God and Country

Though a few days older than the original story on the Naval officer who filed a complaint over his naming, a Time Magazine story contains more details on “callsigns” in the military, with some interesting, stereotypical (and likely accurate) comments:

In the testosterone-laden world of military aviation, call signs for pilots and other squadron personnel can be really sticky — the more an aviator complains about the moniker his colleagues bestow upon him, the tighter its grip will be.

Over the years, that has led to lots of embarrassing call signs beyond the famous one brandished by Read more…

Contrary to the prior assertions of the Air Force Times, the US Air Force says it is not looking for a recruiting slogan; instead, it is in search of a “motto” that is “meant to endure.”

Colonel Groves made the distinction between temporary recruiting slogans and an official motto, which will be the service’s first.

“People may recall slogans such as ‘Aim High,’ ‘No One Comes Close,’ and ‘Cross Into the Blue’ seen in ad campaigns supporting recruiting efforts,” Colonel Groves said. “The Air Force motto, in contrast, is focused on building esprit-de-corps, and is meant to endure to future generations of Airmen.”

The goal is reportedly to have an Air Force motto within the year.

The third installment of pictures documenting religion and its place in the US military begins with photographs of free exercise.  The first set includes photographs of the US military’s efforts to support expressions of the Jewish faith.

These pictures continue to demonstrate that the US military goes out of its way to support the free exercise of its troops, even when that free exercise might raise eyebrows among conspiracy theorists when it is associated with the US government or the US military.  Celebrations of holy days, the wearing of religious artifacts in uniform, religious celebrations while armed and in uniform, even something as simple as a bar mitzvah in Iraq are shown among the photographs.

Men and women of faith can be in – and express their faith within — the US military.  These pictures and those to come – all of which are publicly available – show that faith has a fitting and integral role in many lives in the military.

These photo galleries are now part of the Resources page of ChristianFighterPilot.com.

First Lady Michelle Obama christened the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton last Friday.  There was a slight groan from the crowd when the first swing failed to break the bottle; the second was successful.  Maritime tradition considers the failure of the bottle to break on christening “bad luck.”  In one recent example, the Queen Victoria was reported to be a victim of the “Camilla curse” when a virus broke out on the cruise ship’s maiden voyage after the Duchess of Cornwall failed to break the bottle on the ship’s christening.

Maritime superstition notwithstanding, of course, it is laudable the First Lady would take the time to support the Coast Guard and the longstanding tradition of christening sea-going vessels.

Perhaps someday such celebrations will be overcome by events.  After all, ship christening has a long and historied spiritual connection, and even the term christening is ripe with religious connotation.  (See the US Navy’s official history on ship christening.)  Those who want to strip any vestige of religious association from the US military will undoubtedly claim the blessing or christening of military equipment violates the Constitution and endangers American servicemembers fighting in our nation’s wars.  Such a critique would be ridiculous, of course, but that hasn’t stopped similar ones made to date.

Following the first installment of pictures documenting religion and its place in the US military, the second is now posted on the Resources page.  These photos largely show uniformed military members in prayer, practicing their right to free exercise of religion, even while in the US military.

Men and women of faith can be – and express their faith — in the US military.  These pictures and those to come – all of which are publicly available – show that faith has a fitting and integral role in many lives in the military.

It’s been said many times before that being a fighter pilot is a lot like being in a college fraternity.  Yes, its true, “pranks,” to use an equivalent word, are still prevalent among the elite fighter pilot crowd.

If you lose something in a fighter squadron, check the freezer.  If you’re lucky, it will just be wet.  If you’ve been gone awhile, there’s a distinct possiblity your lost item, most famously, your hat, is now in a solid block of ice, or your car keys will now need to be thawed before you can drive home.  (Another technique is to put just the head of the key in the block of ice, so the driver can still enter and drive his car, albeit with a 5 pound block of ice hanging off of it.)

While this is a longstanding fighter pilot tradition, the modern Air Force has Read more…

Robin Olds
St Martin’s Press, 2010

Robin Olds is a legend in the fighter pilot community, though he may not be recognized outside of it.  Many people may remember, for example, the famous Operation BOLO during Vietnam, which used F-4s to impersonate F-105s and succeeded in destroying a third of the North Vietnamese MiG-21s in a single mission – but few know then-Col Robin Olds was responsible for it.  Fighter Pilot is his story, and it is explicitly delivered as a memoir, rather than an autobiography.  Thus, it is not a detailed birth-to-death retelling of his life, but a first-hand recounting of the things he wishes to convey.  (The book was completed after his 2007 death by his daughter, Christina Olds, and Ed Rasimus, himself a retired fighter pilot.)

The book starts off somewhat slowly, almost as if (despite its status as a “memoir”), Olds (or his co-authors) felt obligated to include some stories from the early parts of his life.  He mentions his early pilot training days and a few significant events briefly, but provides little detail or introspective.  For example, he casually mentions, without further insight, that he attended the Air Corps Tactical School, which would ultimately form the basis for all air doctrine in the Army Air Forces and eventually the independent Air Force.  He also covers his entire training, from his early wartime graduation from West Point through becoming a pilot, in a scant 20 pages.  Some of the lack of detail may be for a very understandable cause: he simply didn’t remember much from those early days.  Another may be more pragmatic: Olds is known for his time in Vietnam, not pilot training.

Unlike some other fighter pilot books, Read more…

Previous articles have noted Michael Weinstein’s biased complaint about a red cross on the emblem of a military hospital in Fort Carson.

As reported by the Colorado Springs Gazette, Weinstein apparently had a personal audience with Fort Carson post commander MajGen David Perkins recently.  Weinstein indicated the General basically told him to pound sand, though the military only confirmed Read more…

A moving memorial was held for US Army Major Ronald “Wayne” Culver, killed by an IED in Iraq on May 24th.  The Chaplain, a friend of the Major, spoke of his faith and his salvation:

The service continued with the chaplain speaking of the major’s faith and how he knew he would see his friend in heaven. He choked up at the podium and the squadron command sergeant major walked across the stage to support him. The room was deathly silent, save for the sound of more than 500 battle-tested Soldiers sniffling.

Prayer and the playing of Amazing Grace on bagpipes, another military memorial tradition with spiritual undertones, was Read more…

What’s a doofer book?  Generally, its a running compilation of the missteps of the members of the squadron. They are most interesting when kept during deployments and often become a unique collection of history (and often humor) for a unit.

There are few rules, either about content or language — the only criterion is that the story must be at least 10% true. Doofer books have largely fallen victim to political sensitivity.  More detail can be found in the relevant section of this article on Fighter Pilot Traditions.

This definition is part of ChristianFighterPilot.com’s Fighter Pilot Speak, a veritable Rosetta stone of aviator lingo.  Browse the terminology of the zipper suited sun gods, and submit any omissions you may find.

A recent US Air Force news article on the USAF Academy graduation contained a photo encapsulating a veritable cornucopia of USAFA and military traditions.  Here’s the photo:

Traditions displayed in the photo:  Read more…

The Herndon Monument climb, a tradition over which the outgoing superintendent of the US Naval Academy Vice Adm Jeffrey Fowler had already expressed displeasure, was done without the lard and water-spraying of previous years.  As a result, the first year midshipmen managed a near-record time of 2 minutes and 5 seconds, as opposed to the more average time of 2 hours or more.

This was not the first time for either the absence of water (banned last year) or a slicked up monument, though it has been decades since the plebes scaled the obelisk without the challenge of lard.

The change was reportedly “to improve the safety of the event.”

The Naval Academy graduation is this Friday.

According to the Military Times, US Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler has expressed displeasure with the decades old tradition of “freshmen” midshipmen climbing the Herndon monument.  The annual climb is the symbolic end of the plebe year.

The article does specifically say Fowler is not canceling the event, though he anticipates that “risk management” will eventually lead to its demise.

The article contains a fairly detailed description of the climb, as well as its history.

The squadron “Doofer Book” is a fighter pilot tradition that has spread to many other services and career fields in one form or another.  It is generally a handwritten, running compilation of the missteps of the various members of the squadron that may be updated daily, or at weekly or monthly pilot events.  While entertaining as a day-to-day squadron chronicle, they are most interesting when kept during deployments—they serve as a unique collection of Read more…

The Wedge principle is a time-honored military mantra; while it may be present in a wide variety of career fields in the military, the high-visibility nature of the fighter pilot profession has made the Wedge principle a strong and lasting tradition.

The Wedge principle has nothing to do with lever arms, inclined planes, or any other form of engineering.  It is also not to be confused with the callsign “Wedge,” which is given to those who resemble the “simplest tool” ever invented.  Instead, it is a time-honored, unwritten principle that basically says  Read more…