Military Atheist Festival Claims Right to Denigrate Religion

In keeping with the theme that atheists cannot fellowship together without the ability to denigrate religion, organizers of the atheist “Rock Beyond Belief” to be held at Fort Bragg have secured the explicit “guarantee” of the US Army that they can criticize religion — and people who are religious.

According to their announcement, Garrison Commander Col Stephen Sicinski has said he respects

that the speakers may criticize organized religion or its practitioners…

Because this event is now “cleared” to criticize religion, while the Billy Graham Evangelical Association’s Rock the Fort was not, the MRFF’s Chris Rodda claims this is a coup.

She doesn’t realize the joke is on her.  Read more

Marine’s Facebook Site Draws Military Attention

Gary Stein has a “Tea Party” Facebook site.  He’s also a US Marine.  In 2010 it attracted the attention of the military, who wanted to make sure he knew the rules.  He reviewed and acknowledged them, and the Facebook page continued, with the military’s awareness.

Recently, however,

Marine Sgt. Gary Stein first started a Facebook page called Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots to encourage service members to exercise their free speech rights. Then he declared that he wouldn’t follow orders from the commander in chief, President Barack Obama.

While Stein softened his statement to say he wouldn’t follow “unlawful orders,” military observers say he may have gone too far.

“Military observers” is an awkward way of trying Read more

Christian Fighter Pilot, Astronaut Addresses Eglin Prayer Breakfast

US Air Force Col James Dutton, a NASA astronaut, addressed the Eglin National Prayer breakfast and reminded his listeners of the sense of awe — and the presence of God — that people often miss in their daily lives:

“The world around us is really amazing,” he said. “Our sense of wonder we had as a kid is often lost when we become adults…”

“Being in orbit was like being a two-year old and being a fighter pilot is like being a six-year-old again,” he joked.

MajGen Kenneth Merchant told Col Dutton he “gave us a feel for what it is like to touch the heavens.”  Dutton reiterated that it is “tremendously evident” there is a God Read more

General Allen: Why Wouldn’t We Apologize?

The Commander of US and coalition troops in Afghanistan, General John Allen, gave an interview to ABCNews in which he “dismissed criticism” over the profuse American apologies over the Koran burning in Afghanistan.

“Why wouldn’t we [apologize]?” the general asked. “This is the central word of God for them. Why wouldn’t we? We didn’t do it on purpose but we should apologize and we did.”

Interestingly, when the US military burned the central word of God for Christians, on purpose, it didn’t apologize.  In fact, it defended the need to put the Bibles in the trash.  Why wouldn’t we apologize?  Good question.

Meanwhile, other reports indicate all US troops have been given “mandatory refresher training” on handling Korans.  Few Read more

Air Force Offers Free Flights, Space Camp to Teens

The US Air Force recently announced opportunities for three Air Force teen summer camps in 2012.  The camps are intended to inspire future careers in space and aviation and are open only to dependents of active duty, National Guard, Reserves, retirees, and Air Force civilians.  More information can be seen at the Air Force Services website:  www.afyouthprograms.com.

These events are free — including flight time in a Cessna, rope courses, and space center tours.  The only cost is the travel necessary to get to the camps, presenting a very affordable opportunity to have some unique experiences.

The camps are as follows:  Read more

Afghan Air Force Investigated for Drug-Running

The Afghan Air Force, which has been essentially been built and funded from scratch by the US military, is now being investigated for drug-running.

The U.S. is investigating allegations that some officials in the Afghan Air Force, which was established largely with American funds, have been using aircraft to ferry narcotics and illegal weapons around the country…

In an interesting connection, the military is also reportedly investigating a link between the drug-running scheme and the April 2011 massacre of 8 US airmen by a member of the Afghan military.

In a report released by the U.S. Air Force in January about the killings, Read more

Goverment Appeals Family Award in F-18 Crash

The government has filed an appeal over the $17.8M award to the family of Don Yoon, whose family was killed when an F/A-18C crashed into their home in 2008 — killing Yoon’s wife, mother-in-law, and two children.

The formal notice of appeal in the case brought by Don Yoon and his relatives was filed Tuesday and did not specify what the government will contest…

The award was a fraction of the $56M sought in the original lawsuit.  The government had previously conceded liability; the only issue has been the size of the compensation to the family members.

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