There’s been much ado lately regarding the normally secretive Chinese allowing photos and videos of their new “stealth plane” to make its way onto the internet.
Interestingly, it comes as the current administration has cancelled the F-22 future acquisitions, is planning to shrink the Defense Department’s budget, and may potentially cancel some portions of the F-35. The Stars and Stripes repeats speculation the administration has been “caught flat-footed.”
The long-running ACLU lawsuit against the Mount Soledad cross in San Diego reached another milestone at the 9th Circuit, with a three-judge panel ruling the cross is unConstitutional.
A war memorial cross in a San Diego public park is unconstitutional because it conveys a message of government endorsement of religion…The court said modifications could be made to make it constitutional, but it didn’t specify what those changes would be.
The 9th Circuit panel did not direct that the cross be torn down. Instead, Read more
According to the Air Force Times, the US Air Force determined that the November 2010 flyby of a University of Iowa football game was below the minimum altitude required by regulation.
The pilots involved may face some form of disciplinary action.
In an interesting twist, US Navy CAPT Owen Honors, recently fired from his position as skipper of the USS Enterprise, is being defended in the press by former Sailors who served under his command — and are homosexual.
“He wasn’t insulting” gay sailors, added Mr. Solis [a gay former Sailor], “They were just harmless jokes.”
Capt. Honors “absolutely did not” create a hostile or homophobic atmosphere on board, added Eric M. Prenger, a gay sailor Read more
A few articles across the internet have posited that CAPT Owen Honors, recently fired skipper of the USS Enterprise, was simply a product of the “military culture.”
As a retired Navy officer, my perspective is that Honors was acting as the custom of the time allowed. If the Navy wants to change its culture, it needs to get the word out on what is to be changed and only discipline future violations.
That’s an interesting perspective from several angles. It seems reasonable that if you permit Sailors (or anyone else) to conduct themselves after a certain fashion, then that conduct becomes “acceptable,” or it is at least perceived to be so. In truth, “allowing” or failing to discipline or prosecute conduct does not inherently make it right, thought it can understandably create a culture of confusion.
In addition, as the writer said above, if the Navy Read more
With an interesting sense of timing, an Air Force article on “Comprehensive Airman Fitness,” focusing on “Spiritual Fitness,” was recently published at Charleston Air Force Base.
As military articles on such topics often do, it calmly predicts and answers the questions of the recent uproar over Spiritual Fitness in the military.
There are three concepts associated with spirituality, according to [Chaplain (LtCol) Michael] Brown.
“The first is to discover meaning in your life and a meaning that transcends anything in the physical world,” he said. “Some find that through Read more
It was disturbing this weekend to see the attempted assassination of US House Rep Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) — in which a 9 year old girl lost her life — devolve into a game of political gotcha within minutes.
Because Giffords was a pro-abortion Democrat who defeated a “Tea Party” candidate just a few weeks ago, some pointed at right-wing “AM radio-listening” pro-life extremists. When the alleged shooter’s internet ramblings started to become public — in which he appears to be a confused socialist and ambiguously anti-religion — the speculation went from “conservative fundamentalist” to “lunatic.” Apparently because to Read more
LtCol Ravi Chaudhary has an interesting article on his experiences as a Hindu cadet at the US Air Force Academy many years ago:
As one of the few Hindu cadets at USAFA in 1989, the Academy was very accommodating to my spiritual needs. USAFA Chaplains even dusted off a small “all faiths” room in the Cadet Chapel to ensure I had every opportunity to practice my faith. This gesture made all the difference and supported my spiritual development during my Doolie year.
Events like these dot the spiritual landscape at USAFA, and serve as a unifying force for the entire Cadet Wing. At lunch time, the entire student body sits down to eat together and each member is given a moment of silence for individual prayer prior to the meal — a sign of Read more