Tag Archives: Military

House Committee to Debate Troops Religious Expression

Update: The committee passed the religious freedom legislation as amendments to the NDAA.  The legislation has the support of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

The House Armed Services Committee is going to debate the Military Religious Freedom Act, which the Air Force Times says US Rep Todd Akin (R-Mo) will let troops and chaplains “openly oppose gays.”

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., is specifically aiming to protect religious freedom by allowing service members and chaplains to openly oppose gay and lesbian lifestyles and the presence of gay Read more

Air Force Grants Whistleblower Status to F-22 Pilots

The Air Force announced two F-22 pilots who spoke in uniform and without permission to 60 Minutes, Maj. Jeremy Gordon and Capt. Josh Wilson, will be granted protection under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act.

Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger…said the service considers the two pilots who have refused to fly the Raptor to be whistle-blowers and protected under the federal whistle-blower act.

The act protects members of the military who make a protected communication to a member of Congress, one of whom was present with them on the set.

F-22 Pilots Refuse to Fly, Seek Whistleblower Status

While the widow of Capt Jeff Haney sues the Air Force, two other pilots appeared on the CBS show 60 Minutes with a Congressman, seeking military whistleblower status to publicize their complaints against the F-22.

Maj. Jeremy Gordon and Capt. Joshua Wilson have chosen to stop flying the F-22 because they say during some flights they and other pilots have experienced oxygen deprivation, disorientation, and worse…

They are so concerned they have taken the extraordinary step of risking their careers by appearing on 60 Minutes in uniform — and without permission — to blow the whistle on a plane they love to fly…

The pilots could face further disciplinary action for speaking to us which is why this man was seated just off to the side throughout the interview. He’s Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, an Air Force pilot himself, who Josh and Jeremy went to with their concerns in order to gain protection under the Military Whistleblowers Act.

The Air Force had only recently acknowledged that a “small number” of pilots Read more

F-15E Crashes in AOR, F-16 Crashes in Utah

The Air Force reported that an F-15E Strike Eagle crashed “in Southwest Asia” on a local training mission.  Both crew members were reported safe.  This is the second F-15E crash in the AOR since the March crash that killed pilot Capt Francis Imlay.

In Utah, the Air Force said an F-16 crashed, with the pilot successfully ejecting.

As is the norm, the crashes will be investigated by a board, and the results released some months from now.

Atheist Jason Torpy Equates Himself with Abolitionists

Jason Torpy, the one-man Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, is an atheist and former Army officer.  While his MAAF is ostensibly a “community support network,” he recently revealed the true motivation behind his ideology.

In a recent display of internet frustration, Torpy took fellow atheists to task for not banding together and being “anti-” enough.  The context was a comment that people don’t join groups for things they don’t believe in, spoken by Neil deGrasse Tyson, a self-described agnostic (who says he is “often claimed by atheists”):

Do non-golf players gather and strategize? Do non-skiers…come together and talk about the fact that they don’t ski? I can’t do that. I can’t gather around and talk about how much everybody in the room doesn’t believe in God.

This is the same point raised by many people  Read more

Fort Bragg Atheists Test Military Politicking Rules

Some may have assumed that with a Democratic President (and the stereotype that the US military leans Republican/conservative), most of those testing the limits of permissible political activities or commentary would be “right wing” or conservatives.

They would be wrong.

The blog for the Rock Beyond Belief event organized by Justin Griffith at Fort Bragg recently posted an article about North Carolina’s Amendment 1, which would modify the NC State Constitution to say the only domestic legal union in the state is Read more

What Drives Your Excellence?

US Marine SGT Evan Mendes was recognized at the San Diego Petco Park as an NCO of the quarter.  How did he do it?

Mendes, outshined his peers by following what he believes will bring him closer to God.

“As a Christian I try to glorify God,” said Mendes, whose life revolves around his faith. “When I do a good job or not, I’ve done it for God.”

Working as if for God should motivate Christians in every walk of life.  Mendes Read more

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