Tag Archives: jim parco

Report: Hostility to Religion in US Military

The Liberty Institute recently published a 2014 edition of a 400-page report entitled “Undeniable: The Survey of Hostility to Religion in America” (PDF). Sections I, II, and III are “attacks” in the public arena, schoolhouse, and against churches and other religious ministries, respectively.

For the first time, the report now includes a dedicated Section IV: “Attacks in the Military.”

Similar in theme to the “Clear and Present Danger” published by the Family Research Council, the Liberty Institute report includes a list of 46 incidents representative of the hostility toward religion within the US military [emphasis added]:

Hostility once unthinkable, such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs telling grieving families as they arrive at their loved one’s funeral site that they may not have a religious funeral service, is becoming increasingly routine. Another line of hostility is a new wave of lawsuits attempting to eliminate all symbolism that touches on the numinous from our nation’s veterans memorials…

Religious freedom in the military is protected by the U.S. Constitution, Department Read more

Military Professors Write Reports Praising End of DADT

Continuing the theme of the US military putting a proactively positive face on the end of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” US military academy professors are contributing to studies and journals virtually singing the praises of repeal.

US Air Force LtCol (Ret) James Parco should be one familiar name, as the former USAFA instructor was one of the “scholars” interviewed for the Palm Center report, and he has also vocally defended religious freedom critic Michael Weinstein.

David Levy is a current US Air Force Academy professor in the Management Department.  He, too, has been mentioned as a contributor to the biased Palm Center report.

In the Armed Forces Journal, the two co-authored Read more

First Post-DADT Study Shows No Negative Impact

The Palm Center, an activist group that advocated for repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” has publicized a “study” (PDF) it conducted that purports to put to bed claims that open service by homosexuals in the US military will ever be anything other than a “non-event,” based on an analysis of the “one-year mark.”

The first academic study of the effects of repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) has found that the new policy of open service has had no overall negative impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, recruitment, retention or morale…

While the story is being repeated in a couple of places, it seems few have actually read the report.  For example, the “academic study” is based on the following samples:

  • 11 interviews with Generals who opposed repeal
  • 1 interview with a “public opponent” of repeal  Read more