Tag Archives: Military

MRFF Tangles with the Rules. Again.

Michael Weinstein’s MRFF has again demonstrated its tendency to hold others to a standard to which it does not hold itself.  It previously exhibited such behavior with its loose honoring of copyright, and also when it distributed letter from a member of the military, and of the MRFF, that was derogatory to military leadership.

This time, the MRFF (specifically, Bekki Miller) posted an email on their website written by Dustin Chalker (the plaintiff in the abandoned MRFF lawsuit).  His email was in response Read more

USAFA’s Unique Flight Programs

The US Air Force Academy certainly has its critics with regard to the experiences cadets must endure, but it also offers some significant and unique opportunities.

As a college student receiving a tuition-free four year education, how’d you like to head down the street to the school’s flying program and take an aircraft for a spin (also for free)?

Can’t really beat the view, either.

USAFA T-52A and T-41D line up for takeoff on a clear April morning on the USAFA airfield, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

DoD Announces DADT Inbox

The Department of Defense has launched a site at which military members and their families are free to anonymously submit comments about the impact of a repeal of DADT.

Notably, though, the site requires a CAC, or Common Access Card, which family members do not have, and which leaves a traceable signature at authentication.

The site is reportedly at http://www.defense.gov/dadt, though it appears to have been inaccessible since its announcement.  [Update: The website appears to be inaccessible from civilian servers.]  Stars and Stripes reports that

DOD spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the department is seeking feedback on how a repeal would affect things such as retention, readiness and unit cohesion.

“It’s not whether or not we should repeal,” she said…

The DOD is still working on a method that would allow gay servicemembers to communicate their thoughts, ideas and experiences in a confidential manner, she said.

Franklin Graham to Pray at Pentagon

Despite being “disinvited” from the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer events, Franklin Graham has said he will still go to the Pentagon to pray.

If President Obama fails to intervene to allow controversial evangelist Franklin Graham to lead a National Day of Prayer event Thursday inside the Pentagon, “it will be a slap in the face of all Christians,” Graham said Tuesday.

And invited or not, he’ll stand in front of the Pentagon and pray, Graham said in an interview… 

Graham says after he prays at the Pentagon, he’ll join the [NDoP] group on Capitol Hill.

Thirty-six members of Congress have reportedly taken the military to task over the treatment of Graham.

Book Review: When Faith Takes Flight

When Faith Takes Flight was written by Jim Walters, a Pastor, civilian flight instructor, and former US Air Force fighter pilot. Walters became a Christian in a military chapel in Vietnam, and was quickly taken under the wing of a Christian in a local military Bible study.

When Faith Takes Flight isn’t an autobiography or memoir, however; it is an instructional book on Christian doctrine. The author is both a faith instructor and a flight instructor, and both perspectives are evident throughout the book.

Each of the 10 chapters covers a basic Christian doctrinal element (the existence of God, sin, grace, the Bible, etc.). The chapters (or “lessons”) begin with a flight related story, draw an analogy to a Biblical concept, and then relate a Biblical lesson — complete with a “quiz” and questions for group discussion. Each lesson is, in many ways, a miniature sermon.

The book’s primary objective is to teach theological concepts using Read more

The True Enemy of Military Efficiency: PowerPoint

Someone recently asked what fighter pilots do when they’re not flying.  Here’s a pretty good answer, and it’s mostly serious.

The New York Times takes an interesting look at the US military’s reliance on Microsoft’s PowerPoint, to the point that Army officers in combat freely admit they spend more time creating slides than they do fighting the enemy.  They aren’t the only ones; the military has entire rooms of staff personnel whose entire purpose in life is to generate PowerPoint slides.

If it can’t be said in three, one-line bullets, (14 point font, black on white background, of course) it appears it shouldn’t be said.

Fighter Pilots, Helicopter Pilots and Attitudes toward War and Killing

In Blackhawk Down, the dramatized events of the 1993 assault on Mogadishu, US Army Blackhawk Super 61 is struck by an RPG and begins spinning to the surface.  As the alarms blare and the helicopter loses altitude, the pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Cliff Wolcott, calmly asks his co-pilot, CWO Donovan Briley, to silence the annoying caution lights:

“Hey, Bull, you want to pull those PCLs off-line or what?”

The pilot knew his capabilities; he knew the status of his aircraft.  He likely knew he was about to die; yet his voice was calm and procedural, betraying not a hint of emotion.

In perhaps the most widely watched example in recent history, American Airlines pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger calmly told the taken-aback Air Traffic Controllers

“we’re going to be in the Hudson.”

By all accounts, the crew was calm and methodical as it executed its emergency procedures, saving the lives of all on board.

How can pilots be so stoic during life-threatening catastrophes that might bring screams and panic from others?  Read more

MRFF Sticks Its Foot in Its Mouth. Again.

Few people might realize that while the Military Religious Freedom Foundation claims some 16,000 undefined “clients,” fewer than a half dozen people actually speak for the MRFF (and even fewer speak with any regularity).  It is interesting, then, to observe Michael Weinstein’s inability to control his own message.

This site has already pointed out the self-contradiction of Chris Rodda, the MRFF research assistant who said a Chaplain’s sermon was “of course…permissible,” but it was also “part of the…problem.”  (Her statement was also in direct contradiction with Weinstein’s own words.)  In addition, the MRFF still uses the Read more

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