God and Country

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 typical fashion, Michael Weinstein recently accused the US Air Force Academy of impropriety when USAFA chaplains published a link to a Jewish website that had traditional explanations of Jewish religious texts.  (The context was a page of upcoming religious holidays, with links to websites with background — arguably an admirable effort at educating cadets on religious liberty and their duties.)

Weinstein’s offense at religion isn’t a surprise.  What is a surprise is General Mark Welsh, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, took the time to pen a personal reply — and promise action:

From: “Welsh, Mark A III Gen MIL USAF AF/CC”
Subject: RE: EXTERNAL: MRFF Demand Letter (Feb. 13, 2013) to USAF Chief of Staff
Date: February 13, 2013 9:03:33 PM MST
To: Mikey Weinstein
Cc: “Harding, Richard C Lt Gen MIL USAF AF/JA” , “Gould, Mike C Lt Gen USAF USAFA USAFA/CC”

Thank you Mr Weinstein. Read more…

Prepare to hang up those polyester pants, ladies and gentlemen.

As reported in the Air Force Times, Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Mark Welsh “decided not to renew” the Air Force-wide “blues Mondays” instituted by his predecessor, Gen Schwartz (a widely-panned decision noted even in the infamous Dear Boss letter).  This means the authority for the uniform policy reverts to the MAJCOM, rather than HQ Air Force, level:

Accordingly, both Air Force Space Command and Air Force Special Operations Command have ended Blues Mondays. Other major commands, Read more…

Dr. Don Snider (Col, US Army, Retired), a Political Science instructor at the US Military Academy at West Point, responded to USAFA law instructor David Fitzkee’s (Maj, US Army, Retired) prior Parameters article on religious freedom with a commentary criticizing the analysis of command involvement.  Regarding the memorandum on religious neutrality issued last year, Snider said

It seems fair to say that the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force does not trust some of his Commanders to correctly fulfill their responsibilities to “support individual Airman’s needs and provide opportunities for the free exercise of religion.” So, he has withdrawn autonomy from all of his Commanders to do so, turning it over to their Chaplains.

Snider accurately notes that this singles out issues of religion for separation from command guidance:  Read more…

David Fitzkee (Maj, USA, Retired) is a law professor at the US Air Force Academy.  In the fall of 2011 he had an article published in Parameters (vol. 41, no. 3), (“The US Army’s Senior Professional Journal”) entitled “Religious Speech in the Military: Freedoms and Limitations.”

The 14-page essay is an interesting read, and it opens with a strong premise:

It is crucial that military leaders understand and respect the scope of religious speech rights. Honoring the constitutional rights of subordinates is inherently the “right thing to do” in a society and military governed by the rule of law, particularly when all military leaders take an oath to support the Constitution.

Unfortunately, the very next paragraph of the introduction sets a poor tone for the paper:

Failure to understand the rights and limits concerning religious speech can adversely affect the mission…It can result in internal investigations into allegations of violations or even lawsuits against the military, both of which entail substantial time, effort, and distraction from the mission.

Maj Fitzkee aptly notes that “investigations into allegations of violations” can “distract from the mission” — but he illogically assumes Read more…

A few hours after ChristianFighterPilot.com noted the publication of AFI 1-1 (an event that occurred the week prior), Michael Weinstein published his own review of the AFI on his “progressive” Alternet-hosted blog.  This wouldn’t be the first time Weinstein and his crew demonstrated a propensity to glean from this site — though once before they at least took the time to backdate their own publication so it looked like they’d found it on their own.

Weinstein’s new missive is little more than a continuation of his prior screed, decrying the service of General Schwartz and, as predicted, taking the first step in trying to ingratiate himself to the new Air Force Chief of Staff:  Read more…

On August 10th, General Mark Welsh will become the next US Air Force Chief of Staff.  His Senate confirmation had previously been on hold.  Welsh, who is popular for his well-delivered inspirational messages and straight-shooting, will replace retiring General Norton Schwartz.  The Air Force Times said one of General Welsh’s first jobs will be to “repair” the damage done to the Air Force’s relationship with Congress — under Schwartz, who has Read more…

General Norton Schwartz recently took his final flight in the US Air Force, known traditionally as a “fini flight,” and he was greeted in the traditional manner, by his wife and a fire hose:

“Fini flights” have sometimes become common place, even occurring as a pilot moves from one flying assignment to another in the same airframe.  There is something special, though, to a true fini flight that caps a nearly four decade career.

General Schwartz is scheduled to retire later this year.  General Mark Welsh has been nominated to replace him.

Chris Lislee has written an article entitled “Debate reignites over religion at Air Force Academy” (now picked up at the Washington Post) in which he fails to realize his examples had nothing to do with USAFA, never mind “reigniting” something:

The two sides recently clashed over a letter from 66 House Republicans urging Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to investigate Read more…

Updated with BrigGen Lee quote on Michael Weinstein.

Sixty-six members of Congress called on Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to investigate the US Air Force for an environment of “hostility towards religious freedom” — the fourth time in recent months they’ve made such an accusation.

The Congressional letter (PDF) essentially said that Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz’s September policy letter had created a “chilling effect” on religious freedom as Airmen attempted to comply with his guidance:

The decisions that have been made in reliance upon this policy go beyond what is required by the US Constitution.  The First Amendment prohibits the establishment of religion; however, the mere discussion of religion or reference to God certainly does not rise to that level.

The Congressmen said the Air Force had “capitulated” to organizations Read more…

A US Army article previously described an effort to help the Afghans by “turning swords into plowshares,” a potentially inadvertent reference to Isaiah 2:4.  While the text of the Bible is not as well-known as it may have once been, it is interesting to see where the American culture makes (even unknowing) Biblical references.

The US Air Force leadership did it recently, too, in their annual Memorial Day message.  Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Norton Schwartz wrote:  Read more…

The US Air Force was previously taken to task by Congress when it removed the Latin word for “god” from the Rapid Capabilities Office patch — because an atheist complained.  (In fact, Rep Randy Forbes went so far as to say Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz “has been as bad as I have seen…in defending religious liberties.”

It seems the Air Force solved the patch problem:  Read more…

Capt Barry Crawford was recently awarded the Air Force cross by US Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz for his actions in Afghanistan in May 2010.  The Air Force cross is second only to the Medal of Honor, and Crawford became only the third living recipient of the award since September 11, 2001.  The Air Force special tactics officer and his small team fought a pitched 14-hour battle with more than 100 Taliban insurgents — with Crawford exposing himself to fire to assist in the evacuation of wounded.

Crawford credited “someone higher Read more…

From Fox News:

From the American Family Association:

“The Air Force and its Secretary, Michael B. Donley, have created the most hostile “anti-religious” environment in the history of the United States military.”

The Air Force’s decision to remove the Bible from the standard checklist for its military lodging facilities continues to get press (much to the chagrin of Michael Weinstein, who wasn’t involved in this story but has been trying to sensationalize another one).

A group of chaplains and chaplain endorsers, the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, has expressed its “concern,” saying that the decision 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…