USAFA Supe Highlights Character, Religion in Recruitment Message

In a widely distributed op-ed style piece, US Air Force Academy Superintendent LtGen Michelle Johnson answered the question “Why you should consider attending a service academy,” though by “service academy” she meant USAFA. The Supe highlighted leadership, followership, sports — and also the culture of character:

At the Academy, character is paramount – while they’re evaluating our Academy we’re evaluating them to determine if they have the honor and fortitude it takes to succeed at the Academy and serve in our Air Force…

Our four-year curriculum and emphasis on character development is interwoven in all aspects of cadet life to create an atmosphere of trust and accountability amongst cadets and staff…

Our emphasis on impeccable character is why it becomes “news” when an extremely small minority of our cadets does not meet our high standards. We hold ourselves to a higher standard.

(Despite using similar language about character, LtGen Johnson’s column did not include a disclaimer as BGen McGregor’s did.)

Character is, of course, extremely important, but simply saying “impeccable Read more

Character: Not the Views of the US Air Force

Reserve BrigGen Udo “Karl” McGregor is the US Air Force Vice Commander to the little-known Joint Enabling Capabilities Command. He has a storied career, from a helicopter mechanic as an Airman in the 1970s to the C-5 and joint billets today, logging more than 11,000 flight hours along the way.

On February 2nd, the official Air Force website published Gen McGregor’s commentary entitled simply “Character.” This was the very first line, emphasized in the original italics:

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Air Force, Defense Department or the U.S. Government.

For its part, the short article almost seemed to Read more

I am a Christian First: Ted Cruz and Christian Priorities

AP PhotoWhen GOP Presidential candidate Ben Carson rose in the polls a couple of months ago, a buzz started — mostly among activists and agitators — about the religious statements made by his now-chief of staff, retired Gen Bob Dees. (Dees had long been on Carson’s staff, but Carson’s rise brought sudden attention to otherwise old information.)

Now that Ted Cruz has risen to be Donald Trump’s primary challenger, critics of faith and liberty have shifted the “religious analysis” to him.

At the liberal-leftist Daily Kos, Ian Reifowitz called on his readers to imagine if a Jew or Muslim had said what Cruz had. Citing Politico, Reifowitz quoted Cruz:

“I’m a Christian first, American second, conservative third and Republican fourth…I’ll tell ya, there are a whole lot of people in this country that feel exactly the same way.”

Reifowitz assessed:

Could you imagine, for example, a Jewish candidate for president saying that he or she was a Jew first and an American second? Now imagine the sheer outrage if a Muslim American of any prominence whatsoever declared that he or she was Muslim first and American second. People’s heads would explode.

Reifowitz’s argument was almost immediately Read more

Air Force to Allow Enlisted to Fly Drones

Hearkening back to the days of the “flying sergeant,” the US Air Force will soon allow enlisted personnel to control RQ-4 Global Hawks:

“Our enlisted force is the best in the world and I am completely confident they will be able to do the job and do it well,” said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James…

The secretary and chief directed Air Combat Command to develop an implementation plan over the next six months to address items like entry requirements, training plans, career path development, delineation of duties, compensation details and an appropriate force mix. Implementation is focused on the Global Hawk community, not the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper force.

To be fair, the RQ-4 is a “fly by keyboard” drone: While it Read more

Mikey Weinstein Lauds Self-Indicting Article on Zealots

[For] the zealot…the real recompense is probably the obsession itself… Ambiguity vanishes from the fanatic’s world view, a narcissistic sense of self-assurance displaces all doubt. A delicious rage quickens his pulse, fueled by the sins and shortcomings of lesser mortals, who are soiling the world wherever he looks. His perspective narrows until the last remnants of proportion are shed from his life. Through immoderation, he experiences something akin to rapture…

This quote is from Jon Krakauer’s Huffington Post article on his book about “violent faith,” which he said helped explain the motivation behind the ranchers at the heart of the Oregon standoff.

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein called this quote and Krakauer’s work “amazing,” apparently without realizing how accurately those same words described him.

Irony, projection, hypocrisy — call it what you will.  It’s Read more

Fallen Marines Memorialized with 12 White Crosses

marinecrossThe 12 US Marines lost last week when their two CH-53E helicopters failed to return to base have been declared deceased.  They were previously identified here.

In a memorial ceremony last Friday, their fellow Marines placed combat gear on white crosses in a modified battlefield cross:

Forty-eight Marines solemnly adorned white crosses with flight vests, helmets, goggles and Hawaiian leis Friday in tribute to the dozen men lost when two helicopters collided during training…

Commanding officer LtCol Eric Purcell quoted the Marines’ Hymn:  Read more

USAF F-16 Flown by Taiwanese Pilot Crashes in Arizona

Luke Air Force Base announced that an F-16 flown by a Taiwanese student pilot crashed yesterday morning near Bagdad, Arizona.

The student pilot was being trained in a “high G[-force] maneuver between two aircraft in an air-to-air fight,” Pleus said. The pilot’s instructor was in a separate aircraft.

Such a statement bears the hallmarks of a G-induced Loss of Consciousness, or G-LOC, which has historically incapacitated pilots and left them unable to eject.  Read more

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