USAFA AOCs Conduct Religious Respect Training

An Air Force Academy press release notes that the active duty Air Force officers who lead cadet squadrons — known as Air Officers Commanding, or AOCs — recently conducted religious respect training for their cadets:

Cadets in the Class of 2014 attended the sessions, learning how best to consider both their views and the views of their subordinates and how best to balance the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Given the somewhat controversial history of religious issues at USAFA (many of which were initiated by external critic Michael “Mikey” Weinstein), the fact the training is occurring is notable.

What is more interesting, however, was the tone of the training conveyed in the article, as heard from the AOC of Might Mach 1, exchange Marine Corps Major Christopher Klempay:

As a commander, I am very sensitive not to force my religion on you, but at the same time, I want to encourage your spirituality, Read more

Most Read: The Religious Rights of Those in Uniform

Over at the Journal of Faith and War, one of the most read articles is “The Religious Rights of Those in Uniform,” written by Robert “Skip” Ash, a 22-year Army veteran and Jay Sekulow of the ACLJ.

The lengthy but thorough essay gives an excellent discussion on the issues of religious liberty, the law, the Constitution, and military policy.

There are growing numbers of persons and advocacy groups in the United States actively seeking to remove from public life — including in the armed services — virtually all symbols and expression of religion and America’s religious heritage by advocating strict separation of church and state. Many of these groups are already actively engaged in filing lawsuits against DOD and its leaders over various concerns about religious expression in the armed services…  Read more

Infidel Knives Join Pork-Laced Ammo

When Bryan Bates was a US Marine, he and his peers took the “infidel” insult thrown at them and reversed it as a badge of honor:

That’s the word local extremists used to refer to Bates and his fellow U.S. Marines when he was fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said. Many Marines and soldiers adopted the label as their own.

“Guys who go over pride themselves on being infidels,” he said.

Now Bates makes knives — but not just any knives:  Read more

Need an Airstrike? There’s an App for that.

The Air Force Times highlights a smartphone app that could conceivably be used by troops to direct airstrikes:

Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Mass., is working with the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y., on a new program called the Android Terminal Assault Kit, or ATAK, that it said will transform the way troops request air support.

The application will allow troops in the field to open a map and, with a few screen taps, label the locations of enemy troops, civilians, friendly forces and potential evacuation points, and then securely transmit the data to inbound pilots or operations centers.

However, they’re not developing the app for the iPhone, because “the security was better” on the Android OS.

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US Military using SPLC to Designate Christian “Hate” Groups?

For the second time in just a few months, a military Equal Opportunity briefing has denigrated Christian beliefs as incompatible with the military.  This time, the EO brief declared a Christian group to be a “hate” group — which means military members are forbidden from participating in it.  Which group was it?

The American Family Association.

Several dozen U.S. Army active duty and reserve troops were told last week that the American Family Association, a well-respected Christian ministry, should be classified as a domestic hate group because the group advocates for traditional family values.

The briefing was held at Read more

DoD Reverses Policy Furloughing Contract Chaplains

The Thomas More Law Center filed a lawsuit on Monday on behalf of Catholic military Chaplain Ray Leonard, who was prohibited from ministering as a chaplain because he was deemed “non-essential” to military morale and readiness.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Justice reversed the DoD’s ruling and informed TMLC that Father Leonard could resume his duties:

In response to the lawsuit, three attorneys from the Department of Justice contacted TMLC attorney Erin Mersino by phone and Read more

Air Force Investigation Finds No Religious Discrimination

An Air Force investigation was initiated after SMSgt Philip Monk filed a complaint of religious discrimination, claiming he was relieved and reassigned earlier than planned after a conversation with his commanding officer, Maj Elisa Valenzuela.  The Air Force issued a press release about the investigation, saying the charges of religious discrimination were not substantiated:

The investigation, initiated Aug. 15 by Col. Mark Camerer, 37th Training Wing commander at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, found the claim unsubstantiated…

“The weight of the evidence shows that religion was never discussed between the two,” Camerer said in an Air Education and Training Command release.

“In the end, this is a case about command authority, good order and discipline, and civil rights — not religious freedoms,” he said.

Interestingly, no one ever publicly claimed “religion was…discussed between the two,” but it raises the question as to whether one must explicitly voice a religious belief for it to be actionable.  The investigation also made an interesting comment about the statements at the heart of the controversy [emphasis added]:  Read more

Catholic Chaplain Sues US Military for Right to Minister

Catholic priest Father Ray Leonard has filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Defense and the Navy for prohibiting him from ministering to the military community at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia.  Leonard is a civilian contractor who had been hired to begin his service on 1 October 2013.

The priest was one of thousands of civilian military employees and contractors furloughed because of the failure of Congress to reach a deal on funding the federal government. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has since recalled some Defense Department workers, but civilian military chaplains were excluded.

The lawsuit seeks a judgment that would Read more

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