God and Country

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…

A recent report out of southern California indicates it will still be “weeks or months” before the US Marines make a decision on the now-controversial Camp Pendleton cross.

“We are thoroughly and deliberately evaluating the issues raised by the existence of the informal memorial in order to assess the impact on the installation,” said the spokeswoman, Capt. Kendra Motz.

The atheist whose complaint started the controversy, Jason Torpy, reiterated his assertion the crosses are illegal.

As proclaimed by their Commander in Chief, Marines at Camp Lejeune, NC, commemorated the National Day of Prayer on May 3rd.

“When we all come together we can accomplish so many more things than we can separately,” said Chaplain Nashaunna Sanders…“On (the National Day of Prayer) we are all in accord Read more…

Some have likely read the story of Hyman Strachman, the 92-year-old World War II veteran who has shipped thousands of bootleg copies of movies to the combat AOR:

Hyman Strachman [is] a 92-year-old, 5-foot-5 World War II veteran trying to stay busy after the death of his wife. And he has sent every one of his copied DVDs, almost 4,000 boxes of them to date, free to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even Strachman admits the “error” of his ways:  Read more…

Update: The committee passed the religious freedom legislation as amendments to the NDAA.  The legislation has the support of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

The House Armed Services Committee is going to debate the Military Religious Freedom Act, which the Air Force Times says US Rep Todd Akin (R-Mo) will let troops and chaplains “openly oppose gays.”

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., is specifically aiming to protect religious freedom by allowing service members and chaplains to openly oppose gay and lesbian lifestyles and the presence of gay Read more…

Jason Torpy, the one-man Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, is an atheist and former Army officer.  While his MAAF is ostensibly a “community support network,” he recently revealed the true motivation behind his ideology.

In a recent display of internet frustration, Torpy took fellow atheists to task for not banding together and being “anti-” enough.  The context was a comment that people don’t join groups for things they don’t believe in, spoken by Neil deGrasse Tyson, a self-described agnostic (who says he is “often claimed by atheists”):

Do non-golf players gather and strategize? Do non-skiers…come together and talk about the fact that they don’t ski? I can’t do that. I can’t gather around and talk about how much everybody in the room doesn’t believe in God.

This is the same point raised by many people  Read more…

Michael Weinstein, the sole paid officer of the “charity” he founded and runs, revels in having people perceive him as a martyr for his cause.  He recently said this about what his fight against religious freedom has cost him:

Someone asked my wife how much do you owe? What did you have to give up, probably a lot huh? She was crying when she made the statement, “No, we didn’t have to give up a lot, we had to give up everything.” There is no retirement fund. There is no retirement home. There is no sense of security…

There are two possibilities. First, that Weinstein is grossly Read more…

A group of West Point cadets recently bunked at a mosque and attended Islamic prayers as part of an ongoing course called “Winning the Peace.”  The 23 cadets traveled to Jersey City, where they attended religious events associated with Islam, Coptic Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism.

During the visit to Jersey City, the 23 cadets in the class stay overnight at a mosque and attend Islamic prayers. They also Read more…

Consistent with US law, President Barack Obama proclaimed Thursday, May 3, 2012 to be a National Day of Prayer.  He also called specifically for prayer for US troops:

Let us pray for the continued strength and safety of our service members and their families…

I invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and I call upon individuals of all faiths to pray for guidance, grace, and protection for our great Nation as we address the challenges of our time.

His proclamation for a day of prayer contained a subtle Read more…

Justin Griffith, the Army Soldier made famous by the event he organized at Fort Bragg, recently found a prayer group advertised on an Army unit’s Facebook page:

Naturally, Griffith immediately took issue with the time of the prayer event, which is during what are traditionally considered duty hours.  He decided to call on his web followers to target the unit’s Facebook post [formatting original]:  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…

US Rep Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) introduced the Military Religious Freedom Act (HR 3828), which aims to prevent chaplains and other troops from being “penalized” for failing to support homosexuals in the military.

It would exempt chaplains from functions that violate their Read more…

Lee Ellis
FreedomStar Media

Leading with Honor, Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton, is a unique and outstanding book by former prisoner of war Lee Ellis, an F-4 pilot who spent nearly six years in POW camps in Vietnam. Its stated intent is to pass on “leadership” lessons from the “crucible of captivity.” In truth, it is much more than that: It teaches lessons that are applicable to all of life.

Ellis, who was a 1st Lt at the time, was on his 53rd mission over North Vietnam 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…