Month: September 2010

Combat Mission in Iraq Ends, Combat Pay Doesn’t

In the wake of the announcements that the combat mission in Iraq has “ended,” the US military took some pains to acknowledge that its troops still serve in a combat zone, and their combat and incentive pays will continue:

Servicemembers deployed to Iraq will still receive hostile fire/imminent danger pay, hardship-duty pay, and incidental expenses. Some troops will qualify for family separation allowances. Also, all pay for warrant officers and enlisted members is tax exempt, while officers are exempt from taxes for up to $7,611.30 each month they serve in an eligible area.

“These pays compensate a member for the arduous conditions and additional burdens and dangers associated with being deployed to a combat zone,” Eileen Lainez said.

According to the article, the special pays and tax-exclusion are in effect due to the region’s status as a “combat zone,” which is declared by virtue of Presidential executive order.  Of course, the fact that combat continues in Iraq isn’t lost on most people.)

In that regard, despite the “end” of the combat mission, servicemembers will continue to receive combat pay until President Obama alters the status of Iraq as a combat zone.

Clinton to Host Iftar, US Army Celebrates Yom Kippur

According to a State Department press release, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will host an Iftar on September 7th.  The meal breaks the Islamic day-long fast that is continuous for the month of Ramadan.  The US Army has also supported Iftars in Iraq.

Meanwhile, separate official Army press releases, complete with graphic banners, announce the upcoming Jewish celebrations of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  The articles explain the meaning behind the holy days.

Religious freedom in America, and its military, at work.

An Atheist in the Chaplain’s Foxhole

The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating article about Navy Chaplain (Lt) Terry Moran and his armed escort, Chaplain’s assistant RP2 Philip Chute.

Chaplain Moran is a Seventh Day Adventist.  Specialist Chute is an atheist.  The subtitle says it all: “This Chaplain is Protected by God…and by an Atheist…at War.”

Lt. Moran takes the Bible at its word, rejects the evolution of species and believes the Earth to be 6,000 years old. He carries a large Bible with him into the combat zone, while RP2 Chute totes writings of Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and fierce critic of the notion that God designed the universe.

If nothing else, it appears the two have a respect for their relative roles:  Read more

Islamic Group Calls Muslim Army Soldier “Traitor”

The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) has called on the US Army to deny PFC Naser Abdo’s application for status as a Conscientious Objector (previously discussed).

“Muslims serve with distinction throughout the United States Military and AIFD sees Abdo’s traitorous public assertions as a slap in the face to all American Muslims especially those Muslims who fight in our armed forces for the liberty and freedom guaranteed by the American Constitution,” the group said in a statement it issued on Friday.

The group’s president, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser (a former Navy officer), went one step further, saying the root of Abdo’s dissension with the US military was not Islam, but the very “Islamism that threatens our security:”

Abdo’s actions are an affront to every American Muslim who has proudly donned a U.S. military uniform. His assertions are not built on Islamic teachings but on a feeble adherence to the global political ideology of Islamism that threatens our security and radicalizes our Muslim youth.

The statement by the AIFD has a scathing rebuttal to Abdo’s claim Read more

Update: Chaplain Goetz Killed in Afghanistan

Updated with message from Army Chief of Chaplains.

As previously noted, US Army Chaplain (Capt) Dale Goetz was killed in Afghanistan earlier this week.  He evidently died fufilling his pastoral duties as a Chaplain, “fob-hopping” to support his “congregation” of military Soldiers:

Goetz was in a convoy traveling from one forward operating base to another, where he counseled soldiers.

MSNBC reports that he was the first Chaplain killed in combat since Vietnam, not unlike the story of Sgt Chris Stout, the Chaplain assistant killed in Afghanistan in July.  Notably, however, US Army Chaplain Tim Vakoc died in 2009, five years after being wounded in a similar set of circumstances: a roadside bomb on a return trip from ministering to troops.

The Army Chief of Chaplains released the following message:  Read more

Tony Dungy, Uncompromising

The Baptist Press notes the recent controversy that erupted when Tony Dungy criticized New York Jets Coach Rex Ryan’s common use of profanity.

On a nationally broadcast radio show in mid-August, Dungy was asked by the host what he thought of Ryan’s use of several curse words in a constant pattern on a nationally televised reality show about the New York Jets.

Dungy told the host he didn’t approve of the bad language and would not have hired Ryan or anybody on his staff when he coached who used those words.

In Dungy’s defense, his statement was a direct response to a question, and Read more

Quaker Loses Challenge to Tax Support for Military

The government’s use of tax monies from its citizens is frequently an issue for debate, even on non-religious topics.  The discussion can become more significant when people question whether the government’s use of their money is “moral,” and if they should therefore not pay taxes.

In an interesting federal district court case, Moore-Backman v. United States, the complaint of Quaker Christopher Moore-Backman that his tax support of the military “burdens his religious exercise in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act” was dismissed.

As noted by Howard Friedman, the court’s conclusion was somewhat broadly stated:

The court concluded that there was no free exercise or RFRA violation because under relevant case law the Government is not required to conduct its own internal affairs in a way that comports with an individual’s religious beliefs.

F-16 Destroyed in Explosion. On Purpose.

According to an Air Force press release, an F-16 was intentionally blown up as part of an ongoing program to convert the F-16s to QF-16 target/drones.  The explosion was apparently a part of the test of the “flight termination system,” or the kill switch that allows a controller to destroy a wayward unmanned vehicle.  (Perhaps one flying into DC’s airspace?)

The first QF-16 is scheduled to be delivered in 2014. The QF-16 will replace the QF-4, the third generation full-scale aerial target drone.

1 … 5 6 7 8