In an odd, if interesting, story, the Beale AFB chapel recently hosted “Hump-free” the camel in a recent resiliency event:
Hump-free, is a 13-year-old male dromedary (one hump) camel from Lyon Ranch in Sonoma, California. He has been a certified therapy animal for about 10 years.
The event was intended to open up conversations about deployment and returning from deployment: Read more
One of the oldest and most well-known non-traditional religious groups in the US military is the pagan group on the US Army post at Fort Hood, Texas. In 1999, George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and soon to be US President, famously criticized the US military’s openness toward wiccan practices at Fort Hood.
The “Fort Hood Open Circle” entered the news again recently when Michele Morris, the group’s self-described clergy and Designated Faith Group Leader (DFGL), posted an “open letter” on Facebook decrying their mistreatment in the face of “privilege” (which she clarified as “Christian privilege” in another interview) [emphasis added]:
My congregation was locked out of their church last night. It wasn’t the first time, or the second, in fact – I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened over the last six years…Last night was three hours outside, an entire congregation milling around, angry, scared, frustrated, defeated, and discouraged…
The last six years…have been a dizzying roller coaster of harassment and neglect relieved by brief moments of support and underpinned by the soul killer that we proudly call “tolerance”.
Morris went on to list a veritable bevy of grievances. It was unclear at Read more
Unfortunately, this question has no firm answer and varies widely depending on the specific aircraft as well as global events.
As a general rule, a single squadron may deploy for one 3 to 6 month tour every 18 to 24 months. That is just a potential combat deployment, though. Squadrons may still deploy to locations for Flag exercises (Red Flag at Nellis in Las Vegas, for example) or for a variety of other training deployments or cross-countries. It is also possible that a squadron will be assigned to “cover” a six month deployment, and they will do so by swapping out their pilots halfway through, which means that everyone gets a 3 month deployment rather than the full six.
The precise number of days a fighter pilot will be gone from home varies widely and may depend on a pilot’s timing (when he arrives; i.e., if he gets there right after the squadron returns from a deployment, it may be awhile before they leave again), the political environment, the squadron’s capabilities, the leadership, and just about any other variable you can think of.
Chaplain (Capt) Joseph Wright describes how he and his family prepared for his first deployment, six months after he arrived at his first assignment:
We prayed, and we prepared. We read a book about preparing for deployment. It advised not to simply survive deployment, but thrive during it. Two retired colonels authored the book and emphasized the importance of trusting God and His plan. They shared the conviction that God is directing my family’s time of separation, because through it, He would be growing, maturing, and developing all of us in ways impossible if we stayed together.
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