Tag Archives: chief of staff

Top Air Force General Explains the Pilot’s Prayer

Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein recently explained how modern technology has changed the “pilot’s prayer”:

“When I grew up flying F-16s, the pilot’s prayer was, ‘Please God, let me find my target and not let my buddies down,’” Goldfein said. “It’s changed. In precision warfare and the information age, it’s ‘Please God, let me hit the right target, and not let my buddies down…”

(Not to be confused with the Fighter Pilot Prayer, also known as “The Lord is my Crew Chief.”)

General Goldfein’s point was that technology has advanced to the point that pilots almost always hit what they aim at — so their prayer now is that they’re aiming at the right target (a surprisingly difficult challenge in the fog and friction of war, sometimes).

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein will now Read more

Chiefs of Staff: DoD Moving Too Fast on Transgenders

The Chiefs of Staff of the military services have apparently expressed concerns to the Secretary of Defense that the required changes necessary to integrate “transgendered” individuals into the military have to occur on too short a timeline:

Several senior U.S. officials, however, said that while the chiefs of the military services largely back the change, they sought more time to fully develop and implement the complex new rules.

Secretary Carter reportedly “adjusted the timeline” after Read more

Sites Highlight Nomination of Jewish General as Chief of Staff

goldfeinA wide variety of sites, most connected in some fashion specifically to Jewish news, have highlighted the fact President Obama has nominated a Jewish General, General David Goldfein, to be the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force:

Gen. David Goldfein will become the second Jew to command the U.S. Air Force…

Goldfein, who has been the vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force since August, will be the first Jewish combat pilot to hold the top position, and will be the second Read more

Group Objects After Air Force Pulls Commander’s Article on Faith

The 180th Fighter Wing Commander has reportedly censored an article written by his Medical Group Commander, Col Florencio Marquinez, because of a complaint by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein.  (The article can be read here.)

According to the Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), [a civilian] complained about Marquinez’ article, claiming that it was “odious” and “offending.” In response to the complaint, Commander Col. Craig R. Baker ordered the newsletter to be republished without Marquinez’ piece.

Weinstein claimed full credit, praising the commander.  The “odious” and “offending” words were his [emphasis added]:  Read more

Air Force Publishes AFI 1-2, Commander’s Responsibilities

To mixed reviews, the Air Force Chief of Staff has published a second Air Force Instruction, AFI 1-2, Commander’s Responsibilities, which lays out the expectations and responsibilities of commanders.

To some extent, it may permit the Air Force to describe why commanders get fired. As opposed to “loss of confidence,” the AF can now say they violated a specific provision of AFI 1-2.

The AFI contains a few notable phrases, starting with a quote from Title 10 [emphasis added]:

2.2. …All commanding officers and others in authority in the Air Force are required:

(3) to guard against and suppress all dissolute and immoral practices, and to correct, according to the laws Read more

General Welsh: No Religious Persecution in US Air Force

Update: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council released the following statement in response to General Welsh’s testimony [italics original]:

“The perception is that Mikey Weinstein is setting the policy for religious expression in the U.S. Air Force, as evidenced by the growing number of incidents of religious hostility toward Christians.  Instead of denying reality, General Welsh should have taken the opportunity in Friday’s hearing to discuss how he would bring the Air Force into compliance with the new DOD instructions protecting religious expression…

“Family Research Council and the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition will not stand by while the Air Force Chief tries to evade the reality of these attacks on religious expression.  We will continue to do all we can to protect the rights of the men and women serving in the Air Force and in all the uniformed services.”

A visibly frustrated General Mark Welsh, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, fielded questions about religious liberty during what was supposed to be a congressional committee meeting on the Fiscal Year 2015 Air Force budget:

The single biggest frustration I’ve had in this job is the perception that somehow there is religious persecution inside the United States Air Force. It is not true.

Interestingly, the words “religious persecution” were General Welsh’s characterization, not the Congressman’s.

To be fair, that statement may be technically accurate in Read more

Gen Welsh Authorizes Morale Patches, Confirms Rock Star Status

General Mark Welsh just cemented his “rock star” status as Chief of Staff of the US Air Force. Though it took nearly 18 months, General Welsh has finally sent the ban on morale uniform items the way of Blues Monday [emphasis added]:

Morale T-shirts/patches representing individual squadrons that were worn in the past to increase unit pride are now authorized to wear on Fridays. Squadron color T-shirts may be worn with the ABU or flight suit when in-garrison or on-station during unit temporary duty assignments and contingency deployments…

The nuance to the victory here is that in years past, most morale uniform items (colored unit shirts, morale patches, etc.) were unofficial — ie, the regulation didn’t say you couldn’t, so people did — and stretched the limits of the rules as a result. This was then “fixed” by new regulations specifically banning “morale” items. Now, General Welsh has explicitly authorized those same items.

The new AFI even specifically authorizes “tab” patches, which Read more

AF Generals Mark Welsh, Larry Spencer Highlight Need for Respect

In a commentary entitled “Every Airman Counts: Treating each other with dignity and respect,” General Larry Spencer, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, nobly attempted to laud the virtue of respect.  He recounts the story of a fellow Airman using the “N word” during a flag football game many years ago:

I was certainly no stranger to harsh language or “trash talk.” However, this was different—and it literally hurt…I was an American Airman and I didn’t expect that kind of verbal attack from a fellow Airman…

Several Airmen, on both sides of the ball, spoke up — forcefully. They chastised the offender and made it clear they did not approve of his outbursts or attitude. The referee, who was an NCO, also stepped forward and not only ejected him from the game, but directed him to report to his first sergeant the following day. The next day, not only did my teammates (on both teams) go out of their way to apologize for this single Airman’s behavior, but the Airman who committed the act also personally apologized.

Gen Spencer later said  Read more

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