Tag Archives: air force

Book Review: Return with Honor

Captain Scott O’Grady is best known as the F-16 pilot shot down during Operation Deny Flight over the former Yugoslavia in 1995.  He survived for five and a half days — during which no one even knew he was alive — before being rescued.  Upon his return home he was declared a hero, a title he eschewed and passed on to the Marines who lifted him to safety.

The book details the mission from his arrival at work until the missile took his jet out from under him; it then describes the days he spent on the ground hoping for a rescue.  Interspersed are back stories of his life and his family back in the US as they learned of his shootdown.  The retelling of the organization of the rescue effort and its subsequent execution — which was completed about 5 hours after the initial radio contact — is well done.

Regrettably, O’Grady became a victim of Read more

Weinsteins Complain about Wright-Patterson

Casey Weinstein, son of MRFF founder Michael Weinstein, was stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB with his wife while they were both on active duty.  He remains in the area looking for a job as a reservist.  Now, a local Jewish paper is carrying an article in which Michael Weinstein has said

Wright-Patterson Air Force base is a “hotbed” of “unconstitutional religious intolerance.”

The younger Weinstein reportedly complained about a “prayer in Jesus’ name” that was a “violation of Air Force regulations” (a conclusion which is actually incorrect).  He also “got in [the] face” of his superior over an email about John Gibson’s The War on Christmas.  [Casey Weinstein, a 2004 Air Force Academy graduate, was a fairly vocal supporter of his father’s accusations against the military even while the younger Weinstein was on active duty.  (He also posted an interestingly accusatory comment here.)] Read more

Book Review: Battle Hymn

Dean Hess
Buckeye Aviation Book Company, Reynoldsburg, OH, 1987.
Topic: Christianity and War

Battle Hymn is the true story of a preacher who became a fighter pilot and fought in World War II and Korea. Col Dean Hess is largely credited with the forming the Republic of Korea (South Korea) Air Force and being the driving force behind Operation Kiddy Car, in which hundreds of orphans were flown out of Seoul to avoid the Communist invasion.

Though some sources question the bravado of Col Hess, the story presents an interesting look at a spiritual man in what sometimes seems an unholy profession. Apparently the book was also made into a movie by the same name (starring Rock Hudson) that strayed slightly from the true storyline.

Recommended. While not always complimentary of Hess’s actions (both as a Christian and an Air Force officer), it is a worthwhile read. It is a particularly interesting read for young fighter pilots who are looking to an assignment at Osan or Kunsan in Korea.

This book appears to be out of print, but the most recent (1987) and older versions are available through re-sellers at Amazon. (This site is an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made through Amazon referrals.)

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Merry Christmas from ChristianFighterPilot.com

Merry Christmas…can we say that?

Both religious and secular news sources have repeatedly reported on the perceived “war on Christmas,” in which organizations (primarily retailers) have chosen to say (or not say) Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, or some other variation on the theme.  For retailers, it is a business decision, whether good or bad, in which they attempt to appease one group of consumers or another.  What they do probably has an impact on their sales figures, but influences little else.

Another question revolves around what is permissible for government officials.  Lawsuits and controversy have erupted over Christmas (or “holiday”) displays (like in Wisconsin).  Even President Bush has been taken to task for the White House Christmas Cards that don’t mention Christmas, but do contain Old Testament Bible verses that reference the Messianic prophecy.  Military Christians, then, have a confusing cornucopia of examples to look at when trying to decide what is appropriate during the Christmas season.

Is there a right answer?  What can military Christians do or say?  Read more

New Religious Lawsuit against the US Military

According to a press release, Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation has sued the military on behalf of an Army soldier.  According to the announcement, an officer harassed Army Specialist Jeremy Hall when he attempted to convene a meeting of atheists.  (The text of the suit is not yet available.)

Updated 20 September:  The text of the lawsuit is available here.  See the new post for latest commentary.

The lawsuit apparently names the Defense Secretary Robert Gates as defendant because the incident is evidence of “a pattern of military practices that discriminate against non-Christians in the military,” which he allegedly permitted in his role as Defense Secretary.

Much like his Academy lawsuit, it appears that Weinstein is attempting to aggrandize a discrete event into a larger opportunity.  A niche news article on the suit (which has yet to be seen in the mainstream media) indicated that the assertions meandered from the soldier to other unrelated issues, like alleged military support of civilian Christian organizations as well as the recent Pentagon IG report (previous commentary).  Weinstein himself has implied that this goes ‘beyond’ the two men, and said that  Read more

Pre-millennial, Reconstructionist, Dominionist, Evangelical Christians

Several months ago, Mr. Michael Weinstein made some boisterous but virtually ignored comments about the reasons for his conflict with the Air Force.  During an interview with the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix Online (and repeated in his April 25th debate at the Air Force Academy), Weinstein said

I am not at war with Christianity or with evangelical Christians, but with a subset: postmillennial, reconstructionist, dominionist, evangelical Christianity.

(During the Academy debate, Weinstein said “pre-millennial,” rather than post, and added “dispensational” and “fundamentalist.”  In an email reply to a request for clarification, Mr. Weinstein indicated that pre-millennial was a “correction” to his previous descriptors.)  While dramatic, there have been few public responses.  Weinstein apparently enjoys a status as one of the few “religious” Americans who can call for the “defeat” of another religious sect and not be roundly criticized by the press and the public.  More recently, Weinstein made similar assertions when he said

We have a Christian Taliban within our US military, the Pentagon has become the penacostalgon and this administration has turned the Department of Defense into a faith based initiative…Dominionist Christians [are] praying and preying on non-Evangelical Christians.

Though his original lawsuit against the Air Force Academy was dismissed, Weinstein’s crusade continues.  He has already announced his intentions to file a new federal lawsuit to overcome the “technicality” that scuttled the first.  To understand why Weinstein acts as he does, it is interesting to analyze who he says he is “at war” with.  Read more

Weinstein/Sekulow Debate Results

According to local news reports, the debate between Weinstein and Sekulow at the Air Force Academy was “cordial.”  Presumably, both sides are working on their after-action reports, as none have yet been published.  According to the Fox report, Weinstein had demanded to speak at the Academy and the debate was the format the Academy agreed upon.  The only content yet known about the debate includes Weinstein’s assertion that Jewish servicemen not be allowed to wear a yarmulke, while Sekulow maintained they should.* Weinstein also made known his intentions to file another lawsuit against the Air Force, this one including plaintiffs that have standing.  The debate can be heard here.

*Neither Weinstein nor Sekulow were entirely correct about the yarmulke.  While Rabbi Goldman did lose his lawsuit in 1986 in which he sued to wear the yarmulke, the 1988 (updated in 2003) version of Department of Defense Instruction 1300.17 specifically allows the wearing of a yarmulke.  There are still “exceptions,” but the Jewish headgear is the only religious apparel specifically mentioned.

Weinstein’s Crusade, or Tilting at Windmills

Mr. Michael Weinstein has said his “fight is far from over” in his self-described war against evangelical Christianity in the military, despite the recent dismissal of his lawsuit against the Air Force Academy.  According to his blog, Weinstein believes that the suit was dismissed on a “technicality;” once that technicality is overcome, the suit will be renewed.  Judge James Parker dismissed the suit because it contained only “vague allegations” and no evidence of harm from people who lacked standing—because they weren’t cadets.  Weinstein was unfazed and said:

“Religious bias and the outrageous violations of the separation of church and state continue to spread rampantly throughout our military” and that the “military is full of evangelizing fundamentalists.”

Read more

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