Tag Archives: army

Soldier: The Lord had Something Else Planned for Me

An Army.mil article describes the story of the crew of a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, or MRAP, that was struck by a vehicle borne IED.  The three Soldiers were Sgt. Victor Pamplona (driver), Spc. Chad Mitschelen (gunner), and Sgt. Juan Montelongo (truck commander), and they were deployed to Iraq.

The article briefly covers the explosion and aftermath.  One of the more interesting parts of the story is the varied reactions of the three-man crew.

Pamplona recalled the incident through a theological lens.  Read more

Weinstein Targets Jewish Parents over Defense of USAFA

Michael Weinstein seems to revel in excoriating those with whom he disagrees. His attacks are filled with ellipses and alliterative assaults questioning everything from people’s character to their patriotism.

He has equated officers in the US Army with rapists and racists.  He’s stooped to gradeschool name-calling.  He has even implied the threat of violence upon critics as varied as Rush Limbaugh and Gordon Klingenschmitt.

Another favored Weinstein tactic, though, is the somber and vaguely-worded legal threat.  While it seems Weinstein threatens to sue someone virtually every time he opens his mouth, some have had the privilege of actually getting a letter from one set or another of Weinstein’s lawyers.  One sent a letter to Trijicon for saying Trijicon’s critics were “not Christian.”  Another Weinstein legal threat went out against the publishers of the Colorado Springs Gazette after it criticized his “[opposition] to the free exercise of religion.”

As previously noted, Weinstein’s lawyers also directed a threat of a lawsuit at ChristianFighterPilot.com after this site pointed out Weinstein’s substantial personal compensation from his self-founded “charity.”

It is readily apparent Michael Weinstein, the man who employs vitriolic criticism as naturally as others breathe, can’t stand a whit of criticism himself.

Even from a Jewish soccer mom.  Read more

DADT: Gray Areas and Military Benefits

An article from the northwest highlights the “training” on DADT repeal that occurred at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which one Captain said was “not a lot of change.”

Captain Ben Schneller, who delivered the briefings as an Army company commander, also expressed a bit of confusion after giving the training:

Schneller sounds confident…but he’ll have to work through a few gray areas that are arising because of the Defense of Marriage Act…

For example, line commanders will have to decide whether to grant emergency leave in certain situations for gay soldiers if their partners become seriously ill. Schneller says he faces the same choice with any soldier whose relatives fall sick.

The article contains the first reference to the Department of Defense officially endorsing the “loophole” groups have advocated to allow homosexuals Read more

US Marine Converts to Islam in Iraq

As noted at the Huffington Post, US Marine Anthony Vance deployed to Iraq and soon became Ibrahim Mohamed, a new convert to Islam.

Mohamed felt the pull toward the faith strengthen in Iraq — “the heart of the Islamic world,” as he says — and he reached out to the Muslim contractors on his base and started learning about the precepts of the Quran.

Convinced that he was being called to Islam, he officially became a Muslim while Read more

Chaplain Defends Just War in Air Force ICBM Training

Dr. Michael Milton is President of the Reformed Theological Seminary.  He is also US Army Chaplain (Maj) Michael Milton, an instructor at the US Army Chaplain Center & School at Fort Jackson, SC.

Chaplain Milton recently responded to the criticism of the Air Force’s “ICBM training course” that was allegedly “pulled” over Christian content, including in its reference to Just War.  (More recent information indicates the course wasn’t actually part of ICBM training.)

The Chaplain focuses, as others have, on the Just War inclusion in the brief, which was not the point of the course.  The course was not designed to teach Just War; it simply mentioned it as one response to criticisms of war and ultimately the use of nuclear weapons.  Still, the Chaplain had some interesting things to say.

Attorney Mikey Weinstein, Read more

Soldiers, US Army Observe Ramadan in Afghanistan

The International Security Assistance Force, led by US Army Gen. John R. Allen and Ambassador Simon Gass, hosted an Islamic iftar in Afghanistan, the meal that breaks the daily fast of Ramadan.  Afghan leaders were thankful:

Defense Minister of Afghanistan Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak [said] “This is actually a demonstration of the upmost respect for our beliefs, our faith, our traditions and our culture…”

As noted in a US Army article, Islamic US Army Soldiers at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, are observing Ramadan with others of their faith.

As Soldiers engaged in war, the Islamic faith technically exempts them from fasting during Ramadan, but at least one Soldier has chosen to Read more

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