Category Archives: Christian Living

US Marine, Christian, Wants to Fight in UFC

Marine Sgt. George Lockhart, a martial arts instructor, recently applied for six weeks of leave in order to take part in the filming of a reality series called “The Ultimate Fighter.”

A Military Times article notes that his immediate commander had previously given him approval to try out, and Lockhart won an invitation to participate in the show that allows fighters to compete for a potentially lucrative UFC contract.

While his immediate commander also supported his request for extended leave to film the show, his commanding general ultimately determined that Lockhart’s unit was too busy to allow him the time he would need off.  A Marine spokesman was also concerned about “barbaric” behavior on the show that might reflect negatively on the Marines, though that hasn’t stopped the Marines from using the show for recruiting ads.

Interestingly, Lockhart isn’t known just for his fighting:

A devout Christian who often quotes from the Bible, Lockhart said Read more

A Chilling Call: Aircraft Down

The Supervisor of Flying, a pilot stationed in the control tower to oversee flight operations on the airfield, received a call from local emergency responders relaying reports of a loud boom and possible fireball.  A roll call of all airborne aircraft revealed one aircraft missing.  Officers around the base opened their Mishap Response Checklists.  An aircraft was down.

The controllers stopped all further launches and began the task of recovering other aircraft that were airborne; the assets of the base as well as the local community were now focused on the rescue and recovery of the downed aircraft and crew.  An air traffic controller guided an experienced pilot to the last known location of the aircraft, and the crash location was fixed.  Helicopters flown by local law enforcement and the US Marines were dispatched to the crash site.  Simultaneously, officers throughout the base began the procedures of securing all equipment associated with the flight–from the maintenance records of the aircraft to the pilot’s gradebook and records.  Ultimately, a commander would don his service dress uniform and request the accompaniment of a Chaplain.

Regrettably, the fighter pilot career field is a dangerous one.  In this case, Read more

Support Your Local…Military Chapel

Being a Christian in the military can bring some interesting challenges when making offerings and donations to the Lord’s work.  The Combined Federal Campaign, for example, has both its positives and negatives; in addition, there is simply the challenge of finding a consistent church to attend and support among a variety of moves and temporary assignments.

An additional consideration occurs when Christians in the military attend a military chapel.  While most Christian denominations support the concept of contributing financially to one’s home church, the financial situation of a military chapel is somewhat different.  Unlike a private church that depends on the funds of its members, a congregation will not be evicted from a military chapel for reasons of rent or mortgage, nor will the Chaplain be let go (or move on) because of issues with pay.

Some military Christians still support the chapel financially with Read more

USAFA Grads, Fighter Pilots, Christians Pilot Space Shuttle

The Air Force was proud to point out that Colonel Terry Virts Jr, a 1989 graduate of the US Air Force Academy, was the pilot for the Endeavor STS-130 shuttle mission (originally scheduled for February 7th, weather delayed to the 8th).  The announcement allowed the Air Force to highlight an awesome opportunity for Airmen that may motivate them to follow in Virts’ footsteps.  Embry Riddle did the same thing, as Virts is an alumnus, allowing Embry Riddle to highlight the success of its graduates and motivate others to attend its courses.  Notably, Virts was also a fighter pilot and test pilot.

He is also a Christian:  Read more

The Rules are Written in Blood

Fighter aircraft are amazing combinations of machinery, technology, software, and the human mind.  Old and young alike are awed at airshows that display fighters from the Pursuit (P) aircraft of the World Wars to the Fighter (F) and Attack (A) aircraft of the modern era.

Miracles in motion that they are, they are still bound by rules and regulations.

They have simple rules like speed limits, g-limits, and angle of attack limits.  They also have more complex rules that say if you’re rolling left with a missile on the right wing and you’ve got half a tank of gas, make sure not to exceed 14 units of AoA.  Some rules seem arbitrary (“Don’t fly with your feet resting on the brake pedals…”), and others ridiculous (“Lower landing gear prior to touching down…”).

There’s a saying, though, that the rules of aviation Read more

Navy Midshipman Stands Out for Christ

This site has previously documented the public faith of Tim Tebow, the unquestionably talented Florida quarterback who led his team to championships and wore his faith on his life, as well as his eye blacks.  He has been lauded for publicly living out his faith in his “profession.”

The Baptist Press documents another “stand-out linebacker” who “serves Christ,” this time as a military Midshipman at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. 

Ross Pospisil is the Navy football defensive team captain, helping lead a team Read more

Ethics and the US Military: the Army Reconsiders

The US Army is “[rethinking] how it teaches ethics.”

Some of the interest in ethics is tied to the wars: the black eye of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, concerns that stress from unconventional conflict leads to bad decisions, and, for at least one retired general, the sense that the military lost the public’s trust in Iraq.

Officers involved in the effort say that eventually a soldier’s grounding in ethics — strong or weak — will become a factor in promotions.

Two of the primary places that ethics might intentionally be taught in the Army include the US Military Academy at West Point and the Command and General Staff College at Leavenworth.  The need for ethical maturity has already been recognized in some sense at the military academies.  Each has its own variation of a “character development center.”

Oddly, the director of military ethics at West Point provided a contradictory assessment of ethics in the Army:  Read more

Soldier’s Faith Inspires Him to Help

An Army Lieutenant spearheaded an effort to provide an Iraqi child with the surgery she needed to give her sight.  US Army 1st Lieutenant Jason Hickman’s efforts were in no small part a result of his faith, as he acknowledged that there are no such things as chance occurrences:

“I don’t believe in the traditional sense of the word ‘destiny,’ but I do believe that God puts people in certain places at certain times,” Hickman said. “Things don’t happen solely by coincidence. All you have to do is look for the road signs…”

“The Lord may not push you around the board like a pawn, but every now and again he puts you where he wants you,” Hickman said. “We were supposed to end up in Zwaynat that night. It was just up to us what we were going to do when we got there.”

Read the full story.

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