{"id":21269,"date":"2013-02-01T02:12:38","date_gmt":"2013-02-01T05:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/?p=21269"},"modified":"2016-11-26T01:54:11","modified_gmt":"2016-11-26T04:54:11","slug":"the-us-military-religion-and-hypersensitivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/01\/the-us-military-religion-and-hypersensitivity\/","title":{"rendered":"The US Military, Religion, and Hypersensitivity"},"content":{"rendered":"

An innocent and heartwarming story was recently published on the official Air Force website<\/a> about an effort to help\u00a0an 8-year-old boy\u00a0get\u00a0a letter closer to his dad —\u00a0in heaven:<\/p>\n

MacAidan “Mac” Gallegos was only 5 when his father, Army Sgt. Justin Gallegos, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about him…”I wanted to write my dad a letter and get it as close to heaven as possible,” said Mac.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A reserve F-22 pilot volunteered to carry the letter on a flight:\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Lt. Col. Brian Baldwin…met Mac at his F-22 where the little boy handed over the letter to his father written on red construction paper, his dad’s favorite color.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The letter is a moving message from a boy who has no real memory of his father:<\/p>\n

Dear dad, I have some questions. What is it like in a tank?…How old are you now? How old were you when you died?…What is your favorite activity? What is it like in heaven? Have you seen what I have accomplished? From your son.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article inspired positive comments — and two that reflect the signs of the times:<\/p>\n

1\/29\/2013 10:01:34 AM ET
\nAlthough I am a firm beleiver that religion should be a matter of personal descretion I do not beleive this particular instance was supporting anything other than a childs curiousity and memory.
\nMSgt, Southwest<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1\/29\/2013 1:49:01 AM ET
\nThis should have been strictly forbidden by Air Force leadership because it supports religion in the military. Heaven should not be allowed in the Air Force right
\nMaj, Home for a change<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s difficult to tell about the first, but the second was clearly sarcastic — though the dripping sarcasm was missed by other commenters.\u00a0 What could inspire such a cynical view after such a heartwarming story?<\/p>\n

The US Air Force\u00a0has been accused more than once of being “hostile” to religious freedom<\/a>, and not by just anyone, but by members of the US Congress<\/a>.\u00a0 Based on the Congressional statements, it seems those accusations have arisen because of the number of times outside groups have criticized the military about religion, and how quickly the military has “reacted” by eliminating the object of the criticism, without apparent regard to any other facts.<\/p>\n

Notably, though, there was one case where the Air Force did <\/em>stand its ground, and the location of that stand is significant.<\/p>\n

You see, most of those criticisms have come from Michael Weinstein, who, with his\u00a0cohorts, has\u00a0made significant efforts to stigmatize<\/a> any association of the military with Christianity — even if the association is benign<\/a> or protected<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He has had some\u00a0success — likely due\u00a0in some\u00a0part to\u00a0the special access he claims to have to Air Force leaders, including a high-level advocate in the most recent\u00a0JAG of the Air Force<\/a>.\u00a0 While most people who contact the Air Force would be referred to a Lieutenant Public Affairs officer (at best), Weinstein has claimed four-star Generals at the Pentagon call him <\/em>(and he lets the answering machine pick up if he’s watching TV).<\/p>\n

Weinstein’s pattern of\u00a0attacks on religious freedom are\u00a0something the US Air Force Academy, led by General Gould, recognized long ago<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0USAFA ultimately started ignoring Weinstein<\/a> after\u00a0early efforts to placate him<\/a> failed — and it worked like a champ, as Weinstein’s complaints fizzled.\u00a0 After all, if you give a mouse a cookie<\/a>…<\/p>\n

So when Weinstein and his\u00a0“group”\u00a0came calling again — saying retired Lt Clebe McClary<\/a> wasn’t a “true Christian<\/a>” and therefore\u00a0shouldn’t\u00a0speak to USAFA — Gen Gould didn’t fold<\/a>.\u00a0 He fought.<\/p>\n

USAFA and General Gould won<\/em>, both in court and in the press, where Weinstein was villified<\/a> for his attack on religious freedom.<\/p>\n

Members of Congress — and, if you believe the comments on AF.mil, even some members of the military — have seen the military’s reactions to accusations about its associations with religion.\u00a0 Their perception is obvious.<\/p>\n

USAFA has the solution:\u00a0\u00a0Don’t give Weinstein the undue special attention he craves so dearly.<\/p>\n

You start running, they’ll never stop.\u00a0 You stand up, push back…\u00a0 Can’t say no forever, right?
\n— Steve Rogers, Captain America<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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