Tag Archives: Military

Soldier, Airman Charged with Marital Infidelity

While there seems to remain a percentage of the American population that believes the military cannot enforce rules on moral conduct, continuing cases demonstrate that is not the case.

In the Army, a Sergeant Major was recently charged with raping a lower ranking Soldier.  Additional charges included abuse of rank, disobeying Army regulations, and adultery.

In the Air Force, a Chief Master Sergeant is facing court martial over charges of misuse of government position, failure to obey orders, indecent conduct, and adultery, among other charges.

Adultery?

Within the United States, the military remains one of the few places, if not the only, where one can still be charged with the crime of being unfaithful to one’s spouse.  Read more

Controversy Over Military Facility Abortions Continues

The change in military abortion law continues to simmer beneath the surface of the debate over the 2011 Defense Authorization Act.  The changes, which would authorize abortions at US military facilities across the globe, have been largely been overshadowed by the proposed changes to “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

In early August, 200 “active and retired military physicians” reportedly signed a letter asking their Senators to vote against the DAA with the abortion amendment attached.

Combined with DADT and the second engine for the F-35, there are apparently three separate issues over which the bill may fail, if it is goes to a vote in its current form.

Callsigns, Traditions, and a Naval Officer’s IG Complaint

Though a few days older than the original story on the Naval officer who filed a complaint over his naming, a Time Magazine story contains more details on “callsigns” in the military, with some interesting, stereotypical (and likely accurate) comments:

In the testosterone-laden world of military aviation, call signs for pilots and other squadron personnel can be really sticky — the more an aviator complains about the moniker his colleagues bestow upon him, the tighter its grip will be.

Over the years, that has led to lots of embarrassing call signs beyond the famous one brandished by Read more

MRFF Expresses Support for Ground Zero Mosque

In response to an inquiry, Michael Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation expressed his support for what has been dubbed the “Ground Zero Mosque” in New York City.  Notably, he criticized those who oppose the mosque/community center because…their criticism offends “jihadists.”  Interestingly, Weinstein did not reserve his invective purely for Christians:

This [opposition to the mosque] is the work of fundamentalist Christians and ultra-extreme, rightwing Jews.

Apparently, the man who believes Christians are planning to exterminate Jews believes “rightwing Jews” are now helping them.  The cognitive dissonance continues below.

For those keeping track:  Read more

Former CMSAFs on DADT Repeal: Deal with it.

The Air Force Times notes that a panel of seven former Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force (there have been 16 total in the Air Force’s short history) gave enlisted members guidance on what may happen if “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed.  Their commentary seems to largely reflect the feeling that there’s nothing they can do about it, so the only option is to “make peace” with it and move on.

[Jim] Binnicker, the ninth chief, offered up the strongest answer: “It’s going to happen — deal with it. You will be measured by how you deal with it.”

“Deckplate Issues” and the Repeal of DADT

The Stars and Stripes apparently caught up with some servicemembers after they participated in one of the Defense Department’s working groups.  Interestingly, the article says most of the concern was on “deckplate issues,” or how their everyday lives would be practically affected by the repeal (examples included berthing and marriage recognition).

Advocacy groups supporting repeal have said these very questions are why these discussion should not be happening.

In a related story, Politico reported the Department of Defense had begun mailing surveys to military spouses in an attempt to gather information on their response to the implementation of the repeal of DADT.

Military, Chaplains Fight Suicide Trend

September is the US Army’s “suicide prevention month.”

The US military, and the US Army in particular, have fought a long battle to prevent servicemembers from taking their own lives.  An Army article notes the efforts of Chaplains in Iraq to fight the growing trend of suicide in the ranks:

“We want to prevent suicide, but we need to do more than just tell people to not kill themselves,” said [Chaplain] LtCol Keith Goode… “We need to give them something to live for, we need to affirm life.”

An Air Force article entitled “Life is precious” recently covered the same topic, as a commander recounted the suicide of a member of his unit:  Read more

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