US Navy Sailors and Marines congregated on the USS New Orleans to take advantage of the chaplains’ support for Ash Wednesday. Navy Chaplain (Lt) Paul Armstrong supported the practice of the sailors’ and Marines’ religious beliefs:
“Freedom of religion is one of our constitutional Read more
Michael Weinstein took a pay cut in 2010, so it looks like he felt the need to write a book to try to make up the difference. He wrote an “op-ed” printed on the Washington Post website, though it was characterized by a fairly solid theme: No new material, except for hawking Weinstein’s book.
It was refreshing, in some respects, to see Weinstein eschew the subtlety of some of his supporters and just come right out and say he and his “religious freedom” group are targeting Christians: Read more
The Jewish Community Centers (JCC) Association has decided to present its Jewish Military Leadership Award to Rear Admiral Herman Shelanski, commander of USS Harry S Truman strike group. The group said the reasons include RAdm Shelanski’s
consistent concern for the ability of Jews in the Navy to fully express their Jewish identity while they serve their country.
As commander of the carrier USS Harry S Truman, RAdm Shelanski Read more
Ever the one for florid vitriol, and never failing to connect Christianity to military scandals, Michael Weinstein claims the recent burning of Korans at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, was an intentional act of Christian “exceptionalism aimed at the people of Afghanistan.”
The root of this ongoing crisis is the fundamentalist Christian extremist scourge within the U.S. Military.
Naturally, Weinstein fails to say how he knows the religious beliefs or the malicious motivations of the troops involved — yet he still Read more
The lengths to which the US military will go to protect the free exercise of its troops have been noted here many times before. From delivering fresh palm fronds at Easter to helping servicemembers build a Sukkah, the military generally does an admirable job of trying to provide religious resources to those it separates from those resources in the call to war.
Recently, the base chapel in Kandahar, Afghanistan, received its first Torah scroll, created in memory of fallen servicemembers. Chaplain (LtCol) Avi Weiss explains the significance of the scroll:
Capt Rubin at Jews in Green recognized this for the support of religious freedom that it is.
Military atheist Justin Griffith, on the other hand, Read more
The Washington Post‘s “On Faith” section contains an article entitled “Chaplains hear call to serve God while serving country.” The article covers the stories of several chaplains in the US military who were first serving as regular sailors or soldiers until they Read more
Despite his claims the US military is overrun by Christians trying to take over the world, Michael Weinstein seems to have more public allies in military leadership positions than he has public enemies. In addition, Michael Weinstein seems to have some very well-placed friends in the US military, despite his claims he is a David fighting an institutional Goliath.
Weinstein’s “close personal…relationship” with an Air Force base’s commanding general has already been discussed, as has his unusual access to an Air Force Colonel’s non-releasable records. It turns out Weinstein also counts the recently retired JAG of the Air Force as a cheerleader for his cause.
In fact, Weinstein’s apparently unfettered access to military leadership is so unusual Congress has been asked to investigate it.
The most interesting example of Weinstein’s friends in high places was Read more
The Virginian-Pilot adds information to the story of US Navy Captain Timothy Dorsey, who shot down an Air Force F-4 during a training exercise in 1987. Turns out the pilot he shot down has issues with Dorsey’s promotion:
Dorsey’s…critics, including the pilot he shot down, say he should have been forced out of the service more than two decades ago. Some said they are contacting their senators to ask that his appointment be stopped.
The pilot Dorsey shot down, Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Ross, Read more