One of the “compelling” reasons for repealing the ban on homosexuals openly serving in the US military was the claim that ‘thousands’ of people were being discharged from critically undermanned career fields necessary to the war effort. (Arab linguists were the most common scare-statistic used.)
Nearly a year after repeal, the DOD has said Read more
Mike Farrell, better known as BJ Hunnicutt of M*A*S*H fame, apparently thinks his “service” with Father Mulcahy qualifies him to speak with authority on the US military chaplaincy. He authored a lengthy piece on the Huffington Post written in the style of Chris Rodda; that is, heavy on vague accusations and light on facts:
Today, a huge percentage of our military chaplains, according to thousands of aggrieved American servicemen and women, present themselves as fevered salesmen for a fundamentalist version of Christianity rather than as simple, caring souls with a willingness to listen and no attached quid pro quo. These religious hucksters see themselves as “government-paid missionaries” and the youth under their domain “as ripe as black bananas.”
Farrell fails to quantify or provide support for his “huge percentage,” and provides no source other than the vague anecdotes of Michael Weinstein’s MRFF “clients.” (Farrell, conveniently enough, is a member of Weinstein’s advisory board.) Farrell is also apparently blind to his own prejudice, calling people who hold beliefs with which he disagrees “hucksters.”
He authoritatively continues: Read more
Or so he says:
According to his public statements, US Army Captain Miles Cone was in “violation of orders from a superior officer” during the benediction at his June 8 graduation from Read more
The Associated Press interviewed a small sampling of chaplains and chaplain endorsers in an apparent attempt to assess the impact of open service by homosexuals following last year’s repeal of the policy best known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
One interesting subject was Chaplain (Col) Timothy Wagoner, a Southern Baptist who attended the recent controversial same-sex union ceremony held in a military chapel to show his “support.”
“As a Southern Baptist, why was I here? I was here to lend support,” Wagoner said. “I was here supporting Airman Umali. I’ve worked with him. He’s a comrade in arms.”
“I’m also supporting Chaplain Reeb,” he said. “She gave a beautiful ceremony.” Read more
Omid Safi, a Professor of Islamic Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, took issue with a recent story about Navy SEAL training and the realistic mock-ups they use — which included mosques and paper targets of hijab-wearing women. From Read more
It seems an Air Force Airman was upset that he was unable to access an atheist blog while he was on duty. To try to prove he was experiencing discrimination, he apparently tried to access ChristianFighterPilot.com from the same government computer and was successful. He couldn’t have that:
The “contractor” is largely an automated filtering system that frequently stirs debate over the sites it blocks and allows. Many blogs are blocked simply Read more
The US Navy has long relied on two-engine aircraft because, when you’re flying only over blue water, it likes the reassuring backup of a second engine. (The acceptance of the single-engine F-35 was a significant event.)
Unfortunately, sometimes two engines haven’t been enough, as with the F/A-18 Hornet crash last April in Virginia. The recently released report says both engines failed shortly after takeoff: Read more
On June 16th the Air Force’s X-37B unmanned spaceplane landed at Vandenberg AFB, California.
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, one of two such vehicles, spent 469 days in orbit to conduct on-orbit experiments, primarily checkout of the vehicle itself…
Managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the X-37B Read more