Tag Archives: schriever

Air Force Chaplains: “You’re not going to be proselytized”

A fairly benign article on the chapel community at the small Schriever AFB, CO, listed some of the events held throughout the year. The chaplains went out of their way to say the events they host are not coercively religious:

“Our events are not religion-based,” Werner said. “During retreats, we hold educational classes teaching how to deal with life issues. You’re not going to be proselytized.”

Chaplain (Capt) Portmann Werner probably could have used a little more nuance in that statement, since some of the events the article referenced included Ash Wednesday and Christmas Eve services, which clearly are “religion-based.” Even marriage workshops hosted by the chapel generally allow for some element of religion, even if they’re not a full-blown religious guideline for marriage.

On one level, it’s Read more

Troops, Military Leaders Say Discrimination is Prohibited. They’re Wrong.

The “failure” by President Trump to issue a Presidential Proclamation celebrating homosexual behavior in June, as well as the angst over whether the current Administration will reverse transgender “gains” in the US military, has boiled over into military training sessions and “pride” events. Within these discussions a recurring theme has arisen for which Capt Nathaniel Lee, 50th Operations group executive officer at Schriever Air Force Base, provides a relevant example. At a recent transgender panel discussion, Lee said [emphasis added]:

“Our core values are very clear; and they are not consistent with discrimination of any kind. If anyone feels they are being discriminated against in any way, it is important to know the Air Force is here to support them…”

The problem is that Capt Lee is wrong.

When the gate guards only Read more

US Air Force Band, Military Bases Show Christmas Spirit

Around the country and around the world, US military bases are helping troops celebrate the season of Christmas. (Many bases are also simultaneously celebrating Hanukkah, though the Jewish holiday is this week, preceding Christmas by a couple of weeks this year.)  For the most part, it seems many bases aren’t shying away from calling them what they are, though a few are sticking to the more generic “holidays.”

Gay and Marijuana in the Military: Same difference?

Is marijuana the next DADT?  The increasing (state) legality of the otherwise (federally) illegal drug indicates a growing trend of “normalizing” marijuana usage, and it is not going unnoticed by the military.

An official Air Force news release at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, notes marijuana is “not welcome here,” despite its sometimes legality in the surrounding state.

Schriever commander Colonel Wayne Montheith wrote a memo noting, among other points,

Marijuana, prescribed or otherwise obtained, may not be used, possessed, distributed, nor introduced on Schriever AFB, a Federal military [installation].

The presence of marijuana on Schriever AFB [is] a risk to good order and discipline and to the Air Force mission.

The policy applies to any person on Schriever, including civilians — who could be banned from the base for bringing even state-approved marijuana with them.

In a similar vein to the federalist treatment of homosexual marriage, Read more