpetually offended Weinstein Read more…

The Jewish online magazine Tablet covers the story of US Army Chaplain (LtCol) Larry Bazer, who recently returned from a deployment as the “only Jewish chaplain in Afghanistan.”

The article contains some interesting commentaries on the chaplaincy in general, as well as some specifics related to life as a Jewish chaplain:

The [Camp Phoenix] chapel, said Bazer, “was a cozy little place”: a small, nondescript room built of plywood. During the day it was devoid of any religious symbols, but during the evenings a few crosses would turn it into a Protestant chapel, or some icons into a Catholic church. On Friday nights, candles and challah—sent each month by the “challah lady,” a Long Island Jewish woman—made it a synagogue.

Chaplain Bazer’s congregations varied from none to nearly 20 as he traveled Afghanistan as the only Jewish Read more…

US Air Force Chief of Chaplain (MajGen) Cecil Richardson recently spoke to the Fairchild AFB National Prayer Luncheon on prayer, where he also noted the “relentless attacks on people of faith and traditional values” that have recently characterized the public discourse:

“It’s to pray for ourselves, our community, units, friends, families and leaders,” said the Air Force’s ranking chaplain.

“It’s also a time to pause and remind ourselves despite the relentless attacks on people of faith and traditional values, Read more…

“I never attended services in the civilian world. But all that changed when I joined the Army.”

Jake Kohlman thought religious services during basic training would be a good excuse to get away from the military training instructors.  He was right.  But he was also renewed in his faith.  As it turns out, many trainees may have gone just for the doughnuts:

After the service we filed into the parking lot, where some kind, older veterans had set up picnic tables with lemonade and doughnuts. Now I understood why the service was so popular…The doughnut I had that day was the best I’d ever had.

Turns out some other trainees caught on:

Eventually, word leaked out to the rest of the company about the doughnuts and lemonade, and by the end of Basic, 65 soldiers from my company alone were marching to services on Sunday…’

Chris Rodda of Michael Weinstein’s MRFF has previously said Christian Read more…

Barry Noreen of the Colorado Springs Gazette, local to the US Air Force Academy, wrote on “diversity awareness” at the US Air Force Academy — and managed to explain how Michael Weinstein has been a detriment to that cause.

Under a constant barrage by the likes of Mikey Weinstein…the academy has been under a microscope. Scrutiny isn’t bad, but Weinstein’s vitriol has been counterproductive.
 
“I find this institution shell-shocked at having any kind of discussion of religion,” [Chaplain (Col) Robert] Bruno said.

Rather than help USAFA generate a climate of religious freedom, Weinstein’s public attacks on Christian exercise at the US Air Force Academy have done the opposite.  Noreen Read more…

In the wake of the Aiden scandal and questions about their acts’ previous behavior, Fort Bragg has reportedly made sure those behind Rock Beyond Belief are “fully aware” of the standards they must follow.

The reminder comes after the most recent question from an Army chaplain about the event’s ability to adhere to military guidance:  Read more…

A Naval flight training class graduation included a ceremony at their base chapel in which the chaplains performed a “blessing of the wings:”

This is a completely voluntary program, but one that is rather popular among many of the new aviators. While it is billed as a non-denominational ceremony, it is clearly a Christian program that culminates in the Catholic priest sprinkling holy water on the wings that these service members are about to pin on later that day.

Normally, this might bring conspiracy-theory advocates out of the woodwork, claiming this was further evidence of a secret coup by Christians to take over the world.  Or something.  Turns out, though, this story is actually about the participation by the US Navy’s newest Jewish Naval Aviators, in a Read more…

Update: The Army defended its actions, with FoxNews saying it was a “cautionary move to preserve “military order and discipline,”" not censorship.

In a surprisingly underreported story, the US Army reportedly censored — and then admitted the wrong of censoring — US military Catholic chaplains during their performance of their Catholic Mass.  Catholic priests were apparently given letters to read to their parishes explaining the Catholic opposition to the Department of Health and Human Services mandate requiring insurance coverage for things that violate Catholic beliefs.

On Thursday, January 26, Archbishop Broglio emailed a pastoral letter to Catholic military chaplains with instructions that it be read from the pulpit at Sunday Masses the following weekend in all military chapels. The letter calls on Catholics to resist the policy initiative, recently affirmed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, for federally mandated health insurance covering sterilization, abortifacients and contraception, because it represents a violation of the freedom of religion recognized by the U.S. Constitution.

The US Army’s Chaplaincy office responded:  Read more…

Fox News and Commentary indicated retired LtGen William Jerry Boykin withdrew from the February 8th National Prayer Breakfast at West Point — after West Point asked him to withdraw.

The U.S. Military Academy pressured a retired U.S. lieutenant general to withdraw from speaking at a West Point prayer breakfast after Muslims and atheists complained, Fox News & Commentary has learned…

“[Boykin] asked them to rescind the invitation, but they were reluctant to do that so he said he would take them off the hook.”

The article also noted Michael Weinstein jumping the shark Read more…

When the US Air Force Academy “Falcon Circle” chapel facility went through its various controversies over the past year, one group was oddly silent:  atheists.  There were no loud cries from atheists over the US military’s waste of money to create yet another religious facility, nor were there any over the fact military atheists can’t even use the facility.

Like many US military bases, USAFA restricts the use of chapel facilities to religious gatherings:

All services held at the Cadet Chapel must be religious in nature and be conducted by a clergyperson or led by a lay-leader approved by the Cadet Wing Chaplain or designee.

Thus, unless an atheist group can sincerely say it is “religious in nature,” it can’t use the Falcon Circle as a barbecue pit this summer, while every religious Read more…

If one wasn’t aware of her history, it might have been surprising to see a recent pair of articles highlight the intellectually inconsistency of the MRFF’s Chris Rodda.

Rodda recently went on record defending the construction of the US Air Force Academy chapel facility called the “Falcon Circle” from those who claimed it was an inappropriate use of government money for three cadets (a separate issue discussed elsewhere).  She said:

Designating the stone circle as a chapel facility simply accommodates a religious group with a worship area that meets their needs, something taken for granted by other religious groups at the Academy. Whether the users of that worship space number in the hundreds or in single digits is completely irrelevant when it comes to providing a place for them to worship according to their beliefs.

Comically, four days later an article appeared in the Tennessean quoting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s 2009 criticism of the construction of a different chapel at Fort Campbell.

The [MRFF] felt it looked too much like a megachurch Read more…

Update: Also repeated at Military.com.

Don Branum of the US Air Force Academy wrote a comprehensive article entitled “Why building Falcon Circle was ‘right thing to do’”, referencing the outdoor chapel area dedicated for use by members of USAFA claiming an “earth-centered” faith.  The article appeared to respond to Associated Press reports USAFA had spent $80,000 on the facility for but a few cadets.  (It did not appear to be related to the report by Senator Coburn, which did not use the $80K figure.)

The article covers the history — the factual history — of both the cadet chapel and pagans in the US military in general.  In so doing, it naturally compares the Falcon Circle to the Cadet Chapel.

As noted previously, it is neither reasonable nor appropriate to directly compare Read more…