God and Country

A recent study in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Family Psychology “revealed” that those who waited until they were married before having sexual relations had higher relationship stability, among other factors.

This study is completely unrelated to the military, but there’s an important detail:  The behavior in this study had nothing to do with religion.  (In fact, it was “controlled” out of the study.)

While some are quick to dismiss calls for supporting “moral” conduct as so much bad couscous, there can be (and are, according to this study) secular “benefits” to conduct or characteristics often attributed to a “religious” origin.

Former Army Lt Dan Choi announced in the Huffington Post that he intended to rejoin the military service now that DADT has been repealed.  Homosexuality aside, Choi may have other issues to overcome before the military will let him in.

Choi, originally promoted to “Mr.” below-the-zone for being homosexual, reportedly admitted to being “involuntarily committed” to a psychiatric ward due to Read more…

According to press reports, General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has said the proposed burning of Korans in Florida would endanger US troops:

“Images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence,” Petraeus said. “Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult.”

While the General is speaking within his purview — the mission and the troops — it is fairly unusual for a military officer to so pointedly address the lawful exercise of an American citizen’s protected rights.  The White House also reportedly “condemned” the plans:  Read more…

The government’s use of tax monies from its citizens is frequently an issue for debate, even on non-religious topics.  The discussion can become more significant when people question whether the government’s use of their money is “moral,” and if they should therefore not pay taxes.

In an interesting federal district court case, Moore-Backman v. United States, the complaint of Quaker Christopher Moore-Backman that his tax support of the military “burdens his religious exercise in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act” was dismissed.

As noted by Howard Friedman, the court’s conclusion was somewhat broadly stated:

The court concluded that there was no free exercise or RFRA violation because under relevant case law the Government is not required to conduct its own internal affairs in a way that comports with an individual’s religious beliefs.

The Associated Press reported that charges against US Army Lt Dan Choi and former Captain James Pietrangelo had been dropped.  The charges were failure to obey police after they chained themselves, in Army uniforms, to the perimeter fence at the White House.

Prosecutor Christine Chang declined to comment on why the government dropped the case.  Choi said he believes Obama administration officials didn’t want to draw attention to the policy.

While Pietrangelo would have to be recalled to active duty to face charges from the military, there are no public indications that Choi, who remains in the Army, will be charged for his political protest while wearing a uniform.

Choi had previously indicated his plans to subpoena the President.

USA Today has duelling articles on the potential impact of the repeal of the policies commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“No, the mission is to serve all soldiers.”
Arnold Resnicoff, a former Navy Chaplain, responds in the negative. Resnicoff was also a special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force from 2005 to 2006, when the Air Force Academy “Christian scandal” made news.  (Michael Weinstein called Resnicoff an “unmitigated disaster.”)

Resnicoff’s primary argument is that

good chaplains can preach and teach, true to their beliefs — respecting rights while challenging what they believe is wrong. (emphasis original)

He maintains there would be zero impact to Chaplains.

“Yes, religious liberty is in real jeopardy.”
Daniel Blomberg of the Alliance Defense Fund answers in the affirmative.  In contrast to Resnicoff, Blomberg says the change would “likely harm” Chaplains:  Read more…

Update: The Army announced that General Mixon will not be reprimanded.

LtGen Benjamin R. Mixon, commanding general of US Army Pacific, previously wrote a letter to the editor encouraging servicemembers to “speak up” about their views on the potential repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  His letter was used as the second example of an active duty officer publicly disagreeing with the proposed change, when he said

If those of us who are in favor of retaining the current policy do not speak up, there is no chance to retain the current policy.

This was particularly salient, because, as the General pointed out, there has been little public opposition from those in the military on the topic.  (By contrast, present and former members of the military who oppose the ban have been a common item in the media, some in clear violation of military regulations.)  The supposition was that military members did disagree, but feared the reaction of the military if they expressed disagreement with their Commander in Chief and senior officers.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, who have expressed support for President Obama’s proposal to lift the ban, called General Mixon’s letter “inappropriate“:  Read more…

In an interesting turn of events, Lt Dan Choi, a widely-known homosexual US Army National Guard soldier facing discharge, and former Capt Jim Pietrangelo, who was reportedly discharged in 2004 for being homosexual, handcuffed themselves to the White House perimeter fence on Thursday.  Both were in uniform, Read more…

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has, again, filed a complaint with the IRS asserting that Liberty University is misusing its status as a tax-exempt (501(c)3) organization.  The original complaint can be read here.

For its part, Liberty barely addressed the merits of the complaint, instead saying that this was simply another attempt by the AU to intimidate Liberty.  In fact, Mat Staver, the Liberty School of Law dean, said the school was considering legal action in response to the AU’s attempt to intimidate Liberty students:

“We’re now looking at whether we are going to respond by filing some kind of civil action against Americans United — because what they’re trying to do is essentially intimidate Liberty University, particularly the students, from exercising their constitutional right to vote,” he argues. “We’re not about to allow this organization to do that to Liberty University students.”

As noted in the discussion last year when AU filed a complaint against Liberty, the AU is frequently associated with criticisms of Christians in the military.  It remains a “partnering link” on the MRFF page, and Michael Weinstein has claimed AU membership at one point.

Former President George W. Bush spoke recently at a fundraiser for Fort Worth Christian School in Texas.  Articles on the event note Bush’s dependence on the power of prayer.  This included not only his own prayers, but those who obeyed the Christian command to pray for their national leaders:

I don’t see how I could be president without prayer…The prayers of the people…sustained me, comforted me and strengthened me in a way I could have never predicted before becoming president, and for that I am extremely grateful.

They also repeat Bush’s now famous deep respect and admiration for the US military.

Fort Worth Christian School is an unabashedly Christian educational institution with an enrollment of 865 children from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Just days after noting the potential impact that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal might have on military Chaplains, there are now widespread articles on the decision by an Air Force base Chaplain’s office to rescind the invitation of a speaker who opposed President Obama’s proposed repeal.

The actions were those of an individual Chaplain’s office and were not necessarily indicative of the decisions of higher level leadership.  However, the decision itself is a perfect example of the conflict that organizations opposing the repeal intend to highlight.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins had been invited in October by the Chaplains’ office to speak at the February 25 National Prayer Luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base (now known as Joint Base Andrews).  Perkins is a US Marine veteran and ordained minister.  Supposedly, after President Obama used his State of the Union to call for a repeal of DADT, and Perkins and the FRC vocally opposed him, the Chaplain’s office rescinded the invitation.  (Notably, the Chaplain’s office is free to invite or disinvite anyone they choose; it is their public reasoning for doing so that makes this case interesting.)

The letter from the Chaplain’s office rescinding the invitation reportedly said:  Read more…

Several news reports announced that Russia has tested a fighter intended to be in the class of the F-22. A picture in the Associated Press article published by Fox News shows the Russian T-50 with what is a fairly common Sukhoi profile (elongated fuselage and “goose neck” raised cockpit).  The aircraft appears to be twin-engine and twin-tail.

Oddly, fielding an aircraft that is supposed to rival the F-22 is a poor goal, since the Raptor is more than 20 years old. Skeptics said the T-50 was a pretty airframe with no notable avionics or even significantly updated engines.  Even more ironically, the Russian government is facing the same criticism as the US Defense Department did over the F-22:

“There is no mission and no adversary for such plane,” [Alexander] Konovalov [of the Institute of Strategic Assessment] said.

It would seem the challenges of defense technology and acquisition know no political boundaries.

A Senate committee is recommending that Islamic extremism be added to the list of groups that military members are prohibited from participating in or associating with.

The Defense Department’s existing policies for dealing with personnel that become involved in gangs and racist groups need to be expanded to cover new avenues of violence, [Sen. Joe] Lieberman [I-CT] and [Sen Susan] Collins [R-ME] say.

The two also encouraged the military to educate its members to be able to distinguish between “violent Islamist extremism” and “the practice of the Islamic faith.”

Unfortunately, the Senators’ well-intentioned recommendations are not nearly as simple as they seem to imply.  They present a labyrinth of logistical, political, and religious liberty issues, all of which the military must attempt to figure out on the fly.  It would appear most people agree that something needs to be done, but fulfilling that request without unnecessarily inhibiting religious liberty is another challenge altogether.

In editorial discussions in Arizona about the future of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, locals parried over the possibility of the F-35 being stationed in the area.  The “discussion” demonstrated the continuing public stereotype of fighter pilots.  Said one letter writer to the Arizona Daily Star:

Basing the F-35 Air Force jet in Tucson is a very bad idea. Tucson is an asset to all of Arizona because it attracts quality, high-tech, tax-positive industry…Tucson is the jewel of Arizona. A deafening noise from joy-riding flyboys will do more economic harm than whatever modest benefit these flyboys will bring to the local bars. (emphasis added)

Interestingly, subsequent writers responded in defense of military fighter pilots, decrying the “generalization” of fighter pilots:  Read more…

Not every fighter pilot gets to “use” their skills.  Like a football player who never goes to the SuperBowl, they train hard and sharpen their skills for the time when they are called upon, but for any of a variety of reasons–whether timing, politics, or just the world environment–they simply “miss” the war.

As noted in Christian Fighter Pilot is not an Oxymoron, no fighter pilot yearns for war, but if war occurs, they desperately want to be there, to do their job, and to do their part to achieve victory.

That said, even in war, there are sometimes slow times.  The Air Force Times notes that November was the second month this year in which zero bombs were dropped in Iraq, even though there were more than 800 close air support missions.  Read more…