Tag Archives: Tradition

Mount Soledad Cross Case at Appeals Court

The decades-long battle to remove the Mount Soledad cross from the hills of San Diego is once again at the appeals court.  In various formats, lawsuits have challenged the Mount Soledad cross for years.  In this most recent iteration, the US District court in July 2008 ruled in favor of those who support the cross remaining at its current location.

The basic complaint is that the cross is an inherently religious symbol, and by sustaining it on public land, the US government violates the Constitutional prohibition against “establishing” a religion.

The ACLU, which is representing the plaintiffs, has had to defend itself against accusations that it wants to remove crosses (and any memorials with them) from all public lands–including military cemeteries.  An attorney for the American Legion, Read more

NASA Broadcasts MercyMe, Newsboys

Ever since Madalyn Murray O’Hair of the American Atheists sued NASA in 1969, the relationship between the space agency and all things religious has been interesting.  Even forty years later, as noted here, American Atheists complained about NASA allowing Astronaut Patrick Forrester to carry a piece of Nate Saint’s airplane with him into space.

Still, NASA hasn’t shied away from all things religious.  A previous article noted that God of Wonders has been one of the more popular “wake-up songs” broadcast to the shuttle crew in space.  (Each crewman’s family can pick a song as the wake-up call for the start of each day.)  The most recent trip (STS-129) just ended, with space shuttle Atlantis returning to Earth just after Thanksgiving.  During the mission, the shuttle heard MercyMe’s I Can Only Imagine, the Newsboys’ In Wonder, and Bob Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisses, among several other songs for the crew.  Read more

Happy Thanksgiving from ChristianFighterPilot.com

In the United States of America, we have an abundance of things for which to be thankful.  We enjoy the practice of our human liberties to a degree unparalleled in the world.  We rest in the security provided by the world’s best military.  Despite vast ideological differences, we continue a tradition of peaceful debate and peaceful transitions of power.

Remember those who have sacrificed, and continue to sacrifice, to protect those sacred trusts for which we are so grateful.  Thank God for our freedoms, our nation, and the troops who protect it–even as they celebrate while separated from their families back home.

Have a joyous and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Read the message from the Secretary of Defense.

Movie Review: Fighter Pilot Operation Red Flag

Image Entertainment, 2005.
Topic: Military Fighter Pilot

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag is a documentary originally produced for IMAX.  It has a nominal plot, following a single F-15 fighter pilot as he participates in Red Flag at Nellis AFB, Nevada.  The primary officer is Captain John Stratton, who also narrates as he plans, flies, and acts as a simulated evader during combat exercises in the Nevada desert.

The film has some almost comical flaws (or theatrical necessities, depending on how you view them).  For example, Read more

Army Battles Culture of Cheating

An Army Times article notes the US Army’s struggle to end a near-tradition of cheating on military promotion tests.  It appears many of the exams are long-running, meaning that gouge of one sort or another is readily available and frequently used.

The Army is far from the only service to experience such scandals.  The Navy has had its fair share of cheating, as has the Air Force, and cheating scandals at all of the military academies have made headlines at one time or another.

Hunts for online “help” for military courses is so common that one of the frequent searches that leads people to this very site is “pme,” “sos,” or “acsc” “gouge.”  Those who land here will instead find Read more

US Navy: A Global Force for Good

Over the years, the military services have tried a variety of public relations campaigns and recruiting slogans to draw attention and volunteers.  Some have withstood the test of time (“Be all you can be.”), and others were barely acknowledged (“Be part of the action,” which, ironically enough, was a recruiting slogan for the Coast Guard).

The person at the Pentagon responsible for hitting send on a service’s new slogan is almost deserving of pity; he will never please everyone, and there will always be staunch and cynical critics.  Even the most recent Air Force slogan change (“Above all.”) was vilified by some for its similarity to the German Uber Alles.

With that background, the US Navy is no longer “Accelerate your life.”  It is now  Read more

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