Air Force Says “Chapel.” Weinstein has Conniption. Film at 11.

Michael Weinstein is taking the US Air Force to task, again, for using the word “chapel” in a course from Squadron Officers’ School (SOS), a junior officer military education course.

The sentence at issue is important in context. Therefore, the surrounding text is included below.  Weinstein’s lawyers have declared these words “unconstitutional,” saying the SOS course

mandates that regular chapel attendance is part of the “Spiritual and Ethical Responsibilities” of a commissioned Air Force officer…

That’s an extraordinarily tortured reading of the text.  It’s also ignorant, since it is a commentary on leadership, not an Air Force policy document.

The manufactured offense over a single phrase is so stretched Weinstein likely views this as a test case.  Will the Air Force knee-jerk and scrub the course for the offensive reference to a chapel?  Or will it take a more measured response — or even acknowledge the virtue of the text he is attacking?  The Air Force’s reply will be enlightening.

The “again” portion of this is notable.  The perpetually offended Weinstein Read more

The Importance of Chaplains in the US Marine Corps

Chaplains in the US Marine Corps are actually officers in the US Navy.  Chaplain (LtCmdr) Mark Tews comments on the importance of chaplains to his Marines:

“If a Marine is having a bad day and needs a place to go and to feel safe and talk about any issues, the chaplain is always there for them,” he explained. “For Marines, this is a place of sanctuary where they don’t have to worry about anything and can talk with the chaplain about anything.”

Atheists Denigrate US Army that Supports Them. Again.

The primary organizer of Rock Beyond Belief, the atheist festival occurring this weekend at Fort Bragg, has — again — drug Fort Bragg and the US Army through the mud in an apparent bid for publicity.

In a sensationally titled “Fort Bragg wont let us feed homeless vets at the atheist festival,” Justin Griffith says Fort Bragg denied their plan to do a canned food collection.  Griffith summarized [emphasis original]:

The ‘pro-starvation’ camp has prevailed…

At issue is Joint Ethics Regulation 3-211, which says the DoD can let non-Federal entities (ie, Rock Beyond Belief) use DoD facilities (ie, Fort Bragg’s resources) except for fundraising events.  Apparently, Fort Bragg determined canned food collection was fundraising.

Whether collecting canned food for a charitable cause constitutes non-Federal fundraising is a legitimate question.  Rather than take direct issue with that, however, Griffith took a different tack:  He said the Christians Read more

Fighter Pilot Tradition Maximizes Manliness

Another US Air Force article highlights the tradition of Mustache March, which is rapidly coming to an end.

From the master of the T-top Trans Am, Burt Reynolds, to the bad boy of breakfast buffets, Ron Swanson, powerful males around the world share one feature that is the universal symbol of manhood: the mustache.
 
“Mustache March,” an Air Force tradition with roots going back to the Vietnam era, is a 31-day, fuzzy-lipped free-for-all Read more

Did Army Haze Airmen in Spur Ride?

An official military article notes three US Air Force Airmen went through the trials necessary to receive their “cavalry gold spurs.”  To do so, they had to complete a “spur ride.”

The participants formed up outside the Bagram [MWR] and performed a 12-mile ruck march throughout the base. Upon returning…, they dropped their gear and began the various stations that were set up to test their skills. The stations were moderated by Army instructors, referred to only as “Spur Holders.”

“The stations consisted of [weapons] proficiency, M2 headspace and timing, Self Aid and Buddy Care, 9-line Med Evac, Unexploded Ordnance identification, Nine-line UXO, gas mask procedures, land navigation and convoy signaling,” said Longoria.

“Before, during and after each station we would be quizzed by the Spur Holders. Then we were PT’ed until we were physically exhausted. Read more

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