Month: March 2010

Adversaries Use American Virtues as Weapons

As noted in earlier discussions about accusations of religious impropriety, American adversaries have begun to wage effective combat operations by using American virtues against US forces.  In the most recent example, a somewhat overly pessimistic Op-Ed in the New York Times says the Taliban have “beaten American airpower”–a dramatic claim, given that the Taliban has no Air Force or even an anti-air capability.  But, according to the author, the Taliban have found a “non-military” way to “beat” American airpower:  Read more

US Marine, Christian, Wants to Fight in UFC

Marine Sgt. George Lockhart, a martial arts instructor, recently applied for six weeks of leave in order to take part in the filming of a reality series called “The Ultimate Fighter.”

A Military Times article notes that his immediate commander had previously given him approval to try out, and Lockhart won an invitation to participate in the show that allows fighters to compete for a potentially lucrative UFC contract.

While his immediate commander also supported his request for extended leave to film the show, his commanding general ultimately determined that Lockhart’s unit was too busy to allow him the time he would need off.  A Marine spokesman was also concerned about “barbaric” behavior on the show that might reflect negatively on the Marines, though that hasn’t stopped the Marines from using the show for recruiting ads.

Interestingly, Lockhart isn’t known just for his fighting:

A devout Christian who often quotes from the Bible, Lockhart said Read more

MAAF Misrepresents Data in Brief to White House

The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers was one of several groups that recently met with White House staff members as part of a White House meeting with the Secular Coalition for America.

According to the MAAF web page on the meeting, president Jason Torpy presented a briefing at the meeting that claimed to explain the relative percentages of faiths represented in the military.  His briefing grossly misrepresented numeric government data, apparently in an attempt to strengthen the MAAF position and demands.

In what the MAAF called a “new MAAF demographics study,” which was actually an MAAF presentation of a study done by the Defense Manpower Data Center, the MAAF said

DoD data show nearly one-quarter of the military is nontheistic

Using the DMDC data, the MAAF claimed that 23.4% of the Department of Defense was “nontheistic.”  Based on this number, according to the MAAF, “nontheists constitute a significant portion of the military.”  Thus,

Military and Civilian leadership must recognize and support this significant demographic

Some might say numbers don’t lie, but the MAAF certainly demonstrated that one can misrepresent them to support untrue Read more

Bush Recalls Power of Prayer, Awe of Military

Former President George W. Bush spoke recently at a fundraiser for Fort Worth Christian School in Texas.  Articles on the event note Bush’s dependence on the power of prayer.  This included not only his own prayers, but those who obeyed the Christian command to pray for their national leaders:

I don’t see how I could be president without prayer…The prayers of the people…sustained me, comforted me and strengthened me in a way I could have never predicted before becoming president, and for that I am extremely grateful.

They also repeat Bush’s now famous deep respect and admiration for the US military.

Fort Worth Christian School is an unabashedly Christian educational institution with an enrollment of 865 children from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

02 March 2010: 100 Years of Military Aviation

According to an Air Force press release, a reenactment of the first flight of a US military airplane will occur at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, commemorating the flight 100 years ago today.

The celebration is reportedly being held by both the Army and the Air Force.  Obviously, the first military flight was conducted in a US Army aircraft.

Update: Read the post-celebration article, which includes pictures of the unique flyby of the Wright B Flyer.

Chaplaincy Crucial to US Army

An article at Army.mil explains the unique roles and necessity of the Chaplaincy to the success of the Army mission, something that applies across the services to the US military as a whole.  One of the command Chaplains noted the value of the Chaplaincy goes beyond the tangible:

I would hate to think what the Army would be like without the Chaplain Corps. What if all of the positive spiritual emphasis in the world was removed in a moment? What would the world look like?  It would be ugly.

Though not often said, there are moral virtues supported by religion and the Chaplaincy that positively contribute to the mission of the US military.  Regrettably, those positive contributions are often forgotten, until they are removed and the impact of their loss is felt.

Via the Army Chaplaincy blog.

Chaplains Disinvite FRC’s Perkins over DADT Statements

Just days after noting the potential impact that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal might have on military Chaplains, there are now widespread articles on the decision by an Air Force base Chaplain’s office to rescind the invitation of a speaker who opposed President Obama’s proposed repeal.

The actions were those of an individual Chaplain’s office and were not necessarily indicative of the decisions of higher level leadership.  However, the decision itself is a perfect example of the conflict that organizations opposing the repeal intend to highlight.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins had been invited in October by the Chaplains’ office to speak at the February 25 National Prayer Luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base (now known as Joint Base Andrews).  Perkins is a US Marine veteran and ordained minister.  Supposedly, after President Obama used his State of the Union to call for a repeal of DADT, and Perkins and the FRC vocally opposed him, the Chaplain’s office rescinded the invitation.  (Notably, the Chaplain’s office is free to invite or disinvite anyone they choose; it is their public reasoning for doing so that makes this case interesting.)

The letter from the Chaplain’s office rescinding the invitation reportedly said:  Read more

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