Tag Archives: Military

Number of Chaplains Opposing DADT Repeal Increases

The Alliance Defense Fund previously wrote a letter to President Obama in which 41 retired Chaplains, speaking freely since they are outside military service, opposed the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell” on religious freedom grounds.

Last Friday they added to that number, with 25 new signatories.  As noted at the ADF,

The letter states, “By raising homosexual behavior to the same protected class as innate, innocuous characteristics like race and gender, the armed forces will cast the sincerely held religious beliefs of many chaplains and Service members as rank bigotry comparable to racism.”

The release of the letter nearly coincided with Read more

Incoming Marine Commandant Opposes DADT Repeal

Despite some prior insinuations to the contrary, it appears Marine General James Amos holds much the same view as General James Conway, outgoing Marine Commandant, when it comes to the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

In testimony at his confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Amos reportedly said DADT repeal is a “distraction” to the ongoing wars, and he personally opposes the repeal.  In his written answers to advance questions, he reportedly said

In my personal view the current law and associated policy have supported the unique requirements of the Marine Corps and thus I do not recommend its repeal.

During his testimony he also gave a hint to Read more

The Chaplain and the Veteran

Air National Guard Chaplain (LtCol) Richard Cavens was deployed to Dover Air Force Base as part of the mortuary operations center — the organization that deals with the fallen and their families.

When the history buff took some personal time in the local area — a break particularly necessary for those dealing daily with the casualties of war — he happened upon the Korean War memorial, and met a man there who understood like few today could.

The rest can only be read as it was originally written…

Australia to Receive First Export EA-18G Growler

The US government has reportedly agreed to allow the export of Boeing’s EA-18G Growler to Australia.  The Growler is an electronic attack aircraft built on an F/A-18 frame, though it replaces some of the offensive kinetic capability with electronic attack/defense suites instead.

See the prior discussion on the approval of full rate production (and the name) of the Growler, as well as other fighter pilot aircraft.

General Boykin Voices Opposition to DADT Repeal

LtGen William Boykin (USA, Ret) has reportedly said that no one can prove the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell” will improve military readiness; as a result, credence must be given to those who say it will detract from unit cohesion and morale.

“Cohesion, camaraderie, [and] brotherhood [are] just as important as the weapons that are used by those military units,” Boykin contends. “When you destroy the integrity of that cohesion, you are in fact degrading the readiness of the military — and there is no question that it will destroy the cohesion within the military.”

He also repeats the accurate but often dismissed point that the military routinely discriminates against people who might still be willing to serve their country:  Read more

Army General Denies Equating Religion, Racism

A firestorm erupted in the media last week when LtGen Thomas Bostick, a member of the “working group” on “Don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal, was quoted in the Washington Times apparently equating religious opposition to homosexuality with bigotry and racism.  From the Washington Times editorial “A New Gay Army:”

Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, the Army’s deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel matters who spoke about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before several hundred troops at the European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. “Unfortunately, we have a minority of service members who are still racists and bigoted and you will never be able to get rid of all of them,” Lt. Gen. Bostick said. “But these people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program, and if they can’t, they need to get out. No matter how much training and education of those in opposition, you’re always going to have those that oppose this on moral and religious grounds just like you still have racists today.”

The Times provided no source for their information.  The US military subsequently released a statement in which Bostick denied making the quotes:  Read more

Bat Signal Busted, Weinstein Declares War Back On

After what was supposedly an amiable interlude, Michael Weinstein and his self-founded Military Religious Freedom Foundation are now officially back at “war” with the US Air Force Academy.  The reason?  The Air Force beat Weinstein to the press.

The Colorado Springs Independent reports the Air Force Academy issued a press release critical of an as yet unpublicized MRFF accusation that the Academy was allowing a private group to ‘improperly proselytize’ in public facilities.  The reported press release, which is unsigned, undated, and available only on some local news sites, was unusual in its initiative, as well as its subtle criticisms of Weinstein and his MRFF:  Read more

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