The VA list already includes a variety of obscure symbols, including Eckankar, Seicho-No-Ie, an atomic-A (for atheism), the humanist H, and a “landing eagle,” which Read more…
A 2011 graduate of the US Air Force Academy is apparently making his mark as a “cockpit atheist” US Air Force officer (and, presumably, an eventual Air Force pilot).
As noted previously, some people seem to think the Air Force, or the US military, is overrun by Christians. A few think military officers aren’t allowed to speak out about their religious beliefs.
It seems the cockpit atheist undermines the former point and disagrees with the latter. The Lieutenant has taken not only to the internet with his religious beliefs and his status as an Air Force officer, but also to a small variety of atheist events from Rock Read more…
This wasn’t the military, though. It was a grade school.
South Bristol Elementary School eighth-graders will launch their handmade skiffs next month without the traditional “blessing of the fleet” after a letter from…Americans United for Separation of Church and State informed the school that student involvement with the historic maritime ceremony violated the First Amendment.
The US Navy and various small towns conduct “blessings of the fleet” in accordance with centuries of maritime tradition. Indeed, the US Navy just performed theirs.
Don Blottenberger, UCAS-D Deputy Program manager, commented, “This landing, rubber hitting deck, is extremely fulfilling for the team and is the culmination of years of relative navigation development. Now, we are set to demonstrate the final pieces of the demonstration.”
But does it wear dogtags when it plays volleyball on the beach?
(That’s aTop Gunreference, for those UPT students who weren’t even born when that movie came out…)
Obama said he is pleased that Hagel and Dempsey are looking at proposals on Capitol Hill and elsewhere to address the problem. “What I’ve said to them is I want to leave no stone unturned and I want us to explore every good idea that’s out there,” he said.
What do you think the chances are that the US military will consider the “good idea” that religious faith plays a substantial role in supporting moral conduct? That’s not Read more…
Jason Torpy, the one-man band that is the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, recently posted a point-by-point refutation of recent accusations of the US military being hostile to Christianity.
Much of his disagreement was nuance or the way in which something was phrased, which isn’t worth discussing here. The interesting ones, though, were the cases in which he agreed with the US military’s “anti-Christian” actions:
January 2010 — Department of Defense orders removal of tiny Bible references on military scopes and gunsights.
Torpy: True and appropriate.
This issue has been discussed before. While there is no religious requirement the references remain, the fact they were targeted because of their (obscure) religious reference — only after Michael Weinstein complained, notably – is troubling. That he would seek this Read more…
An interesting, if wordy and sometimes hard to follow, paper entitled “South Korea’s Christian Military Chaplaincy in the Korean War – religion as ideology?” was recently published by Vladimir Tikhonov, a Soviet-born professor at Oslo University with a doctorate in ancient Korean history. It seeks to find the “reason for the rapid growth” of Christianity in South Korea — which the author suggests is the military chaplaincy: Read more…
As previously noted, Sally Quinn of the Washington Post has become the latest version of Pam Zubeck, the CSIndy “journalist” who is actually an advocate of Michael Weinstein’s cause. While it has become obvious Quinn is in the tank with Weinstein, it wasn’t clear until this weekend just how far she was willing to go.
In an article on sexual assault in the military — carefully crafted to get visibility because its on a topic of great interest right now — Quinn lays the responsibility for sexual assault in the military at the feet of…religion.
And guess who her source is?
Take the Cadets for Christ, a religious group at the Air Force Academy. According to Mikey Weinstein, Read more…
The short 5-minute video is retired Chaplain (MajGen) Douglas Carver, formerly the US Army Chief of Chaplains, and now the executive director of chaplain services for the North American Mission Board, sharing stories from his experiences as a chaplain in the US Army.
One of the most interesting, at about the 2:00 mark, is his story about a civilian-clothed operator whom he helped reconcile his mission — covertly tracking and killing the enemy, on a personal level — and the righteousness of God. As the story continues, Chaplain Carver relates how that man came to help him.
The traditional Thunderbird flyby of the US Air Force Academy graduation was canceled, reportedly due to budget concerns. A group of private aerial demonstration teams has volunteered to fill in the awkward silence that would otherwise mark the hat-toss.
Academy officials said Thursday that more than a dozen pilots have volunteered to fly historical U.S. military aircraft over graduation week events, including the commencement ceremony May 29.
Michael Weinstein has been working hard to recover from his self-inflicted public relations debacle that began with the Sally Quinn article praising his ‘heroic’ and substantial influence over the US Air Force. As part of that effort, Weinstein got a high-ranking supporter to write a letter defending him — anonymously, of course.
Mikey ~
…As a retired, multiple-star, senior officer (General or Admiral) you know that I was asked by the Chief of Staff…to be my Service’s direct day-to-day interface with you. During those three years, and specifically because of that relationship, my Service avoided countless…breaches of religious civil rights…
As a direct result of this relationship, we had military Service-wide policies written/documented for our entire Service to follow!!
Once again, though, Weinstein’s ego may have undone his own attempts at obfuscation.
The supportive letter refers to “policies” written for the “entire Service” as a “direct result” of Weinstein. The only service that has done that, which Weinstein has claimed influence over, no less, is the Air Force. Based on the timeline, the Chief of Staff is certainly Read more…
In a shockingly blunt piece, Michael Weinstein seems to have inadvertently undermined his own defense against those who claim he’s “anti-Christian” by essentially admitting that he’s opposed to a vast swath of American Christianity. Said Weinstein [emphasis added]:
Do you know that in this country in 1970, we only had ten mega-Evangelical churches, meaning those with 2,000 or more members? But after 9/11, a new mega-Evangelical church has opened up in our country every 48 hours.
That is their right. That’s fine. But when they engage the machinery of the state and the people in the government, that’s when we have a terrible, hideous problem.
And this is coming right down from the DoD, up and down the chain of command…
Weinstein seems to clearly convey Christians from these ubiquitous “mega-Evangelical churches” (as opposed to Evangelical megachurches?) are the ones “engaging Read more…
The US military has long recognized the value of the family, even as it applies directly to the military mission. For that reason the military services have had a variety of programs to not only counter divorce, but also to help make marriages and families stronger. An Air Force Times article notes budget cuts have apparently not eliminated the marriage enrichment programs in the Air Force.
The Army’s long-running program is Strong Bonds, a chaplain-led retreat which gets husbands and wives away from the day-to-day toils to focus on their relationship:
It’s a chance to really look at marriage with Read more…
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 ACLU is applauding the Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health (MARCH) for Military Women Act, which would allow US military facilities to conduct abortions if paid for privately.
This sentence pretty much summed up the ACLU position:
It’s not hyperbole to say that overturning the ban on privately-funded abortions on military bases can save lives.
Yes, they actually said killing innocent children “saves lives,” but in the current culture that shouldn’t be too surprising. The Baptist Press noted President Obama said pro-life laws — which are an effort to protect children — are “impeding progress.”
“After decades of progress there’s still those who want to turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than Read more…
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of any government, military, or religious organization.
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