The Bible and the POW/MIA Table, Part II

“Eat everything they give you, no matter how disgusting; it’ll keep you alive. You’ve just been tortured, and that’s not the end of it; resist to the limits of your sanity, or to permanent physical damage. You’ll know when you get there.” And he concluded: “And pray; if you haven’t been, start. We’re going to get through this, and I’ll see you when it’s over.”

General Robbie Risner, prisoner of war and the Senior Ranking Officer in the Hanoi Hilton, to newly arrived POW Gen Charles G. Boyd, 1963.

Kind of makes you wonder what those POWs would think of the Air Force removing a Bible from their POW/MIA table. Read more

Multiple Religious Freedom Groups Call Military Policy Insufficient

A strikingly broad-swath of religious liberty groups has written a letter (PDF) the office of the Secretary of Defense contending the military’s recent religious accommodation policy “change” doesn’t go far enough. In one point they make:

Even if an original accommodation request is approved, religiously observant service members would be required to submit a new request for the same accommodation every time they receive a new assignment…

In other words, a Soldier allowed to have a beard for religious reasons would have to re-apply with every assignment change for a continuing accommodation — and could conceivably have to shave in the interim.

The letter was signed by groups as diverse as the ACLU, ADL, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Becket Fund, Chaplain Alliance for Read more

Fort Hood Says Chaplain Shielded, Protected Soldiers

In the days following the last Fort Hood shooting, several stories emerged about those who were there. Once again, a “female officer” confronted the gunman and ended the spree. As with many shootings, the assailant stopped when confronted with equally deadly force — renewing calls for the military to lift the “gun free zone” status of military bases.

Another story was buried in just a short paragraph of a local CBS report, though the station elected to cite it in the headline, “Fort Hood Chaplain Saves Soldiers By Shielding Them With Own Body, Breaking Windows To Allow Them To Flee.” Quoting LtGen Read more

Mustache March: Tradition, Camaraderie, and IG Complaints

Update: General Welsh announced the Mustache March winners.  Retired Naval officer Sara Zak published her own commentary in the Air Force Times, calling it all a “setback for AF’s strong women.”  US Air Force Major Deirdre Gurry begged to differ in her Air Force Times column, saying she’s “proud to say that since World War II women have been invited to join” the military “boys’ club.”

Besides the Air Force Times letter written by the disgruntled female officer, it seems the attempt at a little fun by Air Force Chief of Staff General

Mark Welsh generated some grief as well — including a concerted effort to get him fired:

Retired Navy Commander Sara Zak [sent] a complaint to the Air Force inspector general’s office, she asked that Welsh step down and rescind the challenge, saying the activity was “contrary to his Chief of Staff of the Air Force message to airmen he issued in January, [that] it perpetuated an environment conducive to sexual harassment, and that the Air Force should acknowledge [that] traditions that denigrate or fail to show proper respect to all airmen will not be accepted as part of the Air Force culture.”

Zak — whose retired Navy status makes her interest unclear — was pretty much told to pound sand, so she tried every other avenue she could think of:  Read more

Air Force Base Pulls POW Display over Bible

Patrick Air Force base removed its traditional POW/MIA table because someone raised a complaint over the presence of the Bible.

“The 45th Space Wing deeply desires to honor America’s Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) personnel,” commanders said in a written statement. “Unfortunately, the Bible’s presence or absence on the table at the Riverside Dining Facility ignited controversy and division, distracting from the table’s primary purpose of honoring POWs/MIAs. Consequently, we temporarily replaced the table Read more

Atheist Chaplain Analyzes USAFA Whiteboards, Freethinkers

Chris Stedman, the Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, took to the Religion News Service to express his view on recent events at the US Air Force Academy. Specifically, he addressed Todd Starnes’ comparison of how USAFA took down a Bible verse recently and censored Christian cadets in the past — but allowed atheists to advertise their beliefs. Stedman said:

The stated reason for removing the Bible verse—attempting to ensure that no person, perhaps particularly religious minorities, feels coerced or discriminated against—is a good one… Read more

USAFA Cadets as Lab Rats

US Air Force Academy cadets long suspected there were OSI agents among them. While most often dismissed as an inflated feeling of self-importance, it turns out they were right.

USAFA cadets have also long suspected they are used as lab rats, given the very controlled environment in which they live. For example, there were rumors for years that flu vaccines and other medications were tested en masse at USAFA before being released to the general population.

It seems the “controlled lab” suspicion, too, has been borne out as correct, at least in one instance. NPR reveals that a “social experiment” was conducted at USAFA over a period of two years, led by a Dartmouth College professor, Bruce Sacerdote, and two USAFA staffers: Scott Carrell and James West (who taught at USAFA from 1997-2011):  Read more

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