Senate Confirms Denis McDonough as VA Secretary

The US Senate confirmed Biden appointee — and former Obama Chief of Staff — Denis McDonough as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on Monday.

A relatively unnoticed office for most of the US public, the VA Secretary has, like so many positions, become increasingly political and controversial. Robert Wilkie, the previous VA Secretary under President Trump, made waves when the VA decided to put the VA motto on plaques at 142 VA cemeteries last summer. This wouldn’t seem like a big deal, except the VA motto is a quote from a speech made by President Abraham Lincoln: Read more

Mikey Weinstein Ties Capitol Riot to Military Christians

In his latest effort to ride the coat tails of trending news, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein contends he has warned for years about what led to the riot at the Capitol in early January.

In Weinstein’s words to the US Air Force Academy: “We told you so.”

We warned you that this radical, right-wing influence found not only at USAFA, but tolerated or even endorsed by senior officers throughout the Air Force, caused a toxic leadership environment and eroded unit cohesion, good order, morale, and discipline. We constantly worried and warned that these seemingly (to some) innocuous events would lead to embarrassment for our Air Force Academy or worse — and that’s exactly what’s happened.

As proof, Weinstein cited retired LtCol Larry Brock, who was prominently photographed in the Capitol building during the riot.

As with some of Weinstein’s prior claims of validation, however, this one also requires a time machine to be true. Brock graduated with the USAFA Class of 1989 – more than Read more

Biden Reverses Transgender Ban. First Military Chaplain Already Investigated.

President Joe Biden’s reversal of the military ban on transgenders hadn’t even been announced for minutes before it claimed its first controversy.

US Army Chaplain (MAJ) Andrew Calvert posted a comment on the Army Times Facebook page discussing Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s support for repeal. As quoted by the Army Times in a follow-up story, Chaplain Calvert said

“How is rejecting reality (biology) not evidence that a person is mentally unfit (ill), and thus making that person unqualified to serve,” Andrew Calvert posted on the Army Times Facebook page Monday. “There is little difference in this than over those who believe and argue for a ‘flat earth,’ despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary…

“The motivation is different,” Calvert continued, “but the argument is the same. This person is a MedBoard for Mental Wellness waiting to happen. What a waste of military resources and funding!”

First of all, it used to be a standard talking point in training Read more

CNN Befuddled by Lack of Glass Ceiling in the US Air Force

In an era in which the media and some parts of society continue to specifically highlight the accomplishments of women — even if those accomplishments are not unique — CNN wrote an interesting article that coincided with the graduation of five women from the US Air Force Test Pilot School last month.

To be fair, it might seem interesting that in a class of 24 students — which included non-US and non-military members — more than 20% were women. Women make up about 20% of the US Air Force as a whole, but historically women have been underrepresented at Test Pilot School — and in aviation as a whole.

In the modern interpretation, the reason for fewer women in aviation or at TPS is external barriers holding them back or down, a point CNN seems Read more

Military Religious Freedom in a new Era

With the airwaves and mainstream media clogged with politics and other drama, issues of religious freedom in the US military largely fell to the wayside these past few months. The reason is that most (not all, but certainly most) military religious freedom issues begin as attacks from outside the military. With an inattentive public, those who would attack the religious liberty of US troops for their personal benefit haven’t been able to gain public traction – or have simply chosen not to, given the low monetary return they would see for their efforts.

Thus, organizations like Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation have been either silent or largely ignored these past few months. (Mikey Weinstein’s Facebook page has been entertaining, as he’s been paying to promote otherwise ignored posts only to have the comments filled with “Who is this guy?” and “Why is this #$%$ on my feed!?!”)

With a new administration, there will certainly be changes that Read more

Soul Survivor Outdoor Quietly Reaches Troops for Christ

What began as a powerful and effective ministry to US troops in southern California (highlighted here last year) has now begun to spread. Soul Survivor Outdoor, which seeks to minister to US troops by providing “soul care,” has expanded to Texas, where it recently served the troops at Fort Hood following a redeployment. As reported in an official Army release:

Chaplain Karen Moore, battalion chaplain for 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment…organized for members of her battalion to participate and interact with SSO. She also helped assist sister battalion, 1st battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, become involved with the program as well.

In the end, 55 US troops participated in Read more

In the Background: The Space Force Hymn

Most people know by now that the US now has a “Space Force” along with its Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Much ado has been made about many very serious issues in that force, like what to call the Servicemembers in that force (Space men? Space cadets?) and whether their new seal looks too much like Star Trek and not enough like Battlestar Gallactica.

Another issue in the background has been the Space Force hymn. The Force doesn’t have one yet, but officials have noted that a song is a Service tradition, much like its uniform and rank structure.

Apparently, one song has already been offered – and it immediately stirred controversy with the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

The song was written by a former Air Force officer named James Linzey, who was an Air Force and Army chaplain. (Linzey has an interesting history as well, as he was Read more

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