MRFF Accuses USAFA Speaker of “Illegal” Conduct

Michael Weinstein has faced an onslaught of criticism in the past few days over his demand that the US Air Force Academy rescind Lt Clebe McClary’s invitation to the 10th Air Base Wing’s National Prayer Luncheon.  Several organizations, and even some of his own supporters, are seeing the hypocrisy and extremism in his call for LtGen Gould’s ouster over the religious beliefs of an invited speaker.

Apparently seeing no movement after their initial accusations, Chris Rodda, the MRFF research assistant, has now called McClary’s conduct “illegal:”

Lt. McClary also regularly violates Titles 10 and 18 of U.S. Code by appearing at his speaking engagements, both military and civilian, in a Marine uniform, something that, apparently, not a single military attendee at any of his numerous appearances on military bases has informed him is illegal.

In an unusual move for her, Rodda actually cites the law she claims McClary broke.  Of course, she doesn’t say what part of the hundreds of paragraphs of law within Titles 10 or 18 are at issue.  Here are some that are:  Read more

Weinstein Attacks USAFA Speaker: He’s ‘Wrong Kind of Christian’

Michael Weinstein has written a letter to the USAFA Superintendent, LtGen Michael Gould, “demanding” that an invitation to Lt Clebe McClary (USMC, Ret.) be rescinded.  Lt McClary — an internationally recognized motivational speaker and wounded Vietnam Veteran — has apparently been invited to speak at the 10 February National Prayer Luncheon for the 10th Air Base Wing, the wing that runs the facilities surrounding the Air Force Academy.

Weinstein’s reason?  McClary is the ‘wrong kind of Christian:’  Read more

National Guard Priest Promoted to Brigadier General

Kentucky Army National Guard Chaplain Pat Dolan was promoted to Brigadier General at the beginning of January.  He will serve as the Army National Guard Assistant to the Army Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain (Major General) Douglas Carver.  According to Army Public Affairs, he is the first Roman Catholic Priest to hold the position.

Chaplain (BrigGen) Dolan has been deployed to a variety of locations, including four times to Iraq.

Via the Army Chaplaincy blog.

Army Chaplain Starts Naturalist, Islamic Services

US Army Chaplain (Col) Dennis Newton is chronicled in an Army article that covers his tour of duty at Fort Irwin, where he reinvigorated the local Christian community:

Chaplain Newton said the decision was made to change the 11 a.m. service to a contemporary praise service, known as ChapelNext. But in order to accommodate those who have different flavors of Protestant services, the gospel service was made healthy and a traditional hymn service was established.

“We jumped from 70 people in attendance to…190 in the first week,” he noted…

Overall, the average number of people attending religious services on any given Sunday at Fort Irwin now nears 1,000, he said.

Christian Soldiers weren’t the only ones who benefited from the Chaplain’s Read more

Fundamentalist Agnostic Wrote Army’s “Spiritual Fitness Test”

Michael Weinstein has been in the media recently claiming that the US Army’s Global Assessment Tool (previously discussed), which helps Soldiers self-assess their emotional, social, family, and spiritual fitness is actually a tool created to enable Christians to take over the military.

[This] imperious fascistic contagion of this fundamentalist Christian tsunami that is sweeping through the military. And this Soldier Fitness test is just the camel’s nose under the tent.

Weinstein is sure fundamentalist Christians are behind the implementation of the Spiritual Fitness test. “There is absolutely no doubt where this is coming from,” he said. “We smell this disgusting stench over and over again.”

Apparently, the “stench,” which Weinstein previously said was like “10,000 rotting swine,” is spreading to non-Christians.  According to the report, the person who oversaw the creation of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program (there’s not actually an individual “Spiritual Fitness Test”) is agnostic, and even now defends the value of the program:  Read more

Admiral Mullen Cites Need for “True Compass”

In a recent address at the National Defense University, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said this in response to a question about whether the “tolerance…has changed regarding ethics” in the military:

We have to have a true compass ethically. We have to have a true compass morally. We have to have a true compass inside our profession.

He’s right, of course.  No one has ever debated the need for a moral standard by which military members must live and serve.  The question, however, has been what defines the truth of that “true compass.”  “True” implies Read more

Fighter Pilot Speak: BFM

BFM is “Basic Fighter Maneuvers.”  In the simplest terms, its dogfighting.  Two aircraft fight one-versus-one in scripted setups, starting from positions of advantage, disadvantage, and neutrality.

The objective is to teach a fighter pilot “close quarters” combat with his aircraft, though with the advent of high off-boresight missiles, the era of drawn out “BFM” (a la the last few minutes of Top Gun) may be fading.

See more terminology and jargon at Fighter Pilot Speak.

Navy Squadron Conducts In-Flight Change of Command

The ceremony for a unit change of command is steeped in tradition, consistent with the history that is often cited at the ceremonies.  The formal event was originally an opportunity for members of a unit to see their old commander relinquish his authority and transfer the flag of command to the new leader.

A unique and fairly modern twist on this ceremony sometimes take place in aviation squadrons.  As the ceremony is conducted on the ground, the incoming commander flies overhead on the wing of the outgoing commander.  As the two aircraft Read more

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