Category Archives: Government and Religion

Mount Soledad Cross “UnConstitutional”

The long-running ACLU lawsuit against the Mount Soledad cross in San Diego reached another milestone at the 9th Circuit, with a three-judge panel ruling the cross is unConstitutional.

A war memorial cross in a San Diego public park is unconstitutional because it conveys a message of government endorsement of religion…The court said modifications could be made to make it constitutional, but it didn’t specify what those changes would be.

The 9th Circuit panel did not direct that the cross be torn down.  Instead, Read more

Fired Navy Captain Defended by Gay Sailors

In an interesting twist, US Navy CAPT Owen Honors, recently fired from his position as skipper of the USS Enterprise, is being defended in the press by former Sailors who served under his command — and are homosexual.

“He wasn’t insulting” gay sailors, added Mr. Solis [a gay former Sailor], “They were just harmless jokes.”

Capt. Honors “absolutely did not” create a hostile or homophobic atmosphere on board, added Eric M. Prenger, a gay sailor Read more

“Navy Culture” to Blame for Skipper’s Firing

A few articles across the internet have posited that CAPT Owen Honors, recently fired skipper of the USS Enterprise, was simply a product of the “military culture.”

As a retired Navy officer, my perspective is that Honors was acting as the custom of the time allowed. If the Navy wants to change its culture, it needs to get the word out on what is to be changed and only discipline future violations.

That’s an interesting perspective from several angles.  It seems reasonable that if you permit Sailors (or anyone else) to conduct themselves after a certain fashion, then that conduct becomes “acceptable,” or it is at least perceived to be so.  In truth, “allowing” or failing to discipline or prosecute conduct does not inherently make it right, thought it can understandably create a culture of confusion.

In addition, as the writer said above, if the Navy Read more

Air Force Comprehensive Airman Fitness

With an interesting sense of timing, an Air Force article on “Comprehensive Airman Fitness,” focusing on “Spiritual Fitness,” was recently published at Charleston Air Force Base. 

As military articles on such topics often do, it calmly predicts and answers the questions of the recent uproar over Spiritual Fitness in the military.

There are three concepts associated with spirituality, according to [Chaplain (LtCol) Michael] Brown.

“The first is to discover meaning in your life and a meaning that transcends anything in the physical world,” he said. “Some find that through Read more

Hindu C-17 Pilot on Faith and the Falcons

LtCol Ravi Chaudhary has an interesting article on his experiences as a Hindu cadet at the US Air Force Academy many years ago: 

As one of the few Hindu cadets at USAFA in 1989, the Academy was very accommodating to my spiritual needs. USAFA Chaplains even dusted off a small “all faiths” room in the Cadet Chapel to ensure I had every opportunity to practice my faith. This gesture made all the difference and supported my spiritual development during my Doolie year.

Events like these dot the spiritual landscape at USAFA, and serve as a unifying force for the entire Cadet Wing. At lunch time, the entire student body sits down to eat together and each member is given a moment of silence for individual prayer prior to the meal — a sign of Read more

“Rock the Fort” Counter-Event Struggles with Purpose, Limits

As previously discussed, US Army SGT Justin Griffith is trying to organize a counter-event to “Rock the Fort.”  His “Rock Beyond Belief” event was part of a divorce from the atheistic Fort Bragg Freedom Festival.  Based on public information, his event seems to be outdoing his former partners in spades.  In order to get MWR “official” Army support and access to the parade field, they need projected attendance of 2500+ people.  Based on the publicly available information, Griffith may be on his way to that number, though its difficult to say.

Importantly, Griffith knows his event needs to remain non-offensive to his fellow Soldiers to obtain the official support of the military he so strongly desires.  It is highly unlikely the Army would provide support to an event demeaning to others, regardless Read more

Sailor: Next Step, Equal Rights for Gay Servicemembers

Chris Patti, reportedly a Navy cryptologist, wrote an opinion piece at the Washington Post saying repeal of DADT was the “easy” part, and now Secretary of Defense Robert Gates faces “difficult” questions.  Oddly, Patti raises no questions that have not already been addressed.  Just like the terse answer to those who wondered if they could resign early if they had moral reservations about repeal (“No.”), the military working group on DADT repeal provided terse answers to Patti’s questions.  For example, he asks:  Read more

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