Month: July 2010

Christian Officer Killed in Combat, Mourned by Hindu Peer

On 13 July 2010 US Army 1LT Chris Goeke was killed in combat in Afghanistan.  He was one of three Soldiers to die in that firefight and his loss, like theirs, has been mourned across the continents.

The legacy of Goeke lives on, however.  He was known not only as a good Soldier, but also as a good Christian.  This was told in the first person by his friend, Rajiv Srinivasan, a Hindu, at a blog at the New York Times: 

Chris discovered his personal relationship with God and served as one of his finest Christian servants…  Read more

Pilot Ejects from CF-18 Moments Before Crash

Canadian Capt. Brian Bews ejected from his CF-18 just moments before it impacted the ground at the Lethbridge County Airport in Alberta, Canada. CNN.com carries a professional video of the crash captured from the reviewing stand.  In an interesting irony, the music playing from the flight line speakers is “Stayin’ Alive.”

High resolution photos of the incident taken by Ian Martens of the Lethbridge Herald show the ejection sequence in amazingly precise detail.

The first picture shows the seat leaving the aircraft:  Read more

Obama Curses…er, Christens…Coast Guard Cutter

First Lady Michelle Obama christened the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton last Friday.  There was a slight groan from the crowd when the first swing failed to break the bottle; the second was successful.  Maritime tradition considers the failure of the bottle to break on christening “bad luck.”  In one recent example, the Queen Victoria was reported to be a victim of the “Camilla curse” when a virus broke out on the cruise ship’s maiden voyage after the Duchess of Cornwall failed to break the bottle on the ship’s christening.

Maritime superstition notwithstanding, of course, it is laudable the First Lady would take the time to support the Coast Guard and the longstanding tradition of christening sea-going vessels.

Perhaps someday such celebrations will be overcome by events.  After all, ship christening has a long and historied spiritual connection, and even the term christening is ripe with religious connotation.  (See the US Navy’s official history on ship christening.)  Those who want to strip any vestige of religious association from the US military will undoubtedly claim the blessing or christening of military equipment violates the Constitution and endangers American servicemembers fighting in our nation’s wars.  Such a critique would be ridiculous, of course, but that hasn’t stopped similar ones made to date.

Enabling the Warfighter in the Name of Islam

Though it is surprising to see the military suggest a connection between religion and the warfighter, it did precisely that when it highlighted US Islamic government civilians who are supporting the military’s efforts at war.

Azza Meshal. Dr. Rony Shahidain. Muhammad Mizan. Three American-Muslim engineers supporting U.S. Army to equip the Soldier with the capabilities he needs to defeat this country’s enemies abroad.

Meshal, who wears the hijab, also noted the response of her government coworkers when she continued to wear the Islamic garb immediately following the terrorist Read more

Beyond Hearts and Minds: US Military and Islam in Afghanistan

The US military notes its continuing efforts to use money and cultural support for Afghans to normalize their lives and their country.  As noted previously, the US military has direct access to government funds to “meet emergency needs of civilians in support of humanitarian operations.”

The article notes that one intentional recipient of such US government funds has been mosques, both in Afghanistan and Iraq.  As noted by a unit Chaplain, Chaplain (Capt) Abraham Sarmiento:

The next project brought buckets of paint, brushes and rolls of carpet in an effort to refurbish two mosques that were still in disrepair from the Soviet occupation.  Read more

US Senator on DADT and the Silent Opposition

The Baptist Press notes a concern that the controversy over the repeal of the policy commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” may be completely avoided until after the November elections, in order to avoid potential backlash on members of Congress from conservative districts.

In a move that would potentially stoke that controversy, one Senator is preparing to offer amendments to the Defense Authorization Act that will address not only the DADT provision, but also that on abortion:

Sen. James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he’s prepared to offer amendments striking the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and pro-abortion language from the bill.

The Senator also supported the growing current of comments indicating members of the military oppose the change but feel unable to express that concern (while those who support it are doing that very thing):

Inhofe said he recently returned from a trip to Iraq in which military personnel expressed to him concern that their voice isn’t being heard. He said personnel told him, “We want to be heard and now we find out that … they’ve already decided how it’s gonna turn out.”

Stanley McChrystal to Retire, Scott McChrystal Preaches On

Never one to miss a controversy, the media is expressing shock that “the Army” would let only three hand-picked journalists attend General Stanley McChrystal’s retirement, scheduled this Friday.  They fail to fully understand that a military retirement is not a government ceremony, and the retiree can do as much or as little as he chooses, and invite whomever he pleases.

A military article also notes the continuing ministry of his brother, Chaplain (Colonel) Scott McChrystal, US Army (retired).  He recently spoke at a prayer breakfast at Read more

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