Tag Archives: Military

The Honor of Military Ceremony and Tradition

Much has been made of the traditional aspects of US military formations and ceremonies, including whether or not prayer and the Chaplaincy–which has been part of military protocol since George Washington’s time–is appropriate.

While not directly addressing the controversy of religion, Maj Thomas Smicklas has written a fascinating and heartfelt commentary on the meaning of military ceremonies and their time-honored traditions: 

The Air Force has many different types of ceremonies that are unique customs of our military profession. Read more

Mojave Cross Controversy at the Supreme Court

In 1934, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) erected a cross on a non-descript area of the desert in California as a war memorial.  In 2001, the ACLU filed suit to have it removed. A district court ruled that the primary purpose of the cross was to advance religion; therefore the presence of the cross on government land was unConstitutional.  Currently, the now-steel cross is covered by a wooden box to obscure its shape.

The case will be heard by the Supreme Court on October 7th.

While the ACLU repeatedly claims it is not trying to remove crosses Read more

The REAL Meaning of Military Acronyms

The Colorado Springs Gazette recently got taken by a USAFA euphemism.  In an article about the new Air Force Academy program that helps cadets learn about UAVs, the paper said

The F-35 fighter now in production may be the last fighter the Air Force buys that carries a pilot.  That doesn’t mean the remote planes are super stars at the Air Force Academy, where the cadet wing’s favorite acronym is IHTFP for “I’m here to fly planes.”

The cadet wing’s favorite acronym may be IHTFP (though it would be in close running with BOHICA), but that’s not what it stands for.  Read more

Israeli Fighter Pilot Killed in Crash

Various news outlets (including CNN and Fox) reported that Israeli Defense Force Lt. Assaf Ramon died in an F-16 crash on Sunday.  (The Lieutenant was posthumously promoted to Captain.)  The Israel National News reports speculation that sounds much like a G-LOC.  The aircraft was an F-16A, an older version of the American-made fighter; the crash appears to have occurred during his F-16 training, just a few months after he received his wings from basic pilot training.

Ramon was reported as being either 20 or 21 years old, both of which are young by American standards.  Based on entering college Read more

Baptist Turned Buddhist Chaplain to Deploy

The Military Times papers have now picked up on the previously noted story about Army Chaplain (Lt) Thomas Dyer, a former Marine and Baptist pastor who converted to Buddhism and joined the Army National Guard (as published in the Tennessean).

The most recent article did have some interesting (and sometimes controversial) comments.  For example, despite the accusations that Chaplains can never evangelize, the article does provide the qualifier:  Read more

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