A rather benign article about US Army Chaplain (LtCol) Kenneth Sorenson attending the US Air Force Air War College (a somewhat rare chaplain cross-service opportunity) had an interesting photo:
Rumor has it that Chuck Norris (who was an Airman himself, at one point) proficiency advanced Air War College. Turns out “roundhouse kick” is an incontestable and inimitable grand strategy. Read more
Over on a sometime-controversial blog at Foreign Policy, Tom Ricks posts an article by Richard Andres on criticisms of the Air Force’s professional military education. Said Andres:
In a recent book chapter, Dan Hughes, a retired Air War College professor, launched an emotionally charged diatribe against the Air War College and Air University of which it is a part…
According to Hughes, the school is run by a group of bottom-tier, anti-intellectual, Christian evangelical, Rush Limbaugh-addicted colonels who have created an institution lacking in basic academic rigor and standards.
Both Hughes and Andres indicate they were Air University professors. For his part, Andres admits there is some credence to Hughes’ general criticisms (“politics and religion aside”). The larger debate focuses on the overall value of the military schools. Andres’ main point is Hughes mischaracterized the bigger struggle ongoing at Air University: that between often liberal-leaning civilian faculty and more conservative-leaning military faculty and students:
Beyond prizing academic rigor and hoping to avoid contact with policy, academics generally share a common professional mindset that is somewhat left of center, dislikes evangelical Christianity, and views the military with distrust.
Most interesting, however is a somewhat chilling story about the intentional targeting of religious beliefs: Read more