Army Continues Fight Against Suicide Trend

As previously noted, news reports indicate that the US Army is continuing to face a tragic trend in suicides within its ranks.  The trend is nearly double the rate for 2008, during which there were 138 confirmed suicides (with 5 cases still under investigation).

The Army has said it is “standing down” for suicide training, as well as “standing up” a task force to be headed by Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, a military police officer.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli has said that “suicide is a multi-dimensional problem and as such will take a multi-disciplinary approach to dealing with it.”  McGuire will look “across all disciplines [so commanders] can have a menu of tools, of training programs and experts that he can turn to and know how to best employ.”  To that end, reports indicate they are investigating suicide prevention methodologies in a variety of fields, including both mental health and the Chaplaincy. Read more

Marines Fire Officers over Crash

Dong Yun Yoon’s family was killed when an F-18 crashed into his home near Miramar.  His reaction brought national pity, when he asked that people not blame the pilot, one of “the treasures of our country,” but pray for him.

News reports now indicate that the Marines have fired the commander, maintenance officer, operations officer, and duty officer of the squadron; nine others were also punished as a result of the crash, which has been described as “avoidable.”  There are not yet any indications that the pilot was punished; he was criticized for not properly referencing his checklist, but also credited for staying with the aircraft well after he should have ejected in an attempt to steer the aircraft to a nearby canyon.

Contributing to the death of innocents–but surviving oneself–is one of the greatest fears a pilot can face.

New York Times on Religion & the Military

Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times has written an article revisiting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s complaints over religious content in Army suicide prevention material, as previously discussed here.

The article mentions that Michael Weinstein was able to meet with Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz.  It is a potential irony that Schwartz, like Weinstein, is Jewish (a fact not missed at his nomination), and that his class of 1973 at the Air Force Academy was replaced by Weinstein’s class of 1977.  Schwartz made no secret of his faith as a cadet and has not indicated that he experienced negative repercussions, while Weinstein claims a disturbing religious discrimination event while a cadet is the motivation behind all he does.

Weinstein reportedly said of the meeting with Schwartz

he [took] it very seriously, [and] he also acknowledged that there is a problem

Weinstein previously called Schwartz a “yes man” unable to “stand up” for what was right:

Because there’s a Jew in there, that’s supposed to make everything fine? It’s not fine. It doesn’t make a difference that he’s there. The reason to me is that he’s a yes man. He’s not going to stand up to do what needs to be done. But we’ll see.

Lichtblau notes that groups that oppose the MRFF fear an overreaction in the opposite direction.

Religious Freedom and American Government

CNN carried an article on Wednesday about Vice President Biden’s “stimulus oversight meeting.”  Neither the article nor the accompanying photo caption mentioned what many noticed in the photo. 

Biden is a professed Catholic, and he evidently observed Ash Wednesday.  Even though he is Vice President of the United States, and even though he was acting in his official capacity in front of the world, he is Constitutionally guaranteed the right to religious free exercise.

The same is true for members of the military.  Read more

Dobson’s Resignation…and the Military

Many outlets carried news of Focus on the Family Founder James Dobson’s resignation as chairman of the organization.  Interestingly, this caught the attention of some military/religion activist groups.  They have frequently belittled Focus and accused it of complicity in its dealings with the US Air Force Academy just a few miles away in Colorado Springs, accusing it of attempting to “Christianize” the military.

The new outrage is over Dobson’s replacement: Patrick P. Caruana.  Caruana is a 1963 Air Force Academy graduate and retired as an Air Force Lieutenant General in 1997.  To some, it is the perfect proof of conspiracy.

Supreme Court Rules on Summum

An interesting case was decided at the Supreme Court earlier this week.  Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum had centered on Summum’s contention that since the city had erected a Ten Commandments on public property, they were bound to erect Summum’s “Seven Aphorisms” as well.  The Supreme Court ruled–unanimously–against Summum.  The case was litigated on free speech grounds, and Summum has indicated they will refile the case on church/state separation grounds.

The case is interesting because of its implications for religious freedom in the military.  Read more

Book Review: Return with Honor

Captain Scott O’Grady is best known as the F-16 pilot shot down during Operation Deny Flight over the former Yugoslavia in 1995.  He survived for five and a half days — during which no one even knew he was alive — before being rescued.  Upon his return home he was declared a hero, a title he eschewed and passed on to the Marines who lifted him to safety.

The book details the mission from his arrival at work until the missile took his jet out from under him; it then describes the days he spent on the ground hoping for a rescue.  Interspersed are back stories of his life and his family back in the US as they learned of his shootdown.  The retelling of the organization of the rescue effort and its subsequent execution — which was completed about 5 hours after the initial radio contact — is well done.

Regrettably, O’Grady became a victim of Read more

Liberty Counsel: Stimulus Bill a “War on Prayer”

Fox News carries an interesting article based on a Liberty Counsel press release about the current “stimulus package” being debated in Congress.  In a section designating funds for schools, the legislation says that funds may not be used for

modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities (i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or (ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission.

Interestingly, Fox News chose to put a picture of the US Naval Academy Chapel as the article’s illustration.  Liberty Counsel maintains that the restriction is discrimination based on viewpoint, while Americans United for the Separation of Church and State calls it “Constitutional.”

A Harvard Law professor is quoted as saying there are certainly Constitutional concerns with the legislation, but given the current judicial direction it is unlikely the Liberty Counsel would prevail.

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