Tag Archives: Navy

Supreme Court to Review A-12 Contract Dispute

According to an Associated Press report, two contractors in the A-12 program, Boeing and General Dynamics, are fighting to avoid a government-demanded repayment of $1.35 billion (plus interest) from the failed aircraft acquisition.  The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the contractors’ complaint that the government invoked a state secrets defense that has prevented them from adequately defending their position in the decades-long running contract dispute.

Most people under the age of 40 probably don’t know what the A-12 Avenger even is.  The over-budget, behind-schedule program to replace frontline Navy aircraft was finally cancelled in 1991.

Pocket Bible Survives Three Wars

A metal-covered New Testament, originally a source of strength for a Sailor in World War II, is now providing a connection for a Sailor nearly seven decades later.

“My dad just approached me…a couple days before I was leaving to go back to fly overseas,” Chris Carson said. “He said, ‘You take the Bible with you, Chris. It’s important to have it with you to keep in mind the good Lord.’ My dad is pretty religious. I brought it with me.”  Read more

Navy to Get More Buddhist Chaplains

US Navy Ensign Aroon Seeda is reportedly being commissioned into the Chaplain Candidate Program.  When he completes his requirements, he will reportedly be the second (or perhaps third) Buddhist Chaplain in the US Navy.  Like several other Buddhist Chaplains, Seeda will attend University of the West, a Buddhist school in southern California.

Likewise, Brett Campbell will enter the Candidate program at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Naropa was founded Buddhist Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

As reported by Buddhist Military Sangha [Campbell].

Australia to Receive First Export EA-18G Growler

The US government has reportedly agreed to allow the export of Boeing’s EA-18G Growler to Australia.  The Growler is an electronic attack aircraft built on an F/A-18 frame, though it replaces some of the offensive kinetic capability with electronic attack/defense suites instead.

See the prior discussion on the approval of full rate production (and the name) of the Growler, as well as other fighter pilot aircraft.

Religious Faiths Coexist in US Military

In an apparent effort to thwart conspiracy theorists, the US military has occasionally taken to publicizing what is obvious to the casual observer within the military.  Over the past few years, for example, the military has posted a variety of news articles noting servicemembers of all faiths and no faith have the protected ability to exercise their ideologies even while serving.

Just this week, the Navy published an awkwardly-titled but sincerely-written piece from the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, “Members of Differing Faiths Peacefully Coexist on Navy Aircraft Carrier.”  Obviously, members of different faiths peacefully coexist throughout the military, though some might allege otherwise without substantiation.  The article offers a concise and fairly comprehensive coverage of the efforts by the US military to appropriately ensure the religious rights of its members:  Read more

US Navy Supports Ramadan, Official Hajj

According to a Navy release, Muslim Sailors aboard the USS Harry S Truman were able to celebrate the end of Ramadan while on their cruise.  The US Navy followed standard policies on religious accommodation, and provided meals especially for the observant Sailors, as described by the Truman‘s Chaplain:

“Whatever a person’s religious background, the Navy’s policy is to accommodate that person’s religious needs,” said Cmdr. Jerome Hinson…”We are able to arrange meals for them before sunrise and after sunset. Depending on their work schedules, we accommodate their needs as much as we can.”

The Sailors themselves spoke positively about the Navy’s support of their religious Read more

“Freedom” Groups Object to Prayers on Navy Ships

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has protested the tradition of evening prayers onboard US Navy ships, saying they

violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because military personnel are being coerced to participate in religious exercises…

These officially sanctioned prayers compel service members of varying beliefs and non-belief to listen to and participate in religious exercises…

While it purported to condemn all prayer, the FRFF intentionally highlighted Christianity, even citing the frequently-used and inaccurately attributed concept that

Jesus condemned as hypocrisy public prayer…

If nothing else, the FRFF appears to be intellectually consistent, since demanding an end to the prayers achieves their end of freedom “from” exposure to religious thought.  On the other hand, such consistency is lacking for the MRFF, who also Read more

An Atheist in the Chaplain’s Foxhole

The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating article about Navy Chaplain (Lt) Terry Moran and his armed escort, Chaplain’s assistant RP2 Philip Chute.

Chaplain Moran is a Seventh Day Adventist.  Specialist Chute is an atheist.  The subtitle says it all: “This Chaplain is Protected by God…and by an Atheist…at War.”

Lt. Moran takes the Bible at its word, rejects the evolution of species and believes the Earth to be 6,000 years old. He carries a large Bible with him into the combat zone, while RP2 Chute totes writings of Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and fierce critic of the notion that God designed the universe.

If nothing else, it appears the two have a respect for their relative roles:  Read more

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