Appeals Court Upholds Fort Hood Bomber Sentence

Former US Army PFC Naser Abdo appealed his conviction in the planned (and prepared) bombing attempt of his fellow US Army Soldiers near Fort Hood, Texas, in 2011.  The court denied his appeal.

The appeals court denied Abdo’s request to consider his initial police detention a full arrest instead of just an investigatory stop, which would have made it unlawful and rendered it and statements obtained at the time inadmissible as evidence…

The court also denied that Abdo’s trial was unfair…

Abdo was the famous Islamic conscientious objector who was later charged for having child pornography on his government computer, went AWOL, and Read more

Air Force Chaplain Targets Single Airmen

While some people think of families and kids when talking about a chapel, Chaplain (Capt) Randy Croft of Shaw Air Force Base wants to focus on single servicemembers:

“We want to help strengthen single airmen and soldiers, and support strong resilient, spiritually fit singles so they can do their mission really well,” Croft said.

Though he is a religous leader, Chaplain Croft reiterates the military position that “spiritual” does not necessarily mean “religious:”  Read more

The Humanity of the Chief of Staff

General Mark Welsh, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, has long been respected by many in the Air Force for his down-to-earth approach to life and other people.  That attitude became widely known after his famous inspirational speeches found their way to the internet.

He had this quotable last week, when overseeing the change of command at the US Air Force Academy:

During his speech, Welsh pardoned cadets in trouble for minor infractions and regulatory breaches.

“You major offenders are still screwed,” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

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Chaplains’ Assistants Protect Lives, Religious Liberty

When talking about military religious freedom, much of the focus is naturally on chaplains.  Often left unmentioned is the assistant, bodyguard, and companion of military chaplains: his chaplain’s assistant.

As noted in a recent Marine article, chaplain’s assistants not only support activities at home, but they are also the armed protectors of the unarmed chaplain when deployed:

Religion has always been important to 19-year-old Seaman Apprentice Jacob L. Brown, a religious program specialist…

When he learned that he could pursue it while serving his country, he jumped at the chance… Read more

Michael Weinstein Goes Defensive, Repeats the Crazy

In response to last week’s article highlighting his penchant for alliterative adjective abuse, Michael Weinstein posted a defensive 1,500 word diatribe saying people should cut him some slack.  He claims he rants like a foul-mouthed playground bully because he’s trying to save the world [emphasis added]:

What sane person can doubt that anything less than a tooth-and-nail, eye-gouging fight will protect the American people from those both in uniform and [in] the House and Senate who seek to plunge the United States into an end-times war of apocalyptic proportions? Such a worldwide conflagration of combat is precisely what fundamentalist Christian Dominionists see as necessary for ushering in the Second Coming of the Christ, or “Rapture.” They ruthlessly lust for their promised worldwide bloodbath…

The aircraft carriers, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Peacekeeper Missiles*, bunker-busters, nuclear ICBMs, and 2.35 million active duty and reserve personnel…comprise the jewel in the crown that the “Christian Taliban” aims to seize at any and all cost.

There you have it, folks.  Weinstein should be granted wide latitude because his noble goal is to save the American people from the crazy Christians in its own military and Congress.  (To be clear, this isn’t the first time he’s made this claim.)

And who are these crazy Christians?  Read more

B-1 Crashes in Montana, Crew Ejects

A US Air Force B-1B Lancer (or “Bone”) crashed in Montana yesterday.  The four-man crew ejected.

A crew of two pilots and two weapon systems officers were on board. All four members of the aircrew safely ejected with some injuries…

“Right now all of our thoughts and prayers are with the crews and their families,” [Col Kevin Kennedy, the 28th Bomb Wing commander] said.

The B-1 is sometimes described as the “fighter” of the bomber world.  It is powered by four of the same engines used in the F-15/F-16, is supersonic, is controlled by a stick rather than a yoke, and is (thankfully) equipped with four ejection seats.  It flies essentially like other bombers, though.

As usual, the Air Force will investigate and publish its findings at a later date.

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Rep Excoriates Obama, Weinstein on Religious Freedom

Congressman Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) published a lengthy and very strongly worded column that summed up what he called “Obama’s War on Religion in the Ranks.”

If Army chaplain Emil Kapaun served in Afghanistan today rather than Korea six decades ago, President Obama would probably give the Catholic priest discharge papers instead of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Read here.

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