Tag Archives: air force

A Tale of Two Chaplains: The Hypocrisy of Mikey Weinstein and Tom Carpenter

Mikey Weinstein’s MRFF and Tom Carpenter’s Forum on the Military Chaplaincy
advocate “Do as I say… not as I do.”

Last week, the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy’s hypocrisy was on full display. Tom Carpenter, a homosexual lawyer and former US Marine fighter pilot, co-chairs the Forum and seems to be its primary voice. Carpenter berated the religious expression of Air Force Chaplain Sonny Hernandez and called him unfit to serve — while the Forum Carpenter simultaneously leads says it supports a military chaplaincy with “free and diverse religious expression.”

It seems Carpenter and his Forum only support diversity of religious expression when they agree with the content of that expression.

Last week Carpenter also seemed to join with Michael “Mikey” Weinstein — a Forum ally — in criticizing military chaplains who attended an awards event hosted by the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, a group of chaplain endorsers that advocates for religious liberty within the military. The Forum re-posted reports on the MRFF’s accusations with the ominous statement that the “Air Force [is] in hot water again,” and didn’t contravene one of its own who agreed with Weinstein’s acerbic calls for punishing the chaplains. When others defended the chaplains, Carpenter weighed in by saying they were “clueless” about the rules and regulations regarding wear of the uniform. Carpenter clearly felt Chaplain (MajGen) Dondi Costin and the other chaplains in attendance were in the wrong.

So why didn’t Carpenter feel so strongly about his own event?

In early April, the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy hosted Read more

Chris Rodda, MRFF Attack Military Chaplains — For Being Christian

Executive Summary: In their personal complaints about military chaplains, Mikey Weinstein and his MRFF clearly demonstrate their antagonism toward religious beliefs — particularly, Christian beliefs — they don’t like. This again supports the position that correspondence from the MRFF should be viewed with the skeptical eye that such complaints are motivated by an intolerant and discriminatory viewpoint inconsistent with the military’s support of diversity and religious freedom.

roddaprofChris Rodda, the research assistant for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF, is nothing if not predictable. Yesterday she posted an extraordinarily long essay railing against US military chaplains, largely centered around Mikey Weinstein’s attack on chaplains and endorsers at the end of July, an attack that was roundly rebutted by the ACLJ.  (While it’s not worth the read, Rodda’s novella can be found here.)

However, part way through Rodda digressed from her presumed thesis, as she often does, to personally attack another Air Force officer unrelated to that event: Chaplain Sonny Hernandez.

Rodda revealed the MRFF has for months been harassing Air Force Chief of Chaplains (MajGen) Dondi Costin, complaining about Chaplain Hernandez. The MRFF has claimed [emphasis added]  Read more

Air Force Continues to Return Amputees to the Cockpit

wiseThe Air Force recently highlighted the story of Capt Christy Wise, who recently returned to the cockpit of an HC-130J after an above-the-knee amputation:

After an above-the-knee amputation and nearly 15 months of rehabilitation — learning to walk, run and fly again — Air Force Capt. Christy Wise, a 71st Rescue Squadron HC-130J pilot, was medically cleared to retake to the skies on July 22.

Wise is reportedly the sixth amputee to return to flying in the Air Force (among Read more

Mikey Weinstein Attacks Air Force Chaplains, Endorsers

Former Air Force Captain Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and retired Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews are friends, sort of. They’ve spoken in the past about having dinner together at Weinstein’s house. This is despite the fact Weinstein’s MRFF is (almost) universally ideologically opposed to Crews’ CALL.  Weinstein attacks religious liberty in the US military, and Crews defends against him.

Chaplain Crews recently honored outgoing Congressman Randy Forbes as the recipient of their annual Torchbearer Award. The ceremony at which the award was presented was well attended by several members of Congress — as well as uniformed Air Force and Army chaplains.

The event has Weinstein seething and demanding the chaplains be court-martialed. It remains to be seen if the personal relationship between Crews and Weinstein can withstand Weinstein’s bigoted diatribe in the MRFF “demand” letter addressed to the Department of Defense Inspector General:  Read more

Air Force Addresses Fighter Pilot Shortage. Again.

With a click-bait headline and the renewed vigor of a new Chief of Staff, the US Air Force is once again trying to deal with its “fighter pilot shortage.” In an article entitled “The US Air Force Is Short 700 Fighter Pilots. Here’s Our Plan to Fix That,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and new CSAF General Dave Goldfein said:

That [fighter pilot] shortfall is expected to grow from 500 to more than 700 pilots by the end of this fiscal year, a 21-percent gap between what we have and what we need to meet the requirements of our commanders around the world.

As in times past, the AF identified Read more

Robert Dorr, MRFF Ally and Columnist, Dies at 76

dorrThe Air Force Times reported that Robert F. Dorr, a prolific author and columnist for the Military Times papers, died on June 12th.

A self-described opinion columnist who eschewed the title “journalist”, Dorr’s non-book work was described as pro-military but politically liberal. He was no stranger to controversy, calling for the closing of Guantanamo, the repeal of DADT, and even shutting down the Air Force as a whole. His apparent desire to advocate for the “little guy” sometimes made his counter-authority articles popular.

Dorr was also no friend to military religious freedom. He once Read more

Former JAG: Transgender Policy Neglects Military Religious Freedom

…and the US military appears to officially endorse “mixed genitalia” showers.

Daniel Briggs, director of military affairs for the Alliance Defending Freedom, is a former Air Force JAG. Writing at The Daily Signal, he noted the DoD’s new policy initiative on people who are transgendered fails to even mention religious freedom, despite its importance — particularly with respect to the medical professionals who have a large role in the change [emphasis added]:

Neither the instruction nor the memo acknowledges the religious freedom, freedom of conscience, or professional discretion of military medical providers…

What about the medical providers who do not provide the diagnosis or treatment a service member seeks? Perhaps their religious beliefs confirm their medical understanding of gender being inextricably linked to biological sex, leading them to conclude that this service member needs help (counseling, therapy) but not affirmation.

Briggs is essentially saying the transgender transition (in policy), which was not subject Read more

1 … 28 29 30 31 32 … 117