F-16s Collide, One Pilot Ejects

Two US Air National Guard F-16s collided over the ocean near the coast of Virginia. One pilot ejected, the other recovered his aircraft:

Two Air National Guard fighter jets collided midair, forcing one of the pilots to eject into the sea and be rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter a few hours later off the Virginia coast, officials said Friday.

The other pilot involved in the collision was able to fly back to Joint Base Andrews, Md. Both jets were from the 113th Wing D.C. Air National Guard and were on a routine training mission

The Coast Guard took the unusual step of posting a video of the at-sea rescue on the internet:

The Air Force will investigate the incident and report on its findings some months from now.

Also at the Stars and Stripes.

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The Legacy of Col Bud Day

US Air Force Chief of Staff, General Mark Welsh, wrote “A Tribute to a Hero” on the passing of Col George “Bud” Day last weekend.  The General indicated he had a somewhat personal history with the legend of Col Day:

My dad was a hero. As a young man, I asked him who his combat heroes were; he gave me only two names. One was Major General Frederick “Boots” Blesse and the other was Colonel George E. “Bud” Day. My dad was not easily impressed, so I knew that if they were his heroes, they were very, very special men. I was right.

What is most interesting, though, is what General Welsh highlights as Col Day’s legacy:

Future Airmen will honor his name and treasure his story, not because of the awards and buildings named in his honor, but for the legendary character, the unbreakable spirit and the values he demonstrated each and every day.

In an essay reminiscent of General Welsh’s past inspirational speeches, the Chief praised Col Day’s “character,” “spirit,” and “values.”  These are truly what a man is remembered for, and what determines whether history remembers him as “great.”

Sadly, society Read more

MRFF: Air Force Created New Regulation Because of Christians

As previously noted, Michael Weinstein boasts about his hate mail like some people do pictures of their grandkids.  The MRFF publishes some of those emails, and, more often than not, a “volunteer” staff member posts an online rebuttal.  The replies are often critical and sarcastic, meaning they’re mostly red meat for MRFF acolytes.  Occasionally, though, one reveals the underbelly of the MRFF opposition to religious liberty.

Such was the case with Joan Slish, an MRFF “advisory board” member who has two claims to fame: First, according to the MRFF website, she left the Assembly of God because they were the wrong kind of Christian (though she oddly still claims an AoG Pastorate).  Second, she inadvertently revealed in 2011 that the MRFF was the arbiter of “true” Christianity — telling the world the MRFF would vitriolically attack the religious liberty of the wrong kind of Christian.  (Weinstein was already doing that; Slish was simply the first ‘staff member’ to admit it.)

Now she can add a third trophy:  An official MRFF email reply riddled with statements at times false, at others ridiculous, and almost always comical — but one that also has another peek behind the MRFF curtain.

She falters right out of the gate in following the MRFF tradition of Read more

Military to Pull Playboy, Penthouse from Store Shelves

Do you believe in coincidence?

Just one day after Morality in Media released the DoD’s letter saying pornographic magazines were “not sexually explicit” — and were therefore permissible for sale in military stores — the DoD has decided to pull the magazines from Army and Air Force shelves:

AAFES officials said they want to reduce space for the magazine product category in exchange stores by 33 percent beginning tomorrow…

Among the 891 magazines that AAFES exchanges no longer will sell are some adult titles, including Playboy, Penthouse, Read more

Group Calls for AF to Republish Censored Chaplain Article

The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty has called on Col Brian Duffy to formally apologize to Chaplain (LtCol) Kenney Reyes — and then re-publish the banned article to

resolve this unfortunate injustice without taking recourse to legal measures.

Col Duffy had indicated the article was pulled because people were offended.  The stern admonition from the Chaplain-endorsing group appears to be the first engagement of the recently announced Military Religious Freedom coalition.  The letter from retired Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews notes that the MRFF misrepresented the article in the most demeaning way — and Col Duffy appears to have either bought their line or simply failed Read more

DoD: Playboy, Penthouse Acceptable, not Indecent

Given the scandal over sexual assault in the US military right now, it may surprise some to learn that the DoD is defending its continued sale of pornography on military facilities.

Last month, Morality in Media wrote a letter to the Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel appealing to him to enforce the 1996 Military Honor and Decency Act, which prohibits the sale of sexually explicit material at DoD facilities.

As reported by MiM, the Assistant Secretary of Defense replied, saying the DoD had “previously reviewed” the magazines — and he then Read more

Service Academies Rank on Forbes Top Colleges List

The US military academies ranked high on the Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges:

Ranked at No. 7, the U.S. Military Academy beat out all the other service academies — as well as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology…

The U.S. Naval Academy was ranked No. 28, followed closely by the U.S. Air Force Academy at No. 31. Forbes slotted the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at No. 94 and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at No. 165.

As noted in prior years, the academies routinely rank near the top of Princeton, Forbes, and US News annual lists of top universities (except when it comes to rankings for ‘best party school’).

Update: As reflected in official Air Force news releases.

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Media Paints Distorted Picture on Military Religious Freedom

Recently, the Catholic church came out in support of a coalition of chaplain endorsers advocating for religious freedom protections in the US military.  Combined, the groups represent the overwhelming majority of faiths of US military servicemembers (and, in fact, the United States).

In apparent response to that broad unity, a US News and World Report article tried to paint a picture of a divided front:

Some evangelical groups are gearing up for a fight on military chaplains and same-sex marriage while others say they’ll seek Read more

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