Tag Archives: air force

Las Vegas Chaplain Serves Drone Pilots, Preschoolers

The local Las Vegas Review-Journal covers US Air Force Chaplain (Capt) Michael Engfer, a Reserve Chaplain who does double duty as a local Episcopal Reverend:

The Rev. Michael Engfer occupies two distinct ministries.

In November, he was named deacon in charge of All Saints Episcopal Church, a growing multicultural congregation…

He also is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base as deputy wing chaplain for the 926th Wing Air Force Reserve unit. Among the people he serves are drone pilots, a new type of service with unique challenges.

Chaplain Engfer also makes a point of explaining his view on marriage:  Read more

The 2016 AFRC Chaplain Corps Conference Disaster

conferencev2by Sonny Hernandez

On April 18-21, 2016, the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) Chaplain Corps Conference commenced in Chicago, IL. The theme of this aforementioned conference was “soul care” and “moral injury.” The keynote civilian speakers for this event were: Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock and Dr. Jonathan Shay, who were publicized as being world renowned experts in the field of moral injury. Unfortunately, there were Air Force chaplains that left the conference who experienced “moral injury” after being forced to listen to Read more

Booted General Boykin Calls for Apology — for the Troops

The US Army post at Fort Riley recently cancelled a scheduled prayer breakfast because Michael “Mikey” Weinstein complained about the speaker: Retired LtGen William “Jerry” Boykin.

A wide variety of people have come out in support of LtGen Boykin, including Franklin Graham, Ted Cruz, and Congressman Tim Huelskamp — the Representative for the District encompassing Fort Riley.

LtGen Boykin is now calling for an apology from the US Army — not for him, but for the troops [emphasis added]:

What is really important about this is that the leadership of Fort Riley caved to pressure by these extremists and denied every person who planned to attend this event their own First Amendment rights.

I am told that there were many people who planned to attend and that 80 percent of the soldiers at the Fort self-identify as Christian. Attendance was totally voluntary, and no one was compelled to be there…

The Commanding General of the 1st Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Wayne Grigsby, should apologize to the soldiers of Fort Riley and assure them that the leadership of Fort Riley will stand up to the anti-religious freedom agitators and defend their rights of assembly and the right to believe and live out their faith.

LtGen Boykin’s call for an apology is an outstanding reminder Read more

US Army Makes Non-Sexual Announcement of New Secretary

The US Army announced that Eric Fanning had been confirmed as the newest Secretary of the Army:

Eric Fanning was sworn in, May 18, as the 22nd secretary of the Army during a small Pentagon ceremony.

The Army’s announcement was notable because it was probably the only one in the entire news cycle that made no mention of Fanning’s homosexuality.

Every single media article on Fanning led off with the fact he is homosexual. The media focus on his sexual preference was so obvious even the Duffelblog weighed Read more

Sites Highlight Nomination of Jewish General as Chief of Staff

goldfeinA wide variety of sites, most connected in some fashion specifically to Jewish news, have highlighted the fact President Obama has nominated a Jewish General, General David Goldfein, to be the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force:

Gen. David Goldfein will become the second Jew to command the U.S. Air Force…

Goldfein, who has been the vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force since August, will be the first Jewish combat pilot to hold the top position, and will be the second Read more

Christian Fighter Pilot, Astronaut Shares the Gospel

Retired USAF Col James Dutton was an F-15 fighter pilot and pilot of STS-131 Discovery in 2010. He’s now joined the board of directors of Faith Comes by Hearing, a group whose goal is to create audio Bibles for the world:

“The greatest experience in my life has not been flying in space,” he says. “It’s when I came to faith in Jesus Christ…What I want to do with the second half of my life is help other people to understand who he is and to grapple with the truths of the Bible…”

Col Dutton spoke at an Eglin AFB prayer breakfast in 2012 and Read more

There are No Atheists In (or Out of) Foxholes: A Military Chaplain’s Perspective

I. Introduction

In 2013, United States Air Force Chaplain (LtCol) Kenneth Reyes published an article that cogently chronicled the historical and aphoristic phrase ‘No atheists in foxholes.’.[1] Immediately, the article was lambasted with an incendiary campaign that demanded the extraction of Chaplain Reyes’s post. Michael (Mikey) Weinstein from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) was expeditious in reviling the article by demanding its removal which subsequently led to the Air Force removing its publication. Weinstein called the article a “bigoted and religious supremacist phrase” and lauded himself with victory once the Air Force removed the article.[2]

Weinstein’s vitriol was not surprising since he does not win in litigation; he is forced to rely on coercion. However, the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) interposed by persuading the Air Force to consider the transparent constitutionality and recurrent legal threats from the MRFF,[3] which eventually caused the Air Force to reinstate the article.[4] Victory for religious freedom and a loss for Weinstein!

Chaplain Scott Reyes’s article is a wonderful military depiction of perseverance that every member of the Armed Forces can relate to, especially if they have served during times of conventional, asymmetric or globalizing warfare. If a member of the Armed Forces is held captive during wartime operations as a prisoner of war (POW), apart from strategic interdictions and a battalion of ground forces, what else is a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine left with? Faith! According to George MacDonald:  Read more

Mikey Weinstein Claims Indifference Toward Religious Views

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein used to say he would give his last drop of blood — and encourage his kids to give their last drop of blood — to defend the right of people to have their religious beliefs, even if he disagreed with them. While most of Weinstein’s talking points haven’t changed over the past ten years, this one has: He dropped this oft-repeated phrase long ago — likely because he knows it isn’t true.

Still, he leaned in that principled direction recently when on a “religious liberty panel” — a panel with such “diverse” religious liberty experts as the ACLU, AU, and Pedro Irgonegaray, one of Weinstein’s MRFF “voices.” In that panel, Weinstein said:

I don’t care what their [religious] views are. What I care (about) is when they try to use the power of the U.S. military to propagate it.

That’s a demonstrably false statement. Just take one quick example: When Read more

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