Month: March 2011

Fort Bragg Issues Statement on Atheist Rock Beyond Belief

After Col Stephen Sicinski’s letter approving the atheist “Rock Beyond Belief” event was publicized, the Fort Bragg Garrison Commander reportedly responded directly to both RBB and the Secular Coalition for America, which has been publicly critical of his decision.  His message has not been made public by those organizations, despite the fact multiple groups continue to inaccurately portray Fort Bragg’s decision.  (Col Sicinski previously lamented the fact Fort Bragg was being “misrepresented.”)

Col Sicinski’s message, which reaffirms some points and contains some interesting details not previously made public, is below in its entirety (unedited):

Message from Col. Stephen Sicinski, Fort Bragg Read more

DADT: Chaplain Endorsers, Training Begins, and Troop Inputs

The Alliance Defense Fund has filed an amicus brief in the Log Cabin Republicans lawsuit which had temporarily resulted in an injunction against the enforcement of the ban on homosexuality in the military. The brief was on behalf of a fairly long list of Chaplain endorsing agencies — the organizations required to provide endorsements of potential Chaplains before the military will accept them.  The list of Chaplain groups included:  Read more

Chaplain Team Reaches Troops through Holy Crap

Enter any military unit (but especially an aviation one) and you’re likely to find the bathroom stalls stuffed with reading materials.  In some cases you might find laminated copies of aircraft emergency procedures; in others, it might just be generic left over magazines ranging from Guns and Ammo to Newseek; in almost all cases you’ll find copies of the most recent safety publications.  (In years past, various levels of adult magazines could be found in most fighter units.  That practice has largely, though not entirely, faded away).

A US Army Chaplain’s team composed of Chaplain (Capt) Jason Hohnberger and his assistant Sgt David Cavazos recently took advantage of the traditional practice:

Holy Crap: Chaplain’s Thought of the Week, where Read more

USAFA Religious Environment to be Reviewed, Again

According to the local Colorado Springs Independent, and repeated at other news sites, a former US Air Force Academy commandant and retired four-star General has been tasked to return to USAFA and review the religious climate.

As requested by the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Ret. Gen. Patrick Gamble will visit the academy to assess the religious climate.

“His visit is not an investigation or compliance inspection, but an independent, subjective look at the overall climate at USAFA relating to free exercise of religion,” the Air Force says in a statement. “A detailed report is not expected.”

Many of the networks that repeated the story, however, missed the far more interesting details…

Also noted at the Religion Clause.

Army Will Punish Hasan’s Superiors

Various news outlets are reporting that the US Army has decided to punish military officers who expressed concern about Maj Nidal Malik Hasan’s behavior and officership — yet continued to give him glowing performance reports.

The Army announced…it will punish nine officers in connection with the Fort Hood shootings for “leadership failures relating to the career of Maj. Hasan.”

The Army statement indicates the officers may still get “due process” in responding to the “severity” of the action against them.

There may be a tragic irony in officers being punished for “failures” that led to Hasan’s conduct — when Hasan himself has yet to even be put on trial.  Most websites still say “alleged” with respect to Hasan, giving deference to the mantra of “innocent until proven guilty.”

The Military’s “Duty to Accommodate”

Mad Padre, a blogging Canadian military Chaplain, posted a link to an interesting article in The Maple Leaf, the Canadian military paper.  Entitled “Duty to accommodate in the CF,” the short article touches on the Canadian Forces’ policies on religious (and other) accommodation.

The article includes a picture of a Sikh Army officer.  The US Army has currently made few uniform exceptions for Sikhs within its ranks, both enlisted and officer.

MRFF Steps on Military Atheists’ Toes

Despite the often unified front of Michael Weinstein and his allies, it seems even his supporters are sometimes put off by his methods.

From Jason Torpy, at the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, referring to the USAFA invitation of USMC Lt (Ret) Clebe McClary to the National Prayer Luncheon:

[Recently] a sign promoting leadership based on religion was removed based on MAAF intervention and the understanding of [Air Force] Academy officials. Resolution was simple because of open dialogue.

The invitation to Clebe McClary, Read more

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