Commander’s Comments: A Spiritual Journey as a Commander

The following appeared as an article in the 180th Fighter Wing publication The Stinger, but was removed by order of the Wing Commander, Col Craig R. Baker, because of a complaint by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein that it was “odious” and “offensive.”  (See discussion here.)  The sentences in which Col Marquinez mentions his faith are highlighted.

Colonel Florencio Marquinez
Medical Group Commander

First, I want to honor and thank you, present and past veterans, for your dedication and service to our wonderful, great nation. Every military branch has their own creed, serving as a guidepost for our actions. Each creed has similar themes and values reminding us of our responsibilities and duties when we put the uniform on. Of course, the most important to us, and my personal favorite is the Airman’s Creed.

I am an American Airman.
I am a warrior.
I have answered my nation’s call.

I am an American Airman.
My mission is to fly, fight and win.  Read more

WWII Vet Receives Norse Burial

The US Navy routinely performs burials at sea for qualified veterans, ceremonies that follow religious traditions despite the complaints of some who see a collusion between religion and the military.

The US Coast Guard recently performed a ceremony for World War II veteran Andrew Haines, and it honored his request as well — for what the Navy Times called a “Viking funeral“:

Haines…wanted a burial at sea…. On Sept. 29, the Station Atlantic City Coast Guard conducted the burial about three miles off the coast of New Jersey.

[The] handcrafted wooden Norse-style vessel…was lowered into a recess on the Coast Guard ship, where the shavings inside the boat were lighted with a flare and pushed out to sea.

Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Christopher Fonseca, the unit’s operations officer, Read more

Report: Evangelical Ministry Thrives at West Point

An interesting article at WORLD Magazine last month talked about “one of the most popular and thriving officially sanctioned clubs” at the US Military Academy at West Point — Officers’ Christian Fellowship:

At the United States Military Academy, one of the most popular and thriving officially sanctioned clubs is an openly evangelical Christian campus ministry. Officers’ Christian Fellowship, or OCF, has a database of more than 800 Cadets and an active participation of 400—nearly 10 percent of a student body of 4,400.

The OCF ministry at West Point is run by retired Army Colonel Tom Austin and his wife, Cheri, at a house just outside the gate:  Read more

Justice Scalia Defends Religion in the Public Square

This isn’t actually news: Justice Antonin Scalia has long said nothing in the US Constitution requires the government to scrub all appearances of religion from the public square. He did put a new twist on it this time, though, essentially saying the government can favor religion over non-religion:

“I think the main fight is to dissuade Americans from what the secularists are trying to persuade them to be true: that the separation of church and state means that the government cannot favor religion over nonreligion,” Justice Scalia said.

There is nuance to that statement. Scalia had Read more

NFL Rightfully Regrets Penalty on Player Prayer

An NFL player who recalled shades of Tim Tebow was penalized during a football game for praying in the end zone:

Referees in Monday night’s game took exception to Kansas City’s Husain Abdullah actions after he slid in the end zone and prostrated himself…

Abdullah, a devout Muslim, placed himself in the traditional position for Islamic prayer, not too much unlike Tebowing.  Also not unlike Tebow, Abdullah did not complain about the penalty and even put a somewhat lighthearted spin on the issue:  Read more

Christianity on Marriage, Divorce, and Homosexuality

Drs. Al Mohler and Russell Moore wrote in March on the topic of whether Christians are “hypocrites” for publicly opposing “same-sex marriage” while re-married divorcees make up large portions of their congregations. In short, Dr. Moore made the point that even if how they got there wasn’t right, the relationship between remarried men and women was still a marriage, in the Biblical definition.

The Southern Baptist Convention recently voted to break fellowship with a Southern California church that chose a “Third Way,” claiming they took no position as a church on “same-sex marriage.” The SBC disagreed and severed the relationship. Mohler and Moore again wrote on the topic of homosexuality and Biblical marriage in the Read more

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