God and Country

The Air Force released the results of the “health and welfare” inspection ordered by Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh in December.

The Air Force found 631 instances of pornography…; 3,987 instances of unprofessional material…; and 27,598 instances of inappropriate or offensive items… In total, 32,216 items were reported.

The Air Force even published the entire list, if you’re keen on seeing 61 pages of small font of every item confiscated, removed, or destroyed.

Most media articles have already picked up on the things like Maxim magazine, nose art, and PG-13 movies on the list.  A few — mostly fighter pilots — will pick up on the mermaid-handled mugs that were removed.  Fewer will notice the Air Force actually had to order new parts for aircraft to replace “offensive” painted panels.

Wonder how many people will pick up on these:  Read more…

In an interesting bit of timing, given the Air Force Chief of Staff’s recent health and welfare inspection, Maxim magazine was covered by the New York Times in a story highlighting its ubiquity within the military.

Why?  Basically, troops can’t get racy magazines like Playboy or Penthouse shipped to the war zone overseas — but Maxim, while it may skirt the line, doesn’t cross it:

Maxim, a testosterone-fueled magazine featuring adolescent humor and plenty of scantily clad actresses, has become for today’s Army what Esquire was to soldiers fighting in World War II and Playboy was during the Vietnam War…

The sale of “explicit” magazines on military bases comes up in the news every few years.  At one point, Lifeway publishers was attempting to create a Christian alternative to the popular magazines.  For now, the rules actually “benefit” Maxim:  Read more…

A recent DoD article highlights a previously noted tradition of transferring the stole worn by some chaplains to his incoming replacement.  The ceremony is conducted much like the more familiar change of command:

Transferring the stole – a long, plain, black cloth worn around the neck – is similar to a command’s leadership passing the unit’s guidon Read more…

From around the world:

Operation Christmas Drop, the annual event in which C-130s drop packages to remote Pacific Islands, completed its 61st year.

Airmen from Yokota Air Base, Japan, were joined by the University of Guam, the local community and charitable organizations to provide more than 39,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies to islanders during Operation Christmas Drop Dec. 11 to 18.

A commenter on AF.mil site sarcastically noted it is only a matter of time before someone complains about the name of the operation hiding an attempt to conver the locals…

The Stars and Stripes had a few more details, including the Operation’s use of condemned Air Force parachutes, and the unfortunate consequences of using a chute that’s too small.

A San Antonio-based US Army Public Affairs Read more…

Update: A letter to the editor of the Stars and Stripes questions Torpy’s “odd idea of religious freedom.”

Former Army Captain and current atheist Jason Torpy was working overtime doing damage control over the past week, as various outlets picked up the story of his complaint over the “live nativity” occurring during NSA Bahrain’s annual “Holiday Tree Lighting.”  His comments appeared on a variety of sites covering the controversy; in each case, he basically said he didn’t demand NSA Bahrain cancel it — he just called it “unconstitutional” and a danger to US troops — that’s all.  Of course, he did say that cancelling it was “preferable to” letting it happen:

If the scene had to be cancelled, that is unfortunate but it is also preferable to the government-sponsored proselytism [*See note, below] the Live Nativity would have added to an otherwise positive celebration.

FoxNews accurately reported that Torpy’s complaint to the Inspector General led to the cancellation of the event to occur during Read more…

The AF.mil article announcing the Air Force “health and welfare” inspections has become a repository for interesting stories about how inspections are being conducted locally.  Two interesting replies:

12/7/2012 8:13:40 AM ET
We had a team of inspectors come through my workcenter yesterday. They took down all of our photos of aircraft with nose art because someone might be offended. They also made me take down a USO photo of the dallas cowboy cheerleaders that was signed thanking my shop for our service…

mitch, sheppard

Targeting nose art is an interesting choice, given the Air Force itself displays traditional “pin up” nose art the National Museum of the Air Force.  For the time being, the Wright Patt base commander, Col Cassie Barlow, has Read more…

Most recent articles on the high visibility sexual scandals in the Air Force have focused on charges of sexual assault, largely with reference to the Lackland basic training incidents.  Despite a fairly thorough article at the New York Times (which included that topic), almost no one has been talking about Air Force Technical Sergeant Jennifer Smith — who is threatening to sue the US Air Force over the sexually-charged atmosphere in the fighter pilot world.  (The Air Force Times picked up on the story just days ago.)

This is particularly notable in light of the recent “health and welfare inspection” ordered by Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen Mark Welsh, since the inspection seems to precisely target some of TSgt’s Smith’s allegations (yet the media continues to connect it to other accusations).   Notably, there are reports Shaw AFB — where TSgt Smith reportedly lodged the complaint – did a “health and welfare” inspection weeks before Gen Welsh ordered it Air Force wide.  The organization representing TSgt Smith, “Protecting our Defenders,” certainly made the connection.

As noted in the New York Times more than a month ago, TSgt Smith has filed an “administrative complaint” (PDF, with attachments) that reads much like a primer on the vices of the fighter pilot world.  She seeks  Read more…

FoxNews picked up the story of atheist Jason Torpy’s IG complaint about NSA Bahrain’s children’s “live Nativity.”  In comments on many of the articles now featuring this topic, Torpy has been roundly criticized as a Grinch — and it seems he lost the support even of some fellow atheists.

At the Christian Post, OneNewsNow, and DC CBS.

Some people claim there’s a “war on Christmas” when retailers substitute “Happy Holidays” for “Merry Christmas.”  While some customers or employees may take issue, the retailers’ choices of words probably have little impact on anything, including their bottom line.

By contrast, some atheists are actively working against “Christmas” in the US military – which has a direct and measurable impact on US troops, especially those stationed thousands of miles from the familiar celebrations of home.

As noted previously, the annual raising of “holiday” or “Christmas” trees and Menorahs has begun on US military installations around the world.  The chapels of some bases also put up nativity scenes, as Travis AFB famously did last year.

The US military facility known as “Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain” has held an annual Christmas tree lighting for years.  As part of that activity, carols have been sung, Santa has found his oversized chair, and excessive amounts of cookies and Christmas drinks have been consumed.  In addition, the event has featured a “live nativity,” composed of base children and local animals.  The event even included a photogenic camel.

Jason Torpy, a former Army captain and current atheist activist, considers “a Christmas tree, presents, some [non-Christian] songs, and even Santa Claus as trappings of secular Christmas.”  The nativity, then, had to go.  So an IG complaint was filed [emphasis Read more…

Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh ordered his wing commanders to conduct “health and welfare inspections” with the intent of fostering respect and professionalism.  The Air Force announcement was fairly benign:

Commanders across the Air Force will conduct health and welfare inspections…to emphasize an environment of respect, trust and professionalism in the workplace…

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III tasked commanders…to examine their work settings and ensure Airmen at all levels consistently apply standards of professionalism and respect across the service.

The Air Force Times took a more direct approach, saying the target was material that “objectif[ies] women:”

Commanders and supervisors in all corners of the Air Force Read more…

A variety of websites are now reporting on the injuries US Air Force Academy cadets received during attempts by Four Degrees (freshmen) to drag their Cadet First Sergeants through the first snow of the season.  The decades-old tradition is one of many that generally stay out of the public eye, though YouTube videos and the like have revealed them for years.

While there is apparent shock that “nearly 30 cadets” were injured in some form (including — gasp — bruises) during the devolution to a “brawl,” that injury count probably doesn’t crack the records set during Read more…

Update: Major Garbarino was convicted at court-martial of being drunk and disorderly and received 30 days and a fine of six months pay.  He was acquitted of other charges.

The Associated Press announced that the National Academy of Sciences has called ‘substance abuse’ within the US military a “public health crisis.”  Among other things:

The study…says about 20 percent of active duty service members reported they drank heavily in 2008, the last year for which data is available. And, binge-drinking rose to 47 percent in 2008 from 35 percent in 1998.

The report also cited abuse of prescription drugs — particularly prescription pain killers and similar drugs, the use of which has skyrocketed to “nearly 5 million prescriptions” over the 1 million issued more than a decade ago.

The issue of drinking, of course, is nothing new.  Just rent Read more…

[Marilyn] Monroe was famous for her quips and sexual innuendos. When asked what three men she’d like to be trapped on a deserted island with, she responded Joe DiMaggio, Albert Einstein and Hoyt Vandenberg – her husband, the scientist and the Air Force general respectively.

Now that’s not something you hear everyday, and from an article written by a wing commander, no less.  General Vandenberg was a US Military Academy graduate and the second Chief of Staff of the Air Force.  Vandenberg Hall (or “Vandy”), one of the residence halls/dormitories at the US Air Force Academy, is named after him, as is Vandenberg AFB in California.  It seems Marilyn Monroe had a thing for him.

A recent Army article noted that the commander of forces in Afhganistan “coined” members of the US military for their exceptional performance:

Marine Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan…presented ISAF commander coins to six soldiers surrounded by their friends and fellow service members during a mid-day ceremony here.

After listing the accomplishments of the soldiers, the article included this summary of the tradition:  Read more…

The demand by Jason Torpy, speaking for the one-man Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, that the US Marine Corps remove its “Christian privilege” (the crosses on Camp Pendleton‘s ridge on Camp Horno) has spurred a “wider review” of similar memorials around the world:

Capt. Greg Wolf at the Pentagon headquarters of the Marine Corps said Thursday that an “operational planning team” is conducting Read more…