Cleared Hot: Court Rules Flights Suits back in Style

A state appeals court has overturned a lower court and ruled that military flight suits cannot be trademarked:

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Atlanta-based Afterburner Inc. could not stop others from using a “military aviation-themed approach to business consulting” or wearing flight suits and using fighter jet imagery in such presentations.

The suit started when employees broke off from Afterburner Inc. and started their own company. A trial court had ruled in favor of Afterburner, but the appeals court reversed it: Read more

Mikey Weinstein thinks ISIS Attacks over Christianity

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has famously claimed that Islamic militants are motivated to attack because they feel they are fighting a crusading Christianity. For example, while military imagery has historically been rife with references to knighthood, Weinstein has focused particular energy on military units with things that he declares will be perceived as “crusading,” not unlike the 8th Special Troops Battalion Warrior Training Center in Fort Shafter, Hawaii:

More recently, he said ISIS received a “propaganda bonanza” when a uniformed US military officer spoke of the influence of God in his life.

Weinstein needs this narrative because his foundation is Read more

Jason Torpy, Mikey Weinstein on Chaplain Modder Victory

After a Navy commander’s attempt to discharge Chaplain Wes Modder was rebuffed by a Navy admiral, the Washington Times interviewed him on the follow-up. It also sought comment from two critics of religious freedom in the military: perpetually-offended atheist Jason Torpy, and frequent critic of military Christians, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein.

For his part, Torpy thought Modder should have gotten the boot, and he thinks the Navy’s reaction is “unclear”:

The Navy’s decision, he said, “leaves unclear whether it is acceptable for senior officers to use the Bible to justify belittling gay and women sailors.”

On the contrary, the “acceptability” of Torpy’s statement had nothing Read more

Air Force Dismisses EO Complaint from Wiccan Hindu

As noted at Military.com, the Air Force Equal Opportunity office at Joint Base Andrews dismissed the EO complaint from contractor Deborah Schoenfeld, the self-described Hindu-interested-in-Wicca (whose complaint was previously discussed):

The office on Oct. 27 dismissed her complaint, saying she filed too late and also because the individuals she claimed discriminated against her “are not Air Force employees.”

Schoenfeld disputes the filing deadline issue, but it appears to be moot if the subjects of the complaint weren’t even in the Air Force. Schoenfeld disputes that, too, saying  Read more

Air Force Chaplains Take to the Air

Chaplains from Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, are participating in a unique program that allows them to become qualified on the wing’s aircraft, thus enabling them to minister at 30,000 feet.  In an official Air Force article entitled “Spirit in the sky:”

“If we can get to where our people work, we can connect them with the support they need,” said Chaplain (Maj.) Michael Farar…

Chaplain (Col.) Bruce Glover, a 25th Air Force chaplain [said] “A chaplain being on flying orders and Read more

Mikey Weinstein Targets Wounded Warrior Program over Religion

At the behest of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, and as reported by him, a US Air Force squadron declared that a “volunteer opportunity” to support a 10-mile running event was “not eligible for publication by government email” — only because the event was to benefit a wounded warrior program — a program run by a Christian charity.

To be clear, the announcement for the Capitol 10 Miler Run, sponsored by Centerpoint Fellowship in support of Operation Heal our Patriots, was one of many events included in the email. It mentioned nothing about religion, beliefs, or even spirituality. It was only a request for volunteers to help support the running event.

Mikey Weinstein complained only about the religious beliefs of the sponsoring organization and the Bible-based wounded warrior program it benefited. According to Weinstein, the 42nd FSS of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base responded quickly to his demand, sending out the follow-up email:  Read more

Atheist Offended by Military Deployment Ceremony

Jason Torpy, the former Army Captain and perpetually offended atheist, recently took issue with a deployment ceremony conducted by the the 1st Battalion, 182nd Field Artillery Regiment, Michigan National Guard. The reason? The ceremony was performed in a church. The official Guard news release noted

family, friends and guests [gathered on] October 17th at the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church Sanctuary in Detroit to honor the Michigan Army National Guard, 1st Battalion (HIMARS), 182nd Field Artillery Regiment as they depart for Read more

US Marines Can Wear Pink, But Airmen Can’t Mention Orphans

When Michael “Mikey” Weinstein complained last month that an Air Force secretary had the audacity to include an announcement for Operation Christmas Child in a mass email (which he called “openly and willfully proselytiz[ing] the evangelical Christian faith”), her boss was quick to send an email out to the unit “disavowing” her announcement.

In the interim, no one seems to mind that US Marines are wearing pink to raise money for a similarly non-Federal entity [emphasis added]:

As a fundraiser for breast cancer research, the [Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166 Reinforced] had their unit logo patches, which each Marine is authorized to wear on coveralls and flight suits, made in pink and white.

“For each patch sold, we donate a dollar to breast cancer research,” said Read more

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