Last week a North Korean MiG-21 reportedly crossed the border into China and flew 90 miles before crashing. Reports indicated it was due to mechanical failure, and the pilot died in the crash.
A South Korean news agency speculated it was an attempt to defect.
An Army.mil article recently described the tenets of the Islamic celebration of Ramadan. The military often goes to great lengths to help its members understand Islam due to its intense involvement in the culture in which American forces are deployed.
The Air Force Times carries the Associated Press article on “War doesn’t rest for Islam holy month” [sic]. Though some may view it as a time of rest, particularly with fasting during the daylight hours, that does not translate directly into reduced combat. In fact, the opposite may be true: Read more
According to the Army Times, the US Army is investigating claims that Soldiers were punished when they declined to attend a concert by a Christian music group in May.
The Army said Friday it was investigating a claim that dozens of soldiers who refused to attend a Christian band’s concert at a Virginia military base were banished to their barracks and told to clean them up.
Interestingly, the punishment was reportedly telling the Soldiers to go back to their barracks.
As others have noted elsewhere, this “scandal” may be a result of Read more
The recent controversy surrounding the proposed mosque in New York City, including the taxpayer funded trip of the mosque’s imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, has continued to highlight official government support for Islam around the world. A recent article at the Baptist Press notes the use of “taxpayer money” to advance the cause of Islam, even in Afghanistan and Iraq:
“Americans also may be surprised to learn that the United States has been an active participant in mosque construction projects overseas,” The [Washington] Times said.
The US military’s assistance in mosque rebuilding and refurbishment has been discussed here before.
The New York Times covered the Kabul memorial ceremony of the 10 aid workers who were recently killed in Afghanistan. The ceremony was held in the British cemetery there:
Originally established for British military dead in the Second Afghan War, in 1879, it is probably the only place in the capital where crosses are on public display (churches are illegal here).
The memorial was reportedly consciously non-religious:
If there was a theme to the memorial service, which was self-consciously non-religious, it was the thought that these were people who died doing something they believed in passionately, and the best way to honor them was to keep at it.
Chaplain (1Lt) Domenic Grotti recently took 28 Soldiers through two days of relationship training called Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge. When the course was complete, the Soldiers jumped from an airplane over southern Colorado.
“It’s an analogy really,” Grotti said. “Skydiving is about faith and trust. Trusting the tool and trusting the training. You put your life at risk, and Soldiers … put their lives on the line every day with relationships and it either helps them or hurts them. So if they can trust a tool or plan to give them success then … they may put their faith in that tool.”
And to think some people call Chaplain’s retreats “boring.”
FoxNews has an article about Ensign Steve Crowston, a Navy officer who said he was the victim of sexual discrimination:
The harassment began in August 2009, says Crowston, 36, when his fellow officers called him into a room for a review of call signs, a military moniker that easily identifies a service member. He says his name was written on a whiteboard with a list of call sign recommendations: “Cowboy,” “Gay Boy,” “Fagmeister,” “Cowgirl,” “Romo’s Bitch,” “TO, “Terrell Owens” and “Redskins.”
Call signs can be used in official military correspondence and Read more
The US Air Force Academy recently reported some of the results from its 2009 climate survey. The survey is similar to those given to other military units in order to assess everything from racial relations to quality of life.
The superintendent, LtGen Mike Gould, is reportedly focused on instilling an atmosphere of respect for human dignity, and he has seen some success:
In many ways, the climate has shifted toward greater respect for all Airmen here regardless of their race, gender, religious beliefs or socioeconomic backgrounds. Read more