Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has announced the entire Department of Defense will mimic the “health and welfare” inspection conducted by the Air Force late last year to round up “offensive” materials.
The workplace searches will be conducted by “component heads” before July 1, and Hagel expects each service to submit a report summarizing the findings. The Air Force leadership will submit a report based on inspections it ordered in late 2012 and will not be expected to conduct a new round of searches.
The article also notes Secretary Hagel intends to hold leaders responsible for the “cultural change” necessary for an environment of “dignity and respect.”
The “culture” has recently come under scrutiny, as Commandant of Read more…
The Marine Corps has been emphasizing ethics as part of General James Amos’ intent to reach “every single Marine” on the topic of ethical conduct. In one case, at least, the sessions seem to be versions of college philosophy classes, with a drill down on each of the standard ethical “examples” used in most ethics courses:
Bardorf and Rowan guided the Marines through the murder of Kitty Genovese. They discussed the Good Samaritan Experiment held by the Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Stanford Read more…
By now most of the world is probably aware of the accusation that four US Marines urinated on corpses in what is apparently Afghanistan. One of the group videotaped the event for posterity.
The event brought out a slew of condemnations from all sides:
- Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta: “This conduct is entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military and does not reflect the standards of values our armed forces are sworn to uphold.”
- Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos: “wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos.”
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “It is absolutely inconsistent Read more…
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: Afghanistan, atheism, carsten jacobson, christian, clinton, dadt, james amos, leon panetta, marines, mikey weinstein, Military, morality, qari yousuf ahmadi, Religion, religious freedom, taliban, urinate, video
Military leaders from all branches have begun distributing their traditional Christmas (or holiday) greetings:
- A Department of Navy Chaplains video message presented a “happy holidays to you and your family.”
- The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick West said “With the traditional festivities of December upon us, I want to wish you all the happiest possible holidays…”
- The Chief of Staff of the Air Force Norton Schwartz and his wife wished “you and yours a joyous holiday season and a very happy new year.”
- The Chief of Staff of the Army General Ray Odierno and his wife expressed “from our families to yours, happy holidays.”
- The Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos and his wife presented a greeting titled, clearly enough, “A Christmas Message:” “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Semper Fidelis.”
- Updated: The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey started his message singing a line from Christmas in Killarney.
- The Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert wins the Christmas turkey. His message started with “Happy Holidays shipmates” but ended with him and his wife actually singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: air force, army, Chaplain, christmas, holiday, james amos, jonathan greenert, marines, marty dempsey, Military, Navy, norton schwartz, raymond odierno, religious freedom, rick west, Tradition
Websites belittling Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos are increasingly referring to his religion — some in an “off-hand” manner, others directly, as if it has something to do with current issues.
Interestingly, the “source” for General Amos’ faith is listed as this site. The June 2010 article on his nomination for Commandant noted his speech at the 2009 National Day of Prayer. Since then, that article has been cited in a variety of sources, including the ever reliable Wikipedia, as proof Amos is “born again.” In fact, a web search for Amos’ faith reveals only two sources: this site, and a more recent derogatory citation by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s Chris Rodda, with an uncredited copy of a personal photograph of the same event she likely learned about through this site.
Ultimately, however, Amos’ faith is irrelevant. It would be folly to assert Read more…
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: air force, Bible, Chaplain, chris rodda, dadt, james amos, Jewish, joint chiefs of staff, marines, Military, MRFF, norton schwartz
Update: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen expressed “surprise” that General Amos aired his views opposing the administration’s push to end DADT, rather than keeping those comments private.
The Associated Press reports General James Amos, newly installed Commandant of the Marine Corps, has continued his predecessor’s opposition to a repeal of the policy known as “Don’t ask, Don’t tell.” (Nearly simultaneously, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for repeal “quickly.”)
The article notes one unique aspect of the Marines: Read more…
General James Amos was confirmed by the Senate as the 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps. According to reports, he will be sworn in on 22 October 2010, at which point he will become the first fighter pilot to lead the Marine Corps.
Amos’ views on the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were constant news during the runup to his confirmation.
Despite some prior insinuations to the contrary, it appears Marine General James Amos holds much the same view as General James Conway, outgoing Marine Commandant, when it comes to the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
In testimony at his confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Amos reportedly said DADT repeal is a “distraction” to the ongoing wars, and he personally opposes the repeal. In his written answers to advance questions, he reportedly said
In my personal view the current law and associated policy have supported the unique requirements of the Marine Corps and thus I do not recommend its repeal.
During his testimony he also gave a hint to Read more…
As widely expected, President Obama took Secretary of Defense Gates’ recommendation and nominated Marine General James Amos for the position of Commandant of the Marine Corps. Speculation over why the fighter pilot was chosen over other officers, including the General now nominated to head CENTCOM, General James Mattis, have largely died out.
As largely expected, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has given the name of General James Amos to President Obama as his recommendation for the next Commandant of the Marine Corps.
A variety of news sources are reporting that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will submit the name of current Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos as the next Commandant of the Marine Corps. Interestingly, Amos’ appointment would break Marine Corps tradition because he is a fighter pilot (much like the appointment of General Norton Schwartz — a cargo pilot — broke the Air Force tradition of fighter and bomber pilots).
General James Amos is also a Christian.
In 2009, Gen Amos was one of several speakers at the Capitol Hill celebration of the National Day of Prayer. In his remarks he was unequivocal about his faith and the power of prayer in his military life: Read more…
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