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…

The recent kerfuffle over amendments to the NDAA that would protect the religious liberty of US troops who oppose homosexuality has risen even to the minority leader of the US House.  Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) said claims of military chaplains needing a “conscience clause” were a “fraud.”  The Obama administration had previously seemed to indicate the “rights” of homosexuals outweighed those of Chaplains and other members of the military.

However, in a related article intended to communicate the “non-event” of DADT repeal, The Baltimore Sun validated claims that an environment has been created in the US military hostile toward those opposed to homosexuality, despite official military statements to the contrary.

In The Baltimore Sun article, homosexual midshipmen at the US Naval Academy Read more…

Six months after the repeal of the ban on homosexuals serving in the US military, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta claimed success:

“It’s not impacting on morale. It’s not impacting on unit cohesion. It is not impacting on readiness,” [Panetta] said.

Panetta was commenting on a report, though its Read more…

A Congressman’s idea to name a Navy ship after homosexual activist Harvey Milk has received opposition from a seemingly unlikely group — homosexuals:

Some of the strongest opposition appears to be from the gay community…Some gay activists, at least one city supervisor and others have said Milk was anti-war and wouldn’t want a ship named after him.

The normally non-controversial process of naming vessels after cities and Presidents takes a scandalous turn every now and then when the Navy suggests, or receives a suggestion to consider, naming a vessel after a controversial figure.

President Obama’s administration has registered its objections to several portions of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the US House (which also includes another attempt to ban NASCAR sponsorships).

The Obama administration “strongly objects” to provisions in [the bill] that would prohibit the use of military property for same-sex “marriage or marriage-like” ceremonies, and protect military chaplains Read more…

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, concerned over instances of “misbehavior” that have shed negative light on the US military, issued a “personal plea” for US troops to “honor their military values:”

“These days, it takes only seconds — seconds — for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline,” Panetta said. “And those headlines can impact the mission that we’re engaged in, they can put your fellow service members at risk, they can hurt morale, they can damage our standing in the world, and they can cost lives.”

The sentiment was reportedly echoed by the top commander in Afghanistan:

Marine Gen. John Allen…believes that a number of major setbacks in the past six months have resulted from moral, Read more…

Update: The committee passed the religious freedom legislation as amendments to the NDAA.  The legislation has the support of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

The House Armed Services Committee is going to debate the Military Religious Freedom Act, which the Air Force Times says US Rep Todd Akin (R-Mo) will let troops and chaplains “openly oppose gays.”

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., is specifically aiming to protect religious freedom by allowing service members and chaplains to openly oppose gay and lesbian lifestyles and the presence of gay Read more…

Some may have assumed that with a Democratic President (and the stereotype that the US military leans Republican/conservative), most of those testing the limits of permissible political activities or commentary would be “right wing” or conservatives.

They would be wrong.

The blog for the Rock Beyond Belief event organized by Justin Griffith at Fort Bragg recently posted an article about North Carolina’s Amendment 1, which would modify the NC State Constitution to say the only domestic legal union in the state is Read more…

US Rep Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) introduced the Military Religious Freedom Act (HR 3828), which aims to prevent chaplains and other troops from being “penalized” for failing to support homosexuals in the military.

It would exempt chaplains from functions that violate their 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…

US Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA) has reportedly asked the US Navy to name a ship after Harvey Milk, a homosexual activist who was killed while serving as a San Francisco supervisor in 1978. Milk also served in the Navy in the early 1950s — apparently illegally, Read more…

US Army PFC Bradley Manning has been scheduled to go on trial this fall to face charges he was responsible for the unauthorized release of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

The judge recently  Read more…

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…

According to FoxNews, the US military is investigating allegations a US servicemember erected a “gay pride” flag on a tent pole on an American outpost in Afghanistan.

“We are aware of the photo of the gay pride flag being flown by U.S. service members and we are investigating,” a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force told Fox News.

Hidden in some internet comments was another interesting piece of information on the military environment in the post-DADT world.  A military officer wrote:  Read more…

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council notes that a US servicemember raised the “rainbow flag” over an American base in Afghanistan, as indicated by the serviceman’s wife’s Facebook post:

The flag is recognizable as the symbol for the homosexual “movement,” though it remains unclear why someone needs a flag to advertise the fact they’re sexually Read more…