An F-16 pilot from Tyndall AFB was killed last Thursday morning when his jet crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
The pilot was civilian Matthew LaCourse, a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel and 1978 US Air Force Academy graduate. LaCourse was a part of the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron, which is the unit fielding the pilotless QF-16s as full-scale drones. He had previously topped 2,000 hours in the F-4/QF-4, which preceded the QF-16.
As with all mishaps, Read more
The following video captures the audio of a (genuine) 1966 spoof public affairs interview, in which a fighter pilot gives “real” answers to a reporter’s questions, and a Public Affairs officer then “translates,” with the repetitive lead-in, “what the Captain means…”
Some might say the “filter” from front line reality to the media portrayed in the piece is as true today as it was then.
Warning: The audio contains multiple profanities — in answer to every single question.
The video was reportedly created by two US Air Force PA officers.
Is it the role of a US military chaplain to advance the US military’s relationship with Christians around the world?
An article at the Quantico Sentry (and repeated at a US military site) highlights US Navy Chaplain (Cmdr) Abuhena Saifulislam, one of the more prominent faces of Islam in the US military over the past few years. The article notes
He’s served as the public face of an all-inclusive U.S. military and as a living example that the U.S. armed forces and Islam were not inherently incompatible.
About Islamic extremists, Chaplain Saifulislam said Read more
After previously belittling and then speaking at the University of North Georgia, multiple headlines now claim Michael “Mikey” Weinstein is going to file a lawsuit:
The University of North Georgia has come under fire in the ongoing war on Christianity.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is suing the school, accusing it of holding a 9/11 memorial service that invoked the “Christian God…”
The media articles (including one from the student paper) fail to note that Weinstein has threatened to sue many people for many reasons over the years — including even this website — and has almost never followed through. (The few he did file were quickly dismissed.) Weinstein’s threats are empty, if they’re even threats at all. In this case, it wasn’t even Weinstein who made the threat: West Point dropout Blake Page Read more
In an ongoing lawsuit involving a self-described humanist inmate in Oregon, a Federal district court held that “Humanism is a religion for Establishment Clause purposes.”
Interesting to see how this will be received on both sides — particularly since being lumped with religion might bring “baggage” as well as benefits.
Via the Religion Clause.
Read more
180th Fighter Wing Commander Col Craig Bluto Baker declared that an Air Force officer was prohibited from explaining the impact of Jesus Christ on his life, while a Navy Commander in San Diego lauded the performance of comedian Jeff Dunham, who voices, among others, Achmed the Dead Terrorist. From a prior performance:
Achmed the Dead Terrorist is a bundle of bones and bulging eyes and bushy eyebrows who delights with the crowd-pleasing line “I’ll keel you!”
“I’m a terrible father,” he said. “I took my son to take your kid to work day. Now he’s there, over there and over there. [Bomb noises] It’s not funny, kids blow up so fast.”
Achmed went on a rant about loving Ellen DeGeneres Read more
The Public Affairs officer at the Ohio National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing had a tough job — explaining the reasoning behind Col Craig “Bluto” Baker’s decision to censor an article by his medical group commander, Col Florencio Marquinez, because Michael “Mikey” Weinstein found it “odious.” Spokesman James Sims told FoxNews’ Todd Starnes this:
It’s very clear what you can and cannot say in an Air Force publication. Once it was brought to our attention and we compared it with the regulation, we found it was in violation of the regulation.
The article violated AFI 1-1, Sections 2.11 and 2.12.1, and the Revised Interim Guidelines Concerning Free Exercise of Religion in the Air Force guidance, and finally, ‘The Air Force Military Commander and the Law’ book.
That’s a fascinating — and error-filled — statement by the public affairs officer.
To the easy parts first:
First, the “Revised Interim Guidelines Concerning Free Exercise of Religion in the Air Force” do not exist. They were rescinded years ago and Read more
Airman First Class Michelle Doolittle sang “God Bless America” during the 7th Inning Stretch at Game 5 of the World Series:
Better not let Michael “Mikey” Weinstein know about it. He seems to think Airmen calling on God is a bad thing (and he had a conniption over last year’s Christmas song…). Read more