Air Force Space Command, the division in charge of US Air Force nuclear missile operations, has declared that its space and missile operators can no longer wear flight suits.
Air Force Space Command said Friday that its men and women who aren’t assigned to flying operations will not be allowed to wear flight suits or Air Force leather jackets after Oct. 1.
So goes the story, once upon a time silo sitters had a unique uniform for Read more
One of the recurring questions during the recent controversies over military hazing has been what, precisely, is hazing? While some may think it should be obvious, the nature of the military environment — and the need to explicitly enforce a regulation — make it far less so. Now,
The new Marine Corps policy now defines hazing as “any conduct whereby a military member or members, regardless of service or rank, without proper authority causes another military member or members to suffer or be exposed to any activity which is cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning or harmful.”
The Patriot Perspective makes some interesting distinctions:
Exposing a Marine to “cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning or harmful” acts with the purpose of making a correction means that a Marine might be saved from being kicked out, from poor Read more
The Air Force has withdrawn an essay that referenced chapel attendance in its correspondence course for junior officers.
The decision came after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation demanded in a March 27 letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz that the service stop using the document on the grounds that it violates the U.S. Constitution.
The Air Force responded to Weinstein’s complaint by saying the coursework would have been withdrawn in this summer’s scheduled curriculum review anyway, as it has already been removed from the in-residence course the correspondence version mimics.
Weinstein was quick to claim “victory” Read more
The US Air Force Academy recently opened its artificial turf glider landing strip, which may be one of the largest turf fields in the world. The 1.35 million square feet is
the equivalent of about 23 NFL football fields or 16 MLS soccer fields.
For the past 50 years or so, gliders had been forced to land on the grass, which was “too bumpy.”
To be fair, the marked landing zones will help student pilots Read more
Michael Weinstein is taking the US Air Force to task, again, for using the word “chapel” in a course from Squadron Officers’ School (SOS), a junior officer military education course.
The sentence at issue is important in context. Therefore, the surrounding text is included below. Weinstein’s lawyers have declared these words “unconstitutional,” saying the SOS course
mandates that regular chapel attendance is part of the “Spiritual and Ethical Responsibilities” of a commissioned Air Force officer…
That’s an extraordinarily tortured reading of the text. It’s also ignorant, since it is a commentary on leadership, not an Air Force policy document.
The manufactured offense over a single phrase is so stretched Weinstein likely views this as a test case. Will the Air Force knee-jerk and scrub the course for the offensive reference to a chapel? Or will it take a more measured response — or even acknowledge the virtue of the text he is attacking? The Air Force’s reply will be enlightening.
The “again” portion of this is notable. The perpetually offended Weinstein Read more
Another US Air Force article highlights the tradition of Mustache March, which is rapidly coming to an end.
From the master of the T-top Trans Am, Burt Reynolds, to the bad boy of breakfast buffets, Ron Swanson, powerful males around the world share one feature that is the universal symbol of manhood: the mustache.
“Mustache March,” an Air Force tradition with roots going back to the Vietnam era, is a 31-day, fuzzy-lipped free-for-all Read more
An official military article notes three US Air Force Airmen went through the trials necessary to receive their “cavalry gold spurs.” To do so, they had to complete a “spur ride.”
The participants formed up outside the Bagram [MWR] and performed a 12-mile ruck march throughout the base. Upon returning…, they dropped their gear and began the various stations that were set up to test their skills. The stations were moderated by Army instructors, referred to only as “Spur Holders.”
“The stations consisted of [weapons] proficiency, M2 headspace and timing, Self Aid and Buddy Care, 9-line Med Evac, Unexploded Ordnance identification, Nine-line UXO, gas mask procedures, land navigation and convoy signaling,” said Longoria.
“Before, during and after each station we would be quizzed by the Spur Holders. Then we were PT’ed until we were physically exhausted. Read more
While stories of political insensitivity or incorrectness sometimes shock the public (or political) conscience, those within the military often find such displays far less offensive — or rare.
A few years ago, US Air Force F-15 pilot 1Lt Ali Jivanjee was killed in an F-15 training accident. He was a Muslim fighter pilot who took it upon himself to sign his name “Jihad” — apparently because he’d been “teased” (hazed? bullied?) about his first and middle names being “Ali Akbar” (similar to “Allahu akbar,” a phrase often connected to “jihadists,” for those that don’t make the connection).
His F-15 peers eventually named him “Danny Boy,” because he “needed a good Irish name.”
A fighter squadron is definitely not a bastion of political correctness, or cultural sensitivity.
A recent Military.com article notes the same theme throughout much of the rest of the military. Makers of accoutrements — including unofficial military uniform patches — with variations of “American infidel” on them are doing gangbuster business: Read more