A local paper announced the victory of the Demons over their adversaries during US Air Force Academy basic training, which ends soon as the new cadets will begin their academic year.
Much has been made of the apparently “supernatural” terminology sometimes invoked during Basic Cadet Training (BCT) at the US Air Force Academy. Read more
The Princeton Review has published its annual rankings of American colleges, which this year includes 371 academic institutions. (The website requires a free registration to see the rankings.) The 2009 discussion is here. The rankings are based on surveys submitted by students of the universities.
This year, the US Air Force Academy repeats its #14 ranking of “most religious students” Read more
The Air Force Times ran an article entitled “More 6-month tours” presenting the picture of longer combat tours for Air Force personnel. The content is unremarkable, but what was interesting was the picture the AF Times used to headline the article, even on the site’s front page. Taken by Petty Officer 2nd Class Todd Frantom, it shows a group of US Air Force Airmen praying as a group prior to “going outside the wire,” something the caption says is a “tradition” for every such mission. (See picture and read more below the fold.) Read more
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has made a significant fundraising push over the past several months. In a July fundraising email, the MRFF used a letter from a Holocaust survivor who “pled” for financial support for Michael Weinstein’s organization.
In the letter, the author, Walter Plywaski (who notes he is “previously Wladyslaw Plywacki”), appears to associate “fundamentalist Christianity” in the United States with his Nazi tormentors, a moral equivalency that has also been implied by Weinstein in the past. Plywaski says that Christians are using methods similar to those instigated by the Nazis: Read more
Army Chaplain (Capt.) Rebekah Montgomery has been selected by the Military Chaplain’s Association as their Chaplain of the Year. The Unitarian-Universalist is a member of the Maryland’s Army National Guard. She is the brigade chaplain for the 58th Troop Command in Maryland, and also works at the National Guard Bureau. About the difficulty of quantifying a Chaplain’s role, she said
“We don’t see the direct results, but we trust God is using us in a profound and positive way,” she said. “You can’t quantify how many divorces didn’t happen. You can’t quantify how many suicides didn’t happen.”
Despite controversies over religion in the military and the sensitivities of troops talking about religion with locals, the US Army has actually assigned a young Captain to do that very thing.
According to a Wall Street Journal article, US Army Capt James Hill’s job is to
turn Islam into a weapon against the Taliban.
Though the Wall Street Journal emphasizes the Captain’s religion (the article is entitled “The Baptist and the Mullah Launch a Faith-Based Attack on the Taliban”), Read more
As previously noted, the Air Force declined to support the Nampa, Idaho, “God and Country Festival” with a flyby, despite a 40+ year history of supporting the event. The festival organizers now have a petition online. The organizers make a point of saying
We want to make it clear that although it is unashamedly a Christian event, a major part of the Festival is honoring our troops who protect our freedom to assemble.
The decision has stayed in the news, and was even covered by Bill O’Reilly Read more
As it did previously, the Air Force is again advertising scholarships for Chaplain candidates through its “Religious Professional Scholarship.” According to one report, the scholarship covers tuition, books, and includes a monthly stipend. Applications are being accepted through September 1st.
As the Air Force stated initially, it appears that the current scholarships will be steered toward “under-represented” faiths, which at this point are Catholics.