Tag Archives: stephen lorenz

Atheist Complains of Military Pre-Mission Prayers

Jason Torpy of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers was recently interviewed by NPR on the topic of atheist chaplains.  At one point he said he felt “excluded…because of his beliefs” while he was in the Army.  His unit was preparing for a convoy:

Going on a military mission, for example, we were getting ready to roll out…So as the commander of this convoy (said), ‘Everybody come in and we’re going to do a prayer first together.’ We’re not going to talk about communications, we’re not going to talk about route planning, we’re not going to talk about first aid, we’re not going to talk about maintenance.
 
So I had to opt myself out of that situation, to ‘out’ myself because this commander took it upon himself to have a personal religious activity in the midst of a military mission.

CNS News caught that, and later asked Torpy to clarify.  Torpy ultimately admitted the unit had prepared for the mission, despite his implication Read more

Air Force General Lorenz on “Necessary” Prayer

US Air Force General Stephen R. Lorenz recently retired as the head of Air Education and Training Command.  (He is also a former Commandant of the US Air Force Academy.)  He frequently wrote commentaries alliteratively entitled “Lorenz on Leadership.”  On July 19th, the Air Force published his most recent article, in which he recounted a Chaplain’s run-in over pre-mission prayer:

As the troops were preparing to board the helicopters to an FOB that had recently been under attack, several Soldiers asked the chaplain if he could lead them in a prayer. A lieutenant colonel happened to be with the group and the chaplain, who was a captain, thought as a common courtesy he would ask the senior officer for permission to say a prayer for the troops about to enter combat. The lieutenant colonel replied to the chaplain that, “It would not be necessary” and walked away. The chaplain followed this senior officer’s guidance and did not lead the men in a prayer.

General Lorenz took the Lieutenant Colonel to task:  Read more

Possible Changes in Air Force Pilot Training

Gen. Stephen Lorenz, commander of Air Education and Training Command (AETC), which is the major command under which pilot training falls, recently indicated the potential for changes in Air Force pilot training.

His proposals included delaying the “specialization” of pilot training students until they were closer to, or already had earned, their wings.  Currently, pilot training students “track” into specifically-geared training programs six months into their 12-month program.  Read more

UAV Pilots to Outnumber Fighter/Bomber Pilots

The Washington Post picks up on the news mentioned a few months ago that the Air Force will train more unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots this year than fighter or bomber pilots.  (The Post gets the headline wrong; the comparison is not to all pilots, as it does not include cargo, transport, or other airframes.)  General Stephen Lorenz, commander of the Air Education and Training Command, repeated the comment last Friday.

In an interesting conclusion to the article, Lt. Gen. David Deptula, Air Force deputy chief of staff for ISR, commented:

Will the unmanned aircraft ever completely replace either bombers or fighters? In delivering weapons on target, Deptula said, “Yes, you bet.” But when it comes to controlling airspace, flying against enemy fighters, the general said, the technology cannot yet achieve 360-degree awareness. A human brain is still superior in the assimilation of information and responding to it.