The Republic of Georgia recently prepared to deploy a Light Infantry Battalion to Afghanistan in support of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
The fairly standard article on the deployment ceremony was accompanied by two interesting photos:
A chaplain from the Republic of Georgia’s 33rd Light Infantry Battalion anointed more than 800 Georgian soldiers at the conclusion Read more
Chaplain (Capt) Andy Shepherd and his assistant, Sgt Desmond Manning, deployed to Uganda with the Georgia National Guard in support of ATLAS DROP 11. While their primary purpose was to serve the spiritual and morale needs of the Soldiers in their unit,
Their job didn’t end at the edge of the Drop Zone, both Shepherd and Manning reached out to the surrounding communities.
The locals seemed to be keen on the American forces, and even more so on the Chaplain:
“The locals were really glad to see us, and that really just touched my heart,” said Shepherd. “That really just put a drive in me to go visit more people out in the community to let them know we’re here and that we care and as a chaplain — as a Christian — just to show the love of God and that I do care, that I am concerned.”
As a result, the Chaplain team’s ministry expanded: 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
An article at FoxNews notes the military’s continued effort to fight the “stigma” associated with mental health issues, to encourage troops to seek help when they need it:
“Leadership is letting folks know that it is not a sign of weakness if you ask for help,” says Navy Lt. Commander Andrew Martin, the psychologist in charge of the program…
All branches of the military are working hard to remove the stigma associated with reporting psychological issues. The old way of thinking was to “suck it up” if a soldier or Marine was having problems coping. Now, the Marines are deploying psychologists to forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan so troops have a ready ear without facing the stigma of being sent back to headquarters for counseling.
The interesting thing about the military’s fight against the “stigma” is the stigma is a perception. The military has worked so hard to remove any actual Read more
A seemingly benign local article highlighted the roles of various National Guardsmen in their units and communities. Speaking of Chaplain (Maj) Steven Veinotte, it said
Major Steven Veinotte of Campton has seen the truth of that old adage that there are no atheists in foxholes.
“I think that’s natural,” he said. “It’s part of human nature, when the pressure gets ratcheted up, you tend to ask God for more things.”
However, Jason Torpy’s Military Association of Atheists Read more
USAFA economics instructor R. David Mullin released a letter through the MRFF criticizing the most recent religious climate assessment. Pam Zubeck of the Colorado Springs Independent tried to get the Air Force to corraborate the MRFF ally’s description of the Religious Climate Review Team led by USAF General (Ret) Patrick Gamble:
In the statement, Mullin notes, “To my knowledge, none (of those in contact with the MRFF) will come forward with their stories of victimization by the establishmentarianists. Why? Because of what the Religious Climate Review Team is not. You are a former USAFA Commandant, another member is a former USAFA Dean of Faculty, and another was a USAFA Permanent Professor for over 30 years. Therefore, you cannot credibly claim that the team is disinterested.”
(Oddly, despite his criticism, it seems Mullin did “come forward” and speak to Gamble’s group.)
According to the CSIndy, the Air Force declined: Read more
The organizers of Rock Beyond Belief at Fort Bragg have abandoned their plans for a lawsuit and are looking forward to having their event this fall. (Michael Weinstein’s “tell it to the judge” was apparently just for effect, as his threats so often are.) Coincidentally, it seems their very-public decision to cancel their event — and point fingers at the US Army as the cause — has actually benefited their plans (emphasis added): Read more
The prior article on the upcoming religious climate review at USAFA noted most major news repeats of the CSIndy story missed some of the more interesting details.
The Associated Press article closed with a single sentence on a related topic:
The Independent reported that the Air Force also plans to review questions raised by an academy faculty member about the qualifications of some of the faculty.
While the statement may seem unrelated to religion at USAFA, it’s actually an integral piece to the puzzle. Here’s what the Independent said:
A second inquiry…involves alleged accreditation violations, religious discrimination and cronyism in hiring civilian faculty.
“I am very concerned that [USAFA] may have committed persistent, gross violations of allowing inadequate academic credentials of many military instructors,” R. David Mullin, associate professor of economics, writes in his complaint to the Higher Learning Commission, Chicago, which accredits the academy.
“Also there have been violations of First Amendment rights and academic freedom by Brigadier General Dana Born, Read more