Tag Archives: air force

Weinstein Says Jump, Air Force asks How High

The Air Force has reportedly removed a chow hall poster because Michael “Mikey” Weinstein didn’t like it.

Mikey immediately called the Pentagon because, you know, he can do that…

Mikey gave the Air Force an hour to take action.

By the time Mikey talked to the Wing Commander at the base a few minutes later, the Wing Commander had already been contacted by the Pentagon.

Fifty-six minutes after his call to the Pentagon, the image of the crusader…had been removed from the dining hall.

The image itself attests to the ignorant hypersensitivity of some critics. Said Read more

SecAF: “Do What is Right for Our Air Force”

Outgoing Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley, addressing the US Air Force Academy graduating class of 2013, “implored the cadets” to defend the character of the Air Force:

“Each of you is responsible for the character of this Air Force, and its reputation,” Donley said. “And I therefore charge you to serve with integrity, and by example — to lead, to say and to do what is right for our Air Force.”

Serve with integrity and character.  Do the right thing.  It seems like the Air Force is encouraging a high moral standard.

Living morally is consistent with Christian officership, but doing the right thing is also consistent with professional officership.  Unfortunately, a few forget that the right choice is not always the easy choice.  Fortunately, “right” normally prevails, even if at some cost.

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Missionary Aviation and Pilot Traditions

Getting dunked in the solo tank is a tradition most, if not all, Air Force pilots experience after their first solo in a military aircraft.  It seems Mission Aviation Fellowship has a similar tradition.

You can see the pictorial story of Aaron Hoffman, a recent arrival to Kalimantan, who landed his float plane after his first in-country solo as a mission pilot.

He probably should have worn his life vest.

Kalimantan is in Indonesia, and shares an island with Brunei.

See more at the MAF Blog.

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US Air Force Cockpit Atheist Speaks on Christian Troops

A 2011 graduate of the US Air Force Academy is apparently making his mark as a “cockpit atheist” US Air Force officer (and, presumably, an eventual Air Force pilot).

The cockpit atheist is a “militant” atheist, in his own words, and apparently has a famous umbrella.

As noted previously, some people seem to think the Air Force, or the US military, is overrun by Christians.  A few think military officers aren’t allowed to speak out about their religious beliefs.

It seems the cockpit atheist undermines the former point and disagrees with the latter.  The Lieutenant has taken not only to the internet with his religious beliefs and his status as an Air Force officer, but also to a small variety of atheist events from Rock Read more

Atheist Supports Restricting Military Religious Freedom

Update: Former Marine pilot Tom Carpenter of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy — a liberal activist group — largely repeated the list below a few weeks later, though he did so without attribution.

Jason Torpy, the one-man band that is the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, recently posted a point-by-point refutation of recent accusations of the US military being hostile to Christianity.

Much of his disagreement was nuance or the way in which something was phrased, which isn’t worth discussing here.  The interesting ones, though, were the cases in which he agreed with the US military’s “anti-Christian” actions:

January 2010 — Department of Defense orders removal of tiny Bible references on military scopes and gunsights.
Torpy: True and appropriate.

This issue has been discussed before.  While there is no religious requirement the references remain, the fact they were targeted because of their (obscure) religious reference — only after Michael Weinstein complained, notably — is troubling.  That he would seek this Read more

Sally Quinn Jumps Shark, Blames Sexual Assault on Religion

As previously noted, Sally Quinn of the Washington Post has become the latest version of Pam Zubeck, the CSIndy “journalist” who is actually an advocate of Michael Weinstein’s cause.  While it has become obvious Quinn is in the tank with Weinstein, it wasn’t clear until this weekend just how far she was willing to go.

In an article on sexual assault in the military — carefully crafted to get visibility because its on a topic of great interest right now — Quinn lays the responsibility for sexual assault in the military at the feet of…religion.

And guess who her source is?

Take the Cadets for Christ, a religious group at the Air Force Academy. According to Mikey Weinstein, Read more

USAFA Thunderbirds Replaced with Volunteers

The traditional Thunderbird flyby of the US Air Force Academy graduation was canceled, reportedly due to budget concerns.  A group of private aerial demonstration teams has volunteered to fill in the awkward silence that would otherwise mark the hat-toss.

Academy officials said Thursday that more than a dozen pilots have volunteered to fly historical U.S. military aircraft over graduation week events, including the commencement ceremony May 29.

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MRFF Member Goes Anonymous for Mikey — and Harms his Cause

Michael Weinstein has been working hard to recover from his self-inflicted public relations debacle that began with the Sally Quinn article praising his ‘heroic’ and substantial influence over the US Air Force.  As part of that effort, Weinstein got a high-ranking supporter to write a letter defending him — anonymously, of course.

Mikey ~
 
…As a retired, multiple-star, senior officer (General or Admiral) you know that I was asked by the Chief of Staff…to be my Service’s direct day-to-day interface with you. During those three years, and specifically because of that relationship, my Service avoided countless…breaches of religious civil rights…

As a direct result of this relationship, we had military Service-wide policies written/documented for our entire Service to follow!!

Once again, though, Weinstein’s ego may have undone his own attempts at obfuscation.

The supportive letter refers to “policies” written for the “entire Service” as a “direct result” of Weinstein.  The only service that has done that, which Weinstein has claimed influence over, no less, is the Air Force.  Based on the timeline, the Chief of Staff is certainly Read more

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