Many churches have areas of intentional “focus.” Some emphasize foreign missions, others local charity, others discipleship, etc. Central Baptist Church in Clovis, NM, has made the conscious decision to focus on serving the military.
Central Baptist Church in Clovis is making an effort to serve military members by transitioning into becoming a military-focused church.
Associate Pastor Dick Ross is Read more
Two US Army chaplains, Chaplain (Col) John McGraw and Chaplain (Col) Jerry Lewis, recently took the Army’s resiliency mantra to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their African hosts seemed to welcome the opportunity:
Chief of DRC Chaplains Col. Jeanne Paul Keela sees the emerging relationship between his organization and U.S. Army chaplains as Read more
The Stars and Stripes notes the US Navy has “sacked” 150 commanding officers over the last few years for misconduct. Of 80 instances over a five year period, half were for adultery, inappropriate relationships, harassment, or sexual assault. One of the solutions noted: Take a look at the Bible.
So how can the Navy abate this steady tide of offending COs? Perhaps by asking, “What would David do?”
That’s King David, he of Old Testament legend Read more
A US Air Force F-16 based out of Osan Air Base, Korea, crashed on Wednesday. The pilot was reportedly “safe” after ejecting.
An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed near Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, during a routine training mission at approximately March 21.
The aircraft, assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron here, was flying a mission as part of the 51st Fighter Wing’s ongoing exercise.
As usual, a board will investigate for about a month. An accident report will likely make its way to the general public several months from now.
Also noted at FoxNews and the Air Force Times.
Terrence Jeffrey at CNS News asks an interesting question:
Is President Barack Obama more deferential to the religious sensibilities of Afghan Muslims or the religious freedom of American Catholics?
Read his answer.
An official DoD article notes the fighter pilot tradition of Mustache March:
It happens every March like clockwork—men from all across the Air Force, who may otherwise normally be clean-shaven, grow out their cookie dusters, much to the amusement of many around them.
As noted here, the tradition is linked to BrigGen Robin Olds,
Olds was frequently at odds with senior leaders, and had his ways of defying the establishment—most famously (or infamously), the decidedly out-of-regs, heavily waxed handlebar mustache Read more
While stories of political insensitivity or incorrectness sometimes shock the public (or political) conscience, those within the military often find such displays far less offensive — or rare.
A few years ago, US Air Force F-15 pilot 1Lt Ali Jivanjee was killed in an F-15 training accident. He was a Muslim fighter pilot who took it upon himself to sign his name “Jihad” — apparently because he’d been “teased” (hazed? bullied?) about his first and middle names being “Ali Akbar” (similar to “Allahu akbar,” a phrase often connected to “jihadists,” for those that don’t make the connection).
His F-15 peers eventually named him “Danny Boy,” because he “needed a good Irish name.”
A fighter squadron is definitely not a bastion of political correctness, or cultural sensitivity.
A recent Military.com article notes the same theme throughout much of the rest of the military. Makers of accoutrements — including unofficial military uniform patches — with variations of “American infidel” on them are doing gangbuster business: Read more
The Jewish online magazine Tablet covers the story of US Army Chaplain (LtCol) Larry Bazer, who recently returned from a deployment as the “only Jewish chaplain in Afghanistan.”
The article contains some interesting commentaries on the chaplaincy in general, as well as some specifics related to life as a Jewish chaplain:
The [Camp Phoenix] chapel, said Bazer, “was a cozy little place”: a small, nondescript room built of plywood. During the day it was devoid of any religious symbols, but during the evenings a few crosses would turn it into a Protestant chapel, or some icons into a Catholic church. On Friday nights, candles and challah—sent each month by the “challah lady,” a Long Island Jewish woman—made it a synagogue.
Chaplain Bazer’s congregations varied from none to nearly 20 as he traveled Afghanistan as the only Jewish Read more