The Stars and Stripes reports the F-15E Strike Eagle that crashed in March in Libya was brought down due to a weight imbalance.
An Air Force investigation into what caused the crash of an F-15E Strike Eagle during a night combat operation over Libya last March has concluded that a weight imbalance was a major factor…
The situation deteriorated Read more
The Air Force Times reports on the Air Force investigation of the F-22 crash in Alaska in November, 2010. The report
blames the Nov. 16, 2010, crash of an F-22 Raptor on Capt. Jeff “Bong” Haney — despite a malfunction of the jet’s bleed air intakes, which caused an automatic shutdown of multiple aircraft systems including the primary oxygen system.
In essence, the report says his oxygen system failed, but that he Read more
The US Air Force has decided to let the nativity and Menorah at Travis AFB stand, despite the prior complaint from Michael Weinstein and his erstwhile atheist ally:
While we appreciate the concerns raised by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), the Office of the Air Force Judge Advocate General, upon review, concluded the inclusion of a Wing Chaplain sponsored Nativity Scene and Menorah as part of a broader, secular holiday seasonal display does not violate the establishment clause of the United States Constitution.
Weinstein complained about the timing of the press release, as his most pressing concern is publicity. (He probably thinks the death of Kim Jong Il was part of the timing plan.) He then said
We believe they have come to the wrong conclusion based on constitutional law. Rather than telling media through a press release we rather suggest five words: tell it to the judge.
The Air Force has little reason to be concerned. The last time Weinstein said that he did…nothing. Weinstein is “the boy who cried wolf” with respect to threats of filing lawsuits.
According to American Atheists’ “military director” Justin Griffith, Travis Read more
The US Army post at Fort Campbell is getting a new chapel to support its 20 different religious services attended by more than 2,000 congregants each week:
The post’s seven chapels are getting too small for the needs of the soldiers and their families, said Chaplain (Col.) Roger Heath, the installation chaplain at Fort Campbell.
The $8.4 million, 32,900-square-foot complex will hold 1,200 people and include supporting campus areas. It is scheduled to be Read more
US Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA) wrote a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus questioning why no US Marine has been awarded for their actions in Libya — despite the very public search and rescue of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle crew.
“It has come to my attention that no awards or recognition have been approved for Marine aviators who flew combat missions over Libya,” Hunter wrote in a recent letter to Mabus. Read more
Military leaders from all branches have begun distributing their traditional Christmas (or holiday) greetings:
Jason Torpy of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers picked up last month’s post on Tebowing, even plagiarizing text from ChristianFighterPilot.com in the process. He reached a different conclusion, however:
Tebowing with Afghan kids is clearly an evangelical activity that must be pulled from the site with reprimands for the troop involved. The NFL game is misappropriation of government resources — and any Marine will tell you his body is a government resource.
First of all, Tebowing.com a private website, so there is no governmental Read more
Update: As promised, Travis AFB let local media on the base to view the display (and take pictures). As expected, each noted the nativity and Menorah were part of a group of nearly two-dozen holiday displays. Weinstein has managed to keep his invective fairly calm up to this point, but the more he talks, the more ridiculous he gets. Now the nativity and Menorah are “dehumanizing:”
“You are dehumanizing people. You are marginalizing people,” Weinstein said. “We know it’s a violation of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment.”
His basis:
“If you want something with religious symbols, be it Islamic, Jewish, Christian or whatever, put it on the grounds of the (base) chapel. That’s what the regulations say and that’s what the law says and we’re a nation of laws,” Weinstein declared.
Naturally, the former JAG doesn’t say what regulations or laws “say” that. That’s likely because, despite his authoritative-sounding assertion, none do. He’s trying to create a “new” law in the military restricting faith to the chapel.
Not to be outdone, Army atheist Justin Griffith is going one step further than Weinstein:
[Military bases] not only have a right to ban Nativity scenes, they have an obligation to do so.
He forgot to mention the Menorah. Like Weinstein, he also fails to say why the government is ‘obligated’ to ban religious (Christian) displays.
Weinstein has reportedly said he is considering a federal lawsuit over the issue, but he has threatened lawsuit over just about every controversy over the past few years without following through.
Justin Griffith, the “military director” of American Atheists, has belatedly joined the attack by Michael Weinstein against Travis Air Force Base’s holiday card lane, which contains a nativity and Menorah, among nearly two dozen other displays. Writing in the third person, Griffith says
Staff Sergeant Dan Rawlings is an atheist stationed at Travis. Rawlings contacted American Atheists about putting up an Atheist-themed display as well. The display was intended to go up next to the Nativity Scene and the token Jewish Menorah. Justin Griffith, the Military Director at American Atheists offered to provide and pay for an equivalent display for Staff Sergeant Rawlings to submit.
Note, of course, the atheists’ intent to put up a response to the religious displays, rather than take independent action (as has been the ideological trend of atheists). Note, too, they came up with the idea only after they read about the displays in the news (though the displays have been up for some time):
Rawlings was told by his USAF chaplain that he could not Read more