According to Time‘s Bonnie Rochman, the US military is engaging in a unique method of strengthening the military mind. In her article “Samurai Mind Training for Modern American Warriors,” Rochman notes the increasing use of meditation in military training. “Warrior Mind Training” is a program that is intended to build “mental toughness” in American servicemembers as part of an Army initiative set to begin Read more
While still a baby in comparison with its Navy and Army brethren, the US Air Force is now celebrating 62 years as an independent branch of the American armed forces.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, a Navy Admiral, delivered birthday greetings that recalled how Read more
The delegates to the constitutional convention signed what would become the American Constitution on this date in 1787.
It would be nearly a year before the Constitution was finally ratified, a year and a half before the US government officially convened under the Constitution, and more than four years before the Constitution would be amended with the Bill of Rights. Still, the 222nd anniversary of the signing at the convention marks the birth of the United States’ governing document.
The Constitution is more than a topic in High School American Government class to those in the US military. Read more
Organizations who oppose religion in public life (including the military) generally dismiss as ‘ludicrous’ the assertions that their goal is to scrub all vestiges of religious expression from government institutions, like the military.
American Atheists recently undermined that defense when they decried President Obama’s use of “God bless you” in his address to school children yesterday. The logic was particularly disturbing because it is the same as some activists who oppose religious associations in the military– Read more
Previously, a question was posed about the propriety of a photo that showed Maj. Gen. Vincent Brooks and a flag with a Christian cross. The photo and initial post can be seen here. The accusation said that a regulation had been violated because it was
a photo of an Army officer giving a briefing while standing in front of a Christian flag.
So, did the General, as the accusers assert, violate military regulations?
The shortest, most accurate answer: Read more
President Barack Obama hosted an iftar at the White House Tuesday night, celebrating the end of Ramadan. Among the guests were Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Navy Chaplain (Lt. Cmdr.) Abuhena Saifulislam, the second Islamic Chaplain in the US Navy, and Elsheba Khan, whose 20-year-old son, Army Spc. Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, was killed in Iraq on 6 August 2007.
Chaplain Saif, a Bangladeshi immigrant, was one of two Chaplains Read more
On August 26th, NASA published a fairly detailed article on what the astronauts were taking up on Discovery when it finally launched last week, as well as the historical precedent that allowed astronauts to take up personal items (as noted in the previous post).
Two days after that article, American Atheists issued a press release criticizing NASA’s decision to allow Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester to take up a part of Nate Saint’s airplane. The group said the action was a “violation of the separation of church and state,” as well as Read more