Month: July 2011

US Army Private Naser Abdo Arrested in Terror Plot

Private First Class Naser Abdo has reportedly been arrested by Texas police near Fort Hood, Texas.  Abdo wasn’t assigned to Fort Hood; he was assigned to Fort Campbell in Kentucky.  The Army said Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell.

Local police indicated they had interrupted a “terror plot” in their arrest of PFC Abdo.  He was reportedly found with guns, gunpowder, and the makings of a backpack bomb.  The arrest was made possible by a tip from local gundealer Guns Galore.  Clerk Greg Ebert said the staff of the store was concerned because Abdo was purchasing large quantities of gunpowder — while asking questions about how to use it.  Guns Galore is reportedly the same store where Maj Nidal Malik Hasan purchased his firearm.

According to AP reports, Abdo has admitted to planning an attack at Read more

Fort Carson Supports Native American Spiritualism

USAFA has its “Falcon Circle,” and just down the street Fort Carson has its unique religious “chapel” as well.

As previously noted, the Turkey Creek ranch US Army facility of Fort Carson has been used for some years to support the religious freedom of men and women in the US military of all kinds. The kind of worship?  A native American sweat lodge.

Michael Hackwith is the local spiritual leader and leads the group in Read more

Report: Single Keystroke Almost Destroys UAV

In a bit of sensationalist headlining, a few news articles noted the Defense Department report blasting the acquisition program of the Navy’s MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter.

According to a June 24 report from the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, the critical error came when the drone’s operator accidentally pressed the spacebar with a wire from his headset — launching the self-destruct mechanism on the vehicle.

As the articles later note, there’s no such thing as a single-button Read more

Air Force General Lorenz on “Necessary” Prayer

US Air Force General Stephen R. Lorenz recently retired as the head of Air Education and Training Command.  (He is also a former Commandant of the US Air Force Academy.)  He frequently wrote commentaries alliteratively entitled “Lorenz on Leadership.”  On July 19th, the Air Force published his most recent article, in which he recounted a Chaplain’s run-in over pre-mission prayer:

As the troops were preparing to board the helicopters to an FOB that had recently been under attack, several Soldiers asked the chaplain if he could lead them in a prayer. A lieutenant colonel happened to be with the group and the chaplain, who was a captain, thought as a common courtesy he would ask the senior officer for permission to say a prayer for the troops about to enter combat. The lieutenant colonel replied to the chaplain that, “It would not be necessary” and walked away. The chaplain followed this senior officer’s guidance and did not lead the men in a prayer.

General Lorenz took the Lieutenant Colonel to task:  Read more

In Face of DADT Repeal, US Air Force Bans PDA

Can you hold hands while in uniform?  How about a kiss or embrace?

Believe it or not, those are some of the most often asked questions by new officers and enlisted — and in most cases, the answer wasn’t clear.  Now, however, it’s in plain English:  If you choose to do those things in uniform, you may well be in violation of the new Air Force regulations.

Last year, the Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, otherwise known as the report on the DADT survey, noted the ‘sensitivities’ of public displays of affection with respect to homosexuality.  The working group made this observation:  Read more

ADF: Government Believes DADT Repeal is Risky?

Daniel Blomberg at the Alliance Defense Fund has an interesting article over the negative impact of DADT repeal implied even by those championing it:

If this change is risky enough that even the President scrambles to prevent it from happening “too quickly,” the Secretary of Defense who championed it focuses on limiting damage wrought by it, and most combat troops anticipate harm from it, why are we forcing it on our service men and women at all?

If you recall, some were asking how DADT repeal would improve the US military’s effectiveness.  Blomberg points out it seems most say they’re doing what they can to “mitigate” the negative.

Navy Secretary Censures Call Sign CO

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus censured Cmdr Liam Bruen, the recently retired Navy fighter squadron commander, over the naming ceremony of an administrative officer who took offense.

In a slap at the fading and officially out-of-favor tradition of racy, sarcastic and irreverent aviation call signs, a just-retired Navy fighter squadron commanding officer was censured by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus Wednesday for failing to halt and subsequently condoning the hazing of a junior officer at a 2009 call sign review board where assembled officers voted to call the officer “Romo’s Bitch” the Navy announced…

The Navy also counseled the unit’s second in command, Cmdr Damien Christopher, who had gone on to command, for violations of the Navy’s “policies on hazing and Read more

1 2 3 … 8