Senior Indian AF Leaders Visit US Bases

The Air Force announced the visit of senior Indian Air Force leaders to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, in late July.  The officers were reportedly in Kirtland to observe the USAF use of simulators for flight training.

A picture of an officer accepting a gift from the visiting leaders was interesting for its demonstration of the integration of religion not only with the Indian culture, but also its military:

Air Commodore J.S. Walia is evidently a Sikh, as he wears the religious articles of a member of that faith.  Currently, the US military has granted only a few exceptions to uniform wear to allow Sikhs to serve.

Also interesting is the gift chosen.  The gift is a replica of the Read more

Gene Robinson Criticizes ADF for Opposing DADT Repeal

Gene Robinson, famous as the first homosexual bishop in the Anglican church, wrote an opinion piece in USA Today demonstrating the lack of understanding some opponents of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” have about the military, regulations, and the law.  In his piece, he criticizes the reply by ADF attorney Daniel Blomberg that said “religious liberty is in real jeopardy” should DADT be repealed.

First, Robinson says:  Read more

NATO Denies Desecrating Koran…Yet Again

An article on the military in Afghanistan notes the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has had to defend itself, again, against charges of desecrating the Koran (Quran).  The military conducted a three-day investigation, and noted the accusations didn’t even make sense:

The allegations in the media also state that the Quran was bayoneted. Soldiers performing patrols in that area do not carry bayonets according to the task force.

The military was quick to reassure the local populace nonetheless:

ISAF understands the significance and importance of the Quran to the Muslim religion and the people of Afghanistan and takes allegations of the desecration and disrespect of the Quran or any other religious or cultural items very seriously.

Airman: How I Learned to Live

An Air Force Senior Airman, Emerald Ralston, writes a moving commentary that begins with her deployment to Afghanistan.

After a couple of weeks, I was preparing to convoy to an even more remote area for the next five months.

Before we left, I made the usual call home. I’d ask my parents to pray for me before I went on convoys so they knew what I was up to and, God forbid, in case anything happened, they would be prepared.

This particular time, I didn’t get the “Okay, Honey, be safe,” I was used to.

She learns that her brother, US Army Sgt Ian Ralston, had been wounded in Iraq.

Her story is worth the read.

The Next UCAV: The A-10 Warthog

According to a report at the Air Force Times, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working on a project that will enable ground forces to control the weapons systems on an A-10 — or even control the A-10 itself as an “unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV).”

The A-10 could be manned or unmanned; an unmanned plane would loiter autonomously but would be under the control of an A-10 pilot at a ground control station when responding to an attack and for all takeoffs and landings.

The pilot would give “coordinated consent” for the launch of weapons; the JTAC would fire the weapons using a portable computer. With the computer, the JTAC would access the A-10’s sensors, punch in coordinates for its targeting pods and determine the predicted blast radius and effectiveness of the weapons.

While the concept is intriguing, it masks the true improvement to air support Read more

USAF “Above All” to be Retired

The Air Force Times notes that the US Air Force is looking for a new slogan to replace the “Above All” it came up with in 2008 (which was not without controversy, apparently).

All of the services spend a fair amount of time on marketing and recruiting (though the Marines are unique, saying you ask to join them).  Just last fall the Navy created its new “A Global Force for Good” tagline.  Each iteration from each service gets both praise and scorn, and a few years later it, too, gets replaced…

Coast Guard Pilot by Day, Seminary Student by Night

Ryan Hawn is a Coast Guard Academy graduate and rescue helicopter pilot currently stationed in the San Francisco Bay area.  He also attends the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary through its online eCampus program.

Within the military environment, such distance learning programs are fairly common, especially since Masters Degrees are frequently required for promotion (though the military does not guarantee it will give you time to get that degree).  In general, like the undergraduate degree for pilots, the military is less concerned with the subject of a graduate degree and more concerned with the fact that an officer has one.

In Hawn’s case, he is able to further his own Christian education, and potentially his career, while at the same time continuing in his professional service every day.

Christian Military Perspective: Pagans, Religious Freedom, and Officership

Recent articles have highlighted the moral struggle faced by Christian men and women in the US military.  When the US Air Force Academy established an official area for pagan congregation, it aroused a wide variety of emotions, from those who found the pagan belief system repulsive to those who felt anyone should be free to do as they please.  Military Christians, too, experienced tension between the tenets of their faith and the dictates of their profession.

Following an article documenting the creation of the Academy pagan area, a commenter highlighted this very conflict (as she intended) when she asked:

That’s great news…It shows a willingness to be accepting of “other” faiths. Don’t you think it’s great news?

Is the creation of a pagan circle at the US Air Force Academy “great news?”  There are two distinct perspectives at issue, that of a Christian and that of a member of the military.  Ultimately, they form the perspective of a military Christian.  Read more

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