Tag Archives: Chaplain

Air Force Fires Col Leland Bohannon for Not Affirming Homosexual Marriage

The US Air Force has fired a high ranking commander and denied him a promotion to General because he declined to personally affirm a homosexual relationship.

Col Leland B.H. Bohannon is still currently listed as the commander of the Air Force Inspection Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico [Update: No longer. Now the AFIA commander is listed as Col Mark Pye, backdated to July 2017]. As detailed in a report filed by his lawyers, last May one of Col Bohannon’s subordinates retired. One of the customary presentations at a retirement is a spouse appreciation certificate, given to the spouse of the retiring member. In this case, Col Bohannon’s subordinate was a homosexual.

Col Bohannon felt that he could not sign the certificate because it would affirm a relationship that was contrary to his religious beliefs. Instead, Col Bohannon Read more

Mikey Weinstein’s Lawyer Donald Rehkopf Lies in Accusation of Lying

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and those who work with his “charity,” the contradictorily named Military Religious Freedom Foundation, seem to have a innate problem with telling the truth. (Weinstein lackey Chris Rodda is the most famous, as she’s frequently made easily disprovable false statements in an apparent effort to defend the MRFF’s reputation.)

The most recent example of this lack of integrity came from Donald Rehkopf, the most recent legal face of Weinstein’s MRFF. (Despite being a lawyer — and the only paid member of the MRFF — Weinstein defers to others rather than act for his own organization.)

In a supreme twist of hypocrisy, Rehkopf was trying to accuse someone of lying — while not being so forthright himself.

Apparently set back on their heels by Tommy Vallejos’ defense of Sonny Hernandez, Donald Rehkopf declined to make a calm, reasoned, and rational rebuttal.  Rather, the MRFF advocate submitted a response claiming Vallejos was lying. Said Rehkopf:

It is ironic to have to remind the Rev. Tommy Vallejos of one of the Ten Commandments — not to lie.

Yet, in his Opinion letter, “Don’t persecute chaplain for practicing his faith”…he makes at least two false statements.

Rehkopf then makes his first accusation:  Read more

Politician, Pastor Speaks Out in Defense of Sonny Hernandez

Tommy Vallejos, a local Tennessee politician, Bronze Star veteran, and care pastor with Faith Outreach Church in Clarksville, TN, wrote an opinion column in the Stars and Stripes in support of Air Force Chaplain (Capt) Sonny Hernandez entitled “Don’t persecute chaplain for practicing his faith“:

As a retired military veteran, a Hispanic, and a man of deep faith, I was shaken to my core after reading a recent story about Chaplain (Capt.) Sonny Hernandez coming under fire for sharing commonly held biblical principles with his fellow Air Force servicemembers…

Vallejos appears to note the often-missed observation that Read more

Air Force Campaign Aims to Bring Faith Back to the Force

“Spiritually strong Airmen…tend to be strong assets to their units and commanders.”

An article out of Robins AFB, Georgia, highlighted an Air Force campaign called Faith Works, which focuses on “Freedom, faith, and ministry.” Amazingly enough, it promotes the virtue of religion — based on science [emphasis added]:

The campaign, Faith Works, is based on a body of research demonstrating the positive effects religion and spirituality can have on improving health in every domain…Faith Works offers a new perspective on an old technique, focusing on the tangible, earth-bound benefits associated with developing and practicing a strong faith, religion or spirituality…

Dr. Tyler VanderWeele…and Dr. Harold Koenig…have identified physical evidence linking the practice of faith and religion to individual resiliency.

[Their] research shows that Americans who attend religious services at least once a week have a 20 percent to 30 percent reduced mortality rate over a 15-year period. In terms of mental health, regular church-goers also demonstrate more optimism and lower rates of depression.

It is a fascinating — and bold — initiative that was led Read more

US Army Colonel Selects Unit’s New Patron Saint

US Army Col Phil Deppert, commandant of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, recently selected St Jerome as the patron saint for military linguists:

The tradition of patron saints as guardians over areas of life, to include occupations, dates back to as early as the fourth century. Linguists now join with other military career fields who have followed in this tradition. St. Michael, paratroopers, and St. Barbara, field artillery, are examples of military occupations that have previously inducted a patron saint.

In an indicator of the times, the DLI Chaplain (Maj) Chan-young Ham said they went out of their way to say they weren’t trying to endorse Christianity:  Read more

Air Force Chaplain Serves All Airmen, Regardless of Faith

In an interestingly timed piece, the US Air Force highlighted Catholic Chaplain (Capt) Emmanuel Enoh, who hails from Nigeria but was drawn to missionary work — and the US Air Force:

“The patient was suffering from her experiences in the Iraq war,” recalled Enoh. “She just wanted to talk about her experiences, so we spent the whole night talking. I couldn’t relate to her experiences, but by being there and letting her talk, it gave her comfort. That experience drew me to serve as a military chaplain.’”

The article seems to almost painfully go out of its way to qualify the service Chaplain Enoh provides:  Read more

Air Force Senior NCO Gives Backhanded Endorsement of MRFF

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s “charitable” Military Religious Freedom Foundation received an interesting endorsement from a serving Air Force Master Sergeant. The comment occurred in response to the recent Stars and Stripes coverage of Chaplain Sonny Hernandez:

Justin Blackwell These are the cases MRFF needs to focus on, not the usual clownshow of little crap that makes them look like zealots.

That glowing “endorsement” apparently came from US Air Force Master Sergeant Justin Blackwell. It would seem he supports Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s efforts, even if Read more

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