Tag Archives: Military

US Marine, Christian, Wants to Fight in UFC

Marine Sgt. George Lockhart, a martial arts instructor, recently applied for six weeks of leave in order to take part in the filming of a reality series called “The Ultimate Fighter.”

A Military Times article notes that his immediate commander had previously given him approval to try out, and Lockhart won an invitation to participate in the show that allows fighters to compete for a potentially lucrative UFC contract.

While his immediate commander also supported his request for extended leave to film the show, his commanding general ultimately determined that Lockhart’s unit was too busy to allow him the time he would need off.  A Marine spokesman was also concerned about “barbaric” behavior on the show that might reflect negatively on the Marines, though that hasn’t stopped the Marines from using the show for recruiting ads.

Interestingly, Lockhart isn’t known just for his fighting:

A devout Christian who often quotes from the Bible, Lockhart said Read more

MAAF Misrepresents Data in Brief to White House

The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers was one of several groups that recently met with White House staff members as part of a White House meeting with the Secular Coalition for America.

According to the MAAF web page on the meeting, president Jason Torpy presented a briefing at the meeting that claimed to explain the relative percentages of faiths represented in the military.  His briefing grossly misrepresented numeric government data, apparently in an attempt to strengthen the MAAF position and demands.

In what the MAAF called a “new MAAF demographics study,” which was actually an MAAF presentation of a study done by the Defense Manpower Data Center, the MAAF said

DoD data show nearly one-quarter of the military is nontheistic

Using the DMDC data, the MAAF claimed that 23.4% of the Department of Defense was “nontheistic.”  Based on this number, according to the MAAF, “nontheists constitute a significant portion of the military.”  Thus,

Military and Civilian leadership must recognize and support this significant demographic

Some might say numbers don’t lie, but the MAAF certainly demonstrated that one can misrepresent them to support untrue Read more

Bush Recalls Power of Prayer, Awe of Military

Former President George W. Bush spoke recently at a fundraiser for Fort Worth Christian School in Texas.  Articles on the event note Bush’s dependence on the power of prayer.  This included not only his own prayers, but those who obeyed the Christian command to pray for their national leaders:

I don’t see how I could be president without prayer…The prayers of the people…sustained me, comforted me and strengthened me in a way I could have never predicted before becoming president, and for that I am extremely grateful.

They also repeat Bush’s now famous deep respect and admiration for the US military.

Fort Worth Christian School is an unabashedly Christian educational institution with an enrollment of 865 children from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Chaplaincy Crucial to US Army

An article at Army.mil explains the unique roles and necessity of the Chaplaincy to the success of the Army mission, something that applies across the services to the US military as a whole.  One of the command Chaplains noted the value of the Chaplaincy goes beyond the tangible:

I would hate to think what the Army would be like without the Chaplain Corps. What if all of the positive spiritual emphasis in the world was removed in a moment? What would the world look like?  It would be ugly.

Though not often said, there are moral virtues supported by religion and the Chaplaincy that positively contribute to the mission of the US military.  Regrettably, those positive contributions are often forgotten, until they are removed and the impact of their loss is felt.

Via the Army Chaplaincy blog.

Chaplains Disinvite FRC’s Perkins over DADT Statements

Just days after noting the potential impact that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal might have on military Chaplains, there are now widespread articles on the decision by an Air Force base Chaplain’s office to rescind the invitation of a speaker who opposed President Obama’s proposed repeal.

The actions were those of an individual Chaplain’s office and were not necessarily indicative of the decisions of higher level leadership.  However, the decision itself is a perfect example of the conflict that organizations opposing the repeal intend to highlight.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins had been invited in October by the Chaplains’ office to speak at the February 25 National Prayer Luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base (now known as Joint Base Andrews).  Perkins is a US Marine veteran and ordained minister.  Supposedly, after President Obama used his State of the Union to call for a repeal of DADT, and Perkins and the FRC vocally opposed him, the Chaplain’s office rescinded the invitation.  (Notably, the Chaplain’s office is free to invite or disinvite anyone they choose; it is their public reasoning for doing so that makes this case interesting.)

The letter from the Chaplain’s office rescinding the invitation reportedly said:  Read more

Weinstein Claims Credit for BRAC’d Unit

A previous article noted that Michael Weinstein likes to highlight the places that his Military Religious Freedom Foundation was mentioned in the press.  One result of his “tooting his own horn” may be the perception of “impact” from his organization.  Apparently, his desire to seem influential is so strong that he has digressed into fiction.

In a long article published at an independent “online magazine,” Weinstein Read more

F-16 Pilot Ejects at Osan Air Base

An F-16 pilot at Osan Air Base, Korea, has reportedly ejected just prior to landing.  The pilot is described as “safe,” while the plane, which “had nearly touched down” at the time of ejection, “did not catch fire and remained structurally intact.”

It will likely be at least a month before the initial reports are completed on the mishap.

The F-16, like most advanced fighters, is equipped with a “zero/zero” ejection seat (the ACES II, in most American ejection seat aircraft). This means at zero feet above ground and zero knots (that is, parked on the ground), the pilot can safely eject.  Generally he gets “one swing in the chute” before hitting the ground, an impact that is Read more

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