Category Archives: Government and Religion

US Army Colonel Selects Unit’s New Patron Saint

US Army Col Phil Deppert, commandant of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, recently selected St Jerome as the patron saint for military linguists:

The tradition of patron saints as guardians over areas of life, to include occupations, dates back to as early as the fourth century. Linguists now join with other military career fields who have followed in this tradition. St. Michael, paratroopers, and St. Barbara, field artillery, are examples of military occupations that have previously inducted a patron saint.

In an indicator of the times, the DLI Chaplain (Maj) Chan-young Ham said they went out of their way to say they weren’t trying to endorse Christianity:  Read more

Air Force Senior NCO Gives Backhanded Endorsement of MRFF

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s “charitable” Military Religious Freedom Foundation received an interesting endorsement from a serving Air Force Master Sergeant. The comment occurred in response to the recent Stars and Stripes coverage of Chaplain Sonny Hernandez:

Justin Blackwell These are the cases MRFF needs to focus on, not the usual clownshow of little crap that makes them look like zealots.

That glowing “endorsement” apparently came from US Air Force Master Sergeant Justin Blackwell. It would seem he supports Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s efforts, even if Read more

Retired Air Force Commander Attacks Chaplain, Religion

Tony Carr, a retired US Air Force C-17 squadron commander and blogger at John Q. Public, already took Chaplain (Capt) Sonny Hernandez to task for his article on Christians and the military (previously discussed). Carr updated himself with a post entitled simply “Idiot Under Investigation.”

Carr doesn’t often mince words, but the vitriol he has for Hernandez seems particularly strong — and almost Mikey Weinstein-esque:

[Hernandez’s] major beef? That certain “disloyal” military members would dare to put their oath to support and defend the US Constitution above their loyalty to the teachings of Christ.

This is among the most tortured and ridiculous notions in the annals of idiocy, placing Sonny in multiple pantheons of shame. It’s as though he set out Read more

Air Force Wrongly Criticized for 100% Promotion Rate

The US Air Force recently declared it would promote 100% of its eligible Captains to the rank of Major. This differs from past practice in which an otherwise qualified officer might not be promoted only because of an administrative limitation on personnel, not any issue of merit. A failure to promote to the rank of Major is essentially career-ending.

The decision is being criticized in some circles for the alleged reduction in standards being used to fill a gap in recruiting and retention.

Irony abounds.

First, there isn’t a recruiting and retention crisis. Just ask any LGBT activist, as they Read more

Top Air Force Chief Appears to Undermine President Trump on Transgenders

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright — the highest ranking enlisted Airman in the Air Force — appeared to go off script at the recent Air Force Association Air, Space, & Cyber conference when answering a question about transgenders. The question (seen in the video at 56:50) was simple enough:

How can we best take care of our transgender Airmen at a time when their career in the Air Force is unpredictable?

At the beginning and end of his statement, Chief Wright’s response seemed Read more

POW/MIA Recognition Day Earns Mikey Weinstein’s Ire

Last Friday, September 15th, was National POW/MIA Recognition Day. It is intended to honor the memory of those imprisoned as POWs and those who have not returned. It is one of the few days that Congress officially mandates the flying of the POW/MIA flag.

It should be a somber occasion of remembrance — but for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, it’s a target for his vitriol if those ceremonies dare to associate a Bible with the event.

Weinstein recently shared Representative Steve Knight’s Facebook post about Palmdale, CA, hosting a POW/MIA ceremony attended by a high school JROTC color guard. Weinstein was apparently too lazy to even add his own vitriol to that which he copied and pasted from an obscure Facebook page apparently run by an atheist-MRFF supporter:

Do you see the egregious and disrespectful violation of our military code of conduct present at this divisive and Un-American service too?…

The #FilthyBook (Bible) on the table, the table that is meant for ALL our missing and fallen solders.

Did you notice the unsanctioned inclusion? Or are you just so used to seeing it slipped in there against protocol that you thought it was part of the display?…

Mikey Weinstein has been after the Bible for Read more

Military Religious Freedom in the Arctic

A fascinating story at the Boston Globe recalls the steps taken to ensure the religious freedom of deployed US Sailors — in 1956:

Elihu Schimmel…was responsible for the medical care of men on dozens of ships. Often he had to be transported — by helicopter, by launch, by seaplane — from the Lindenwald to another vessel to see a patient.

But with Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) just around the corner, Schimmel was wondering whether a few men could be moved in the other direction. Specifically, a few Jewish men: enough to assemble a minyan, a quorum of 10, so that services could be held on the most sacred days of the Jewish year.

Schimmel figured he had nothing to lose by asking — and both Read more

Update: Air Force Backs Chaplain Hernandez on Religious Freedom

As reported at the Stars and Stripes, the Air Force has defended Chaplain (Capt) Sonny Hernandez’s recent publication of his views on Christianity and military religious freedom [emphasis added]:

Air Force Reserve spokesman Lt. Col. Chad Gibson said Hernandez is expressing his own views, not those of the Air Force, and his freedom to express his own faith is an essential protection in the military. The Air Force is not conducting an investigation, he said.

“I think we should reflect on why the Air Force is here,” Gibson said. “We are sworn to protect freedom of faith and religion unless it infringes on other people’s rights.”

That’s an admirably bold and direct statement from Read more

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