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…

In his zeal to attack all things Christian in the military, Justin Griffith — the Army Sergeant made famous by his organization of Rock Beyond Belief at Fort Bragg — once harassed the wives of deployed Fort Bragg soldiers.  Even when he realized he’d made an error — he’d thought he was criticizing the soldiers themselves, as if that’s better — he never publicly apologized.

Now, it seems he’s after the support provided to wounded warriors.  Read more…

Some people take issue with the presence of military chaplains serving within the borders of the US, but the religious ministry team of a Marine Expeditionary Unit showed that soldiers stateside sometimes need their spiritual resources brought to them, as well.  The unit was in field training during Easter this year:

While training is the number one priority, seven religious services were held to allow the service members to practice their faith even Read more…

Quartermasters have Saint Martin, and Marine artillery has Saint Barbara, but the patron saint of Army aviation is Saint Michael.  Four aviators were recently “inducted into the Order of Saint Michael” while deployed to Afghanistan.

The award recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the promotion of Army Aviation in ways that stand out in the Read more…

US Marine SGT Evan Mendes was recognized at the San Diego Petco Park as an NCO of the quarter.  How did he do it?

Mendes, outshined his peers by following what he believes will bring him closer to God.

“As a Christian I try to glorify God,” said Mendes, whose life revolves around his faith. “When I do a good job or not, I’ve done it for God.”

Working as if for God should motivate Christians in every walk of life.  Mendes Read more…

The as-yet undecided case of the Camp Pendleton cross, a memorial facing complaints by atheists, has actually impacted a second, unrelated cross.  LCpl Benjamin Whetstone was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire, and members of his platoon had apparently planned to erect a cross on an overlooking hill on Camp Pendleton:

But because of a pending military review of placement of religious symbols, the parents of Lance Cpl. Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt Read more…

In the ongoing saga of the US military and social media, SSgt Suneel Mehta is reportedly going to be punished for making a racially charged “tweet” referencing the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman controversy.

The Twitter message came to light when an anonymous person “reported” it to the Marine Corps Times.

Mehta apologized, deleted Read more…

US Marine Sgt Gary Stein, who will be discharged for his Facebook comments about the President, has expressed regret.  While maintaining he’s being used as an example and treated unfairly, he also says he wished he’d phrased things differently:  Read more…

US Marine Sgt. Gary Stein will reportedly be administratively separated with an “Other than Honorable” discharge as a result of his “political” Facebook activities:

The Commanding General for Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego…has approved the board’s recommendation that Sgt. Stein be separated from the Marine Corps with an “other than honorable” discharge.

The Sgt’s case is so high profile the Marines took the unusual step of 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…

Chuck Colson died on 21 April 2012.  His name is so well known it requires little in the way of background, though surprisingly few know some of the finer details of Colson’s life.

Chuck Colson was an officer in the US Marine Corps from 1953 to 1955.  Most people know he worked for President Richard Nixon, and that he would ultimately go to prison for obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal.  He became a Christian just prior to his arrest, beginning the rest of his life.

On 17 November 1993 Chuck Colson addressed the US Air Force Academy.  An Read more…

The Alliance Defense Fund, a legal association which “trains, funds, and litigates” on behalf of religious freedom, has offered to defend the Camp Pendleton cross free of charge.

The Alliance Defense Fund [is] offering our services free of charge to the Camp to defend the rights of its Marines to prepare themselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, as they prepare themselves to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Legal counsel Joel Oster notes the ‘clause of unlimited liability’ nature of military service encourages troops to “come to grips with their emotional and spiritual [selves].”

That is why militaries have chaplains.  It is simply a Read more…

The “Werewolves” have become the “Crusaders” once again.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) is returning to its traditional name, reverting to the “Crusaders” by which it was known for 50 years.

During a 70th anniversary party last month, officials from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 announced that the unit would be again known as the “Crusaders,” a moniker used by the unit from 1958 to January 2008.

When Marine LtCol William Lieblein took command in 2008, he was concerned the “notion of being a crusader” wouldn’t “float” in Iraq, Read more…

FoxNews recently updated the Camp Pendleton cross controversy with an interview of one of the widows whose husband helped raise the original cross.

“It’s not a religious spot at all, it’s a place for the Marines to grieve and to grow to let go of their burdens of what they had in their soul, so they can go back down that hill and back into battle and put their own lives on the line,” says Marine widow Karen Mendoza.

It also quotes Col Nicholas Marano, the Camp Pendleton commander who retired at the beginning of the month:

Retired Marine Colonel Nick Marano tells us, “This wasn’t intended to be a religious memorial, it was just intended to be able to provide a fitting and a dignified memorial to their fallen comrades and frankly controversy was the very last thing on their minds.”

Jason Torpy has decried the memorial, which is located on the internally named Camp Horno portion of Camp Pendleton, as an example of “Christian Read more…

US Army Chaplain (Capt) Thomas Dyer was once a Marine.  He was also once a Southern Baptist preacher.

Dyer has served for several years, including a deployment to Iraq.  While he’s the first Army Buddhist chaplain, several Buddhists have recently become chaplain candidates.

The TV station local to Fort Benning recently did a short segment on the Chaplain, and the military’s support to religious freedom his service demonstrates: