Tag Archives: dana born

Retired Flag Officers Support Bladensburg Peace Cross

In February the US Supreme Court will hear the case of the Bladensburg Peace Cross, a near-century old war memorial in Maryland that anti-religious groups claim is an illegal endorsement of religion.

The Cross was ruled “unconstitutional” by the Fourth Circuit, and that is how the case approaches the Supreme Court.

Many have spoken out in defense of the memorial, which might explain why one group that filed a brief in support of the cross went unnoticed.

A group of retired flag officers are asking the Court (PDF) to “correct the court of appeals’ stilted view of the First Amendment” and defend the cross.  Those officers include:

USAFA Dean General Born to Retire Next Summer

BrigGen Dana Born, Dean of the US Air Force Academy, has announced her intention to retire in the summer of 2013.

Ordinarily, such a move wouldn’t be newsworthy.  However, Gen Born has been under constant attack by Michael Weinstein — aided by his veritable PR arm, Pam Zubeck of the Colorado Springs Independent — for several years.  Zubeck, who has long had sources on the USAFA faculty eager to undermine their own institution, “scooped” even the official US military announcement of Born’s retirement, and she did so without attempting to hide her bias:

Brig. Gen. Dana Born, one of the most controversial figures Read more

USAFA Tradition of First Shirt, First Snow Goes Bad. Supposedly.

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

Mikey Weinstein’s Friends and Allies in Military High Places, Part 3

Despite his claims the US military is overrun by Christians trying to take over the world, Michael Weinstein seems to have more public allies in military leadership positions than he has public enemies. In addition, Michael Weinstein seems to have some very well-placed friends in the US military, despite his claims he is a David fighting an institutional Goliath.

Weinstein’s “close personal…relationship” with an Air Force base’s commanding general has already been discussed, as has his unusual access to an Air Force Colonel’s non-releasable records.  It turns out Weinstein also counts the recently retired JAG of the Air Force as a cheerleader for his cause.

In fact, Weinstein’s apparently unfettered access to military leadership is so unusual Congress has been asked to investigate it.

The most interesting example of Weinstein’s friends in high places was Read more

Mikey Weinstein’s Friends and Allies in Military High Places, Part 2

Despite his claims the US military is overrun by Christians trying to take over the world, Michael Weinstein seems to have more public allies in military leadership positions than he has public enemies. In addition, Michael Weinstein seems to have some very well-placed friends in the US military, despite his claims he is a David fighting an institutional Goliath.

Weinstein’s “close personal…relationship” with an Air Force base’s commanding general has already been discussed.  It turns out Weinstein is also miraculously able to discern the private content of an Air Force Colonel’s non-releasable records.  Read more

IG says USAFA Officials Negligent in Absolute Statements

The Air Force Inspector General has determined two US Air Force Academy officials were “negligent” when they made “absolute statements” about the Academy.  The IG’s conclusions:

  • Col [Richard] Fullerton was negligent in making an absolute statement concerning the academic credentials of [USAFA] faculty members while authoring the Academy’s 2009 Institutional Self-Study Report to the [HLC] of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
  • Brig Gen [Dana] Born was negligent in making an absolute statement to a local newspaper regarding the military faculty’s specific academic credentials as they related to teaching disciplines without first confirming the accuracy of the supporting data.

The investigation was the result of a complaint lodged by MRFF-associate R. David Mullin, an Academy instructor who apparently lost his teaching position (apparently due to “performance issues“) around the same time he went public with various criticisms of the Academy.  That has led to speculation on both sides — that Mullin has been targeted for mistreatment, and that Mullin is trying to exact revenge Read more

USAFA Staff Investigated for MRFF Complaint?

The Associated Press has distributed an article indicating the military is “investigating” the US Air Force Academy for issues with its accreditation.

A document obtained by AP says the Air Force inspector general ordered a formal investigation into complaints that the academy’s dean and vice dean of faculty gave incorrect information to the Higher Education Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

The document says the vice dean was accused of making “a false official statement” and the dean was accused of “inaccurately portraying” faculty credentials.

“The document” appears to be the response by the Inspector General to the two complainants.  The two are reportedly anonymous, though one self-identifies as an Air Force officer, faculty member, and Academy graduate.

In the Inspector General’s letter Read more

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