Tag Archives: army

Atheist Gets Secretive Agency to Change Motto

You have to give Jason Torpy a little credit.  Unlike Michael Weinstein, who is characterized by ellipses, alliterative vitriol, and threats of lawsuits, Torpy has demonstrated an ability to actually communicate with people and achieve at least some level of influence (that is, until he steps into more “controversial” areas.)

The one-man wonder that is the Military “Association” of Atheists and Freethinkers recently “needled” an Air Force agency into changing the motto that has graced their patch for some years.

The US Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office “expedites” acquisitions programs, many in “sensitive activities.”  The RCO had a patch that, like many units’ patches, contained embedded in-jokes, clever double-speak, and probably even hinted at national secrets.  Torpy’s beef?  The slogan at the bottom:

Opus Dei Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus
“Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money”

Apparently, the phrase “Doing God’s Work” is Read more

The Failure of Ethical Training in the US Army

A US Army platoon leader has a fascinating article in Army Magazine: former US Army Captain Kevin Bell wrote How Our Training Fails Us When it Counts, recounting a story from 2008 in which he led a platoon in Afghanistan.  He uses his personal experiences to describe how the US Army woefully fails in its efforts to prepare its soldiers for ethical challenges in combat.

No infantryman who sits through the required PowerPoint classes on the Geneva Conventions and treatment of enemy prisoners of war (EPW) leaves the classroom with a new perspective on the ethics of war…As it stands, though, classroom and field training on detainee operations do almost nothing to help soldiers untangle the twisted moral landscape of anger, intelligence gathering and justice in wartime.

Without directly addressing it, he highlights the weakness of the situation-based ethics currently taught in much of the military academia:  Read more

US Troops Feel More Pity than Respect from the Public

Recent events have made a Washington Post article from November even more interesting, as it tries to put meat on the bones of the relationship between the American public and the American military.

While the relationship has avoided the animosity of the Vietnam era, some said a feeling of social “guilt” may be responsible for the change, rather than an actual respect or support of the troops and their mission:

“We, as a nation, no longer value military heroism in ways that were entirely common in World War II,” said retired Lt. Gen. David Barno, who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Instead, praise from politicians and the public focuses largely on the depth of a service member’s suffering. Troops are recognized for the number of tours they have endured, the number of friends they have lost or Read more

Liberty Protected: The Non-Persecution of Military Atheists

When the US Air Force Academy “Falcon Circle” chapel facility went through its various controversies over the past year, one group was oddly silent:  atheists.  There were no loud cries from atheists over the US military’s waste of money to create yet another religious facility, nor were there any over the fact military atheists can’t even use the facility.

Like many US military bases, USAFA restricts the use of chapel facilities to religious gatherings:

All services held at the Cadet Chapel must be religious in nature and be conducted by a clergyperson or led by a lay-leader approved by the Cadet Wing Chaplain or designee.

Thus, unless an atheist group can sincerely say it is “religious in nature,” it can’t use the Falcon Circle as a barbecue pit this summer, while every religious Read more

Muslim, Former Soldier Arrested for Supporting Terrorism

Craig Baxam reportedly converted to Islam just prior to leaving the US Army in July.  By December, he had been arrested in Kenya:

Baxam…told investigators he wanted to live in an area governed by the strict edicts of Islamic Sharia law, such as those imposed by Al Shabaab, and defend them to the death if necessary.

He is apparently claiming the “bumbling” defense, sort of: 

[He] told FBI agents that he had no contacts with al-Shabab and only a haphazard plan to connect with the group

This is only the latest development undermining Michael Weinstein’s conspiracy theories.

At this point, at least, it seems Baxam was content to wage his holy war Read more

Sikh Doctor Serves from Love of Country

A local article notes the service of Maj. Kamal Kalsi, a US Army doctor granted an exception to policy to allow the wear of a Sikh turban, beard, and other items specific to their faith.

He is one of three Sikh soldiers serving in the U.S. Army, and the only one at Fort Bragg.

Kalsi says he serves because of his love for the United States; his favorite holiday is even July 4th.

Despite the uniqueness of his faith in the Army, he says his similarities with his fellow Soldiers have “outweighed his differences:”  Read more

Atheists: Remove “No Religious Preference” from Military

Update: Military.com notes:

a week after the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers submitted the petition on WhiteHouse.gov the effort has garnered just 25 of the 25,000 signatures it needs by Feb. 5 to get any kind of response from the White House.

Jason Torpy, a former Army captain and current atheist, has filed a petition on WhiteHouse.gov to have “no religious preference,” or “NO REL PREF,” removed from the options in troops’ military records. He also wants the question removed from the list of requirements during inprocessing, making it an optional “opt in” later.

The latter is probably extremely unlikely.  First, the military has been mandated by law to make a variety of things a “mandatory opt in,” based on the belief most servicemembers will never make the extra effort to do so otherwise. (For example, one congressman floated the idea of forcing members of the military to enroll in the pseudo-retirement “Thrift Savings Plan.”)  Torpy explicitly stated there was pressure to “choose Christianity” in basic training:  Read more

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